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Analysis of State Actions on Important Issues

Helping Domestic Violence Victims in the TANF Program

March 2002
Volume 27, Number 9

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When Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, many domestic violence advocates were concerned that provisions of the law would create additional hardships for women and families who are subjected to domestic violence. Although women at all income levels are victims of domestic violence, low-income women are more likely to be abused by their partners and to face more economic barriers when they attempt to escape a violent situation.1 A family that is experiencing domestic violence also is likely to have additional barriers such as involvement with the child welfare program and substance abuse problems. PRWORA allows states to exempt victims of domestic violence from certain program requirements that could inhibit their attempts to achieve self-sufficiency. States also gained considerable flexibility in spending TANF funds to help people achieve financial independence. This State Legislative Report illustrates the connection between poverty and domestic violence and describes provisions of the welfare reform act that address the needs of women who are exposed to violence. It shows how some states have used TANF money to fund local domestic violence services and highlights innovative programs in several states that assist these women in gaining independence and safety.

The Connection Between Poverty and Domestic Violence

The connections between poverty, welfare and domestic violence are significant and increasingly well-documented. Studies indicate that more than half of the women who receive welfare have experienced violence at some point in their lives, and that 14 percent to 32 percent of welfare recipients are currently in violent relationships.2 Regardless of their prior economic circumstances, many women are placed at serious financial risk as a result of being abused by a current or former intimate partner. Abusers often control women's access to bank accounts and other income and prevent them from working and bringing in income. Many domestic violence victims report that they were also victims of abuse as children, suggesting a link between exposure to abuse as a child and the likelihood of experiencing further abuse as an adult.3

Violence affects women and their children in many ways. Abused women are more likely to report that their children suffer from a significant, ongoing disability than women in non-abusive homes, and the effects of domestic violence make it more difficult for these women to care for their children. Research indicates that in 30 percent to 60 percent of homes where a woman is battered, her children also are abused. Even if the children are not victims of abuse, they exhibit increased behavioral, social and emotional problems.

As many as 42 percent to 54 percent of women who currently are in abusive situations suffer from depression. Other problems for current and former victims include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder,
• Higher likelihood of drug and alcohol abuse, and
• Long-term physical health problems.

Some abused women face extreme circumstances and will need special supports and considerations, such as domestic or sexual violence advocacy and counseling, waivers from work requirements or waivers from time limits. Some may need other services, such as child care, transportation, job training, substance abuse treatment or education. Procedures, policies and programs that ensure safety are essential to protect TANF clients who are exposed to violence. The following problems create additional barriers for women who are struggling to meet the requirements of state TANF programs.

State Responses to Family Violence in TANF Programs

PRWORA included several provisions to address the barrier of domestic violence, including the Family Violence Option, a hardship exemption from the 60-month time limit in certain cases, and exemptions from child support cooperation requirements in certain circumstances. The block grant structure also provides new opportunities for state legislators to develop flexible, creative responses to the problems faced by women who are exposed to family violence.

State lawmakers have unprecedented flexibility in determining how TANF funds may be spent. These funds can be used to meet any of the following four goals:

1. To provide assistance to needy families;

2. To end dependence of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage;

3. To prevent and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and

4. To encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

States may spend their federal TANF funds or state "maintenance of effort" (MOE) funds on any services and benefits related to these four purposes. An increasing number of states are using this flexibility to fund services for domestic violence victims.

• Domestic violence programs in Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania receive TANF money as part of their funding stream. These programs provide a range of services, including emergency short-term shelter for women and children who are fleeing violence, counseling for both adult and child victims, and assistance in finding safe long-term housing.
• Arizona and Pennsylvania are using TANF funds to expand legal advocacy for domestic violence victims. Legal advocates can help women secure restraining orders to protect themselves and their children, determine whether to seek criminal or civil charges against the perpetrator, file for petitions for divorce, work with child protective services and pursue child support.
• Michigan allocated $3 million in TANF funds to expand transitional housing programs for domestic violence victims.
• Pennsylvania recently provided TANF funds to enhance the availability of medical advocacy services through collaboration between domestic violence programs and local hospitals and health care facilities. Medical advocacy can include training health care staff in domestic violence issues, implementing screening procedures to identify domestic violence, and adopting protocols and policies for working with victims of violence.

State lawmakers also are exploring safe ways to keep noncustodial parents in children's lives, based on research indicating that children with caring, financially stable adults in their lives are healthier than those who lack parental involvement. Responsible fatherhood programs and other initiatives that work with fragile families are beginning to address domestic violence by integrating domestic violence intervention strategies into fatherhood, parenting, visitation, and batterer intervention programs. The Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development in Baltimore, Md., for example, works extensively with low-income, noncustodial fathers. The center has recently partnered with a local domestic violence shelter, the House of Ruth, to exchange information and provide batterer services, although the center's domestic violence activities are not currently funded through TANF. Some domestic violence advocates, however, express concern about using TANF funds for father-focused programs, especially when victims of domestic violence lack services. They believe that the first priority of domestic violence funding should be services for the victims.

State lawmakers establish TANF programs that benefit domestic violence victims even if the programs are intended for a broader group of recipients. For example, most states have created "diversion programs" where caseworkers determine whether an individual who is applying for services can avoid receiving welfare if she receives a one-time or short-term payment to help her through an emergency or setback. In many cases, domestic violence victims have benefited from these programs. Anne Arundel County, Md., created Help Eliminate Lifetime Poverty (HELP) grants, a diversion program that can provide up-front cash assistance. Funds can be used to help clients with relocation expenses such as security deposits or first and last months' rent. However, receipt of a HELP grant locks a client out of the regular TANF caseload for a specified amount of time, depending on the amount of the grant.

In Oregon, TANF clients typically do not receive cash assistance for 45 days after their initial application, but they can receive Food Stamps, Medicaid, help with child support enforcement, child care, transportation, and basic living expenses. The 45-day wait is waived for victims of domestic violence.

Oregon also created a unique program for domestic violence victims, Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors (TA-DVS), that has different eligibility requirements than normal TANF. TANF workers are trained to recognize that many domestic violence survivors do not have access to assets that they do not control directly, and that joint assets- such as bank accounts or housing-should not be included when determining eligibility. In addition, workers are authorized to spend up to $1,200 every 90 days to help a woman who is fleeing domestic violence. The funds can be used for relocation, including out-of-state relocation; car repair or purchase; furniture; and other necessities to help a woman achieve independence.

El Paso County, Colo., created two diversion programs for TANF applicants. Diversion 1 is an emergency, once-in-a-lifetime payment for a service that would " . enable a family with children to gain or keep employment." These services are geared toward clients who face a barrier to work that can easily be solved with additional resources. A client who receives a Diversion 1 grant is ineligible for regular TANF for six months. In the Diversion 2 program, the client receives two months of cash assistance, based on the TANF eligibility rules. These grants are generally used for clients who are job-ready or recently unemployed, and the grant can be extended for an additional month if necessary. These diversion programs can help domestic violence victims with transportation or a deposit on an apartment, for example, which may enable a woman to find or keep employment while she is leaving an abuser. In addition to the diversion programs, emergency housing funds can be used for domestic violence victims, because it usually takes three weeks from the initial TANF application before a client is approved. Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia also have allocated TANF funds for diversion or relocation programs for domestic violence victims.

State lawmakers may choose to implement the Family Violence Option (FVO) of PRWORA. At least 38 states have done so either through legislation or administrative policy (see figure 1). The Family Violence Option allows states to establish standards and procedures to:

• Screen for and identify individuals who are receiving assistance and who have a history of domestic violence.
• Refer such individuals to counseling and support services.
• Waive certain program requirements-such as time limits, residency requirements, child support cooperation, and family cap provisions-if such requirements would make it more difficult for individuals to escape violence or would unfairly penalize individuals who have been victimized or who are at risk for further domestic violence.

Under the FVO, states are required to specify the program requirements that are being waived; waivers must be granted on a need-only basis by a person trained in domestic violence; waivers must be re-evaluated every six months; and waivers must be accompanied by a service plan. A person trained in domestic violence must develop the service plan.

The FVO can be an effective policy tool because it brings attention to the unique challenges faced by domestic violence survivors and provides states with a framework to respond to these challenges. It also raises awareness among TANF workers of domestic violence and increases the likelihood that workers will receive training to identify and help victims of violence. A recent Texas study confirmed the efficacy of waivers in some circumstances.5 Waivers kept some women from being sanctioned when an abusive partner interfered with their ability to keep appointments or attend class. Other women used the extra time granted by a waiver to get their lives in order or make arrangements for custody hearings or child support court appearances.

Researchers are not certain how many women are seeking waivers under the Family Violence Option. Many women who identify domestic violence as an issue do not seek waivers because they want to work and pursue child support if they can safely do so. They prefer to concentrate on activities that will help them achieve the ability to work and become self-sufficient. In three sites identified in an Urban Institute report as the most advanced in helping clients with domestic violence issues, almost no waivers were granted under the Family Violence Option.6 Officials in Anne Arundel County, Md., have not granted a single waiver because they count efforts to leave a violent situation-such as obtaining counseling or applying for a protection order-toward the work requirements. In Oregon, no formal waivers have been granted under the FVO; and in Colorado, only one FVO waiver has been requested in the entire state. Even states that have not adopted the FVO can choose to screen for and provide services to women who are exposed to domestic violence. All states indicate that they screen TANF applicants for domestic violence.

PRWORA allows states to exempt up to 20 percent of their caseloads from the 60-month lifetime limit on federally funded assistance for cases of hardship. The federal definition of "hardship" specifically includes battering and extreme cruelty. Women who receive a waiver through the FVO are counted toward the 20 percent of a state's caseload exemption. There is a 5 percent penalty for states that exceed the threshold. Federal guidelines clarify that, if a state is facing the penalty for exceeding the 20 percent threshold, implementation of the FVO may be used as a defense, although there is no guarantee that a state would not receive any penalties. States also can use maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds to provide assistance beyond the 60 month time limit.

Several states-including Alabama, California, Colorado, Maryland, Kansas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania-count activities designed to address domestic violence such as obtaining counseling or finding housing as part of all of the parents' work requirements. Policymakers who endorse this approach explain that, although the woman is not actually working, the activities are helping her overcome barriers to work. Several sites in the Urban Institute study used this approach.

• In Anne Arundel County, Md., domestic violence victims can count as work activities attending support groups, obtaining safe housing or relocating, getting a car fixed, or other activities meant to assure safety and security. Costs associated with these activities are paid for with TANF funds.
• In Kansas, participation in OARS (Orientation-Assessment-Referral-Safety), a domestic violence pilot project, counts as compliance. The Topeka office, for example, contracts with a local domestic violence service provider. If a woman discloses domestic violence, the on-site advocate conducts an assessment and determines whether to place the woman in the OARS program. Women in OARS receive a waiver from traditional work activities but are required to attend an on-site support group. They develop a service plan with the domestic violence worker that includes mandatory counseling and may include other services, such as shelter or legal advocacy, depending on the needs of the family. The domestic violence services in OARS are offered through the local providers.
• The TANF office in El Paso County, Colo., counts as a work activity any activity needed to escape or recover from domestic violence, including changing residences; obtaining counseling for a mother and her children; attending to civil legal matters such as protection orders, divorce, custody and visitation; or dealing with criminal legal matters related to the batterer.

According to the Urban Institute report, programs that have substantially changed the overall culture of their TANF offices have been most successful in identifying TANF applicants who have problems related to domestic violence. These programs focus on identifying barriers to work that clients face and working with women to address and overcome the barriers. In many of the sites where a cultural shift has occurred, welfare workers receive extensive training, funded by TANF money, to create an atmosphere of trust and safety where women can be more comfortable disclosing domestic violence, rather than an atmosphere of distrust and an attitude that recipients will try to "cheat the system." (Under the old AFDC program, many recipients reported that caseworkers did not trust them and were constantly looking for examples of fraud.) Some of these offices attribute their culture shift to worker attrition and replacement as much as to staff retraining. The offices also display posters and brochures about domestic violence and other barriers to self-sufficiency, such as substance abuse, and women generally have several opportunities to disclose domestic violence as they apply for and receive assistance. The TANF program in El Paso County, Colo., has joined the local DVERT program-a multi-disciplinary response team that includes the local domestic violence service provider, child welfare agency, district attorney, law enforcement personnel, and the Humane Society. This group works to identify the most severe and dangerous cases of domestic violence and child abuse and coordinates intervention efforts with those families. In spite of these efforts, the rates of disclosure are low compared to the number of women who, according to research, experience domestic violence. Of the seven sites visited by the Urban Institute, the El Paso County program had the highest disclosure rate. Between 20 percent and 30 percent of applicants every month indicate problems related to domestic violence. The disclosure rate at other sites was typically much lower.7

At least eight states have contracted with local domestic violence service providers to place a specially trained staff member in the TANF office to identify and assist TANF applicants who experience domestic violence. State domestic violence coalitions, including those in Alabama, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, coordinate these programs at the state level and assume responsibility for training programs. In some cases, a staff member from a local domestic violence program spends a few hours a week in the TANF office. In other locations, the staff person may work full-time in the TANF office. The domestic violence advocate also may be a state or local employee. These on-site experts may provide assistance in several areas.

• Counseling and safety planning for applicants who disclose domestic violence.
• Referring victims to other resources in the community such as shelters and legal advocacy.
• Training TANF caseworkers and other staff to identify possible victims of domestic violence and help the victims address the barriers to self-sufficiency that domestic violence imposes.
• Developing screening tools and protocols to help identify domestic violence victims.
• Enhancing relationships between the TANF office and local domestic violence advocates and service providers.
• Serving as a resource for TANF staff who themselves may be experiencing domestic violence problems.

El Paso County's program locates domestic violence advocates, child welfare workers, mental health advocates, child support workers, child care workers, and vocational rehabilitation workers in the TANF office. The program realizes that most hard-to-serve families face multiple barriers to self-sufficiency and that a family that is experiencing domestic violence is likely also to be involved with the child welfare program and may have substance abuse issues. Having experts from all these programs in the TANF office allows workers to consult with each other as they work to meet the numerous needs of families on welfare.

The welfare office in Kern County, Calif., also works closely with domestic violence and child welfare advocates. When a TANF applicant discloses domestic violence, her case is also referred to child welfare workers for assessment, and a plan is developed to address the safety issues of both the abused mother and the children.

TANF recipients are required to cooperate with the state child support agency by providing any information they have on the whereabouts of the other parent. Pursuing child support may anger an abusive partner, prompting him to retaliate. It can also help an abuser discover the location of a former partner. In most child support actions, legal forms and orders that contain detailed information including home and work addresses and phone numbers are routinely shared with both parties. Federal lawmakers realized that this practice may place some women in danger and allowed women to apply for a "good cause" exemption from the cooperation requirement.

Very few women who disclose domestic violence choose to pursue a good cause exemption from child support requirements. Even when the father of the children is a batterer, most women want to collect child support because the additional money can be vital to a family's economic survival. Some experts believe that the welfare reform law does not adequately address the concerns of domestic violence victims because it forces women to choose between safety and sufficient income. They argue that states need to explore more strategies that allow domestic violence victims to safely pursue child support. Demonstration projects in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York have tested various approaches; which include:

• Notifying parents when service of child support papers or other contact with an abusive partner will occur;
• Excusing parents from attending court hearings where an abusive partner will be present or providing protection if such contact is necessary;
• Safeguarding address and other information that might help an abusive partner locate a client at risk; and
• Ending or modifying support enforcement tactics if they pose a danger to the client.

Officials in these projects emphasize that providing domestic violence training to child support workers is key to the success of the initiatives.

An increasing number of states are using TANF funds to train welfare caseworkers to address domestic violence issues. For example, Alabama, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia have used TANF funding to train staff to recognize and appropriately respond to domestic violence within the TANF caseload. Most of these states have provided domestic violence training to all state TANF workers and include collaboration with local domestic violence service providers. Training initiatives usually include cross-training for domestic violence advocates on TANF policies and procedures, and many also include collaborative training with child support, child welfare and job training staff. In Colorado, the City and County of Denver holds a half-day domestic violence training twice a year. In El Paso County, Colo., the on-site domestic violence advocate provides ongoing training for new TANF workers. In fact, many of the workers in El Paso County report that they feel comfortable handling the concerns of domestic violence clients directly and do not automatically turn over all such cases to the advocate.

Conclusion

States vary widely in how they have chosen to help women who request public assistance and who are exposed to domestic violence. Even though the provisions for domestic violence contained in the welfare reform law are limited, some states have used the flexibility of the TANF block grant structures to design innovative approaches to help women who are struggling with domestic violence. TANF programs that have implemented a major "culture shift" in their approach to public assistance have identified more women with domestic violence issues and offer those women additional help. The experiences of these programs demonstrate that states can help those with significant barriers to employment achieve safety and work toward self-sufficiency.

Figure 1. States and Jurisdictions that Have Implemented the Family Violence Option is not available online. Please view the Adobe Acrobat version.

Notes

1. Jody Raphael and Richard M. Tolman Ph.D., Trapped By Poverty, Trapped By Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare (Ann Arbor, Mich., and Chicago, Ill.: Project for Research on Welfare, Work and Domestic Violence, April 1997).

2. Ibid., 32.

3. Ibid., 33.

4. Stephanie Riger et al., Obstacles to Employment of Women with Abusive Partners (Chicago, Ill.: University of Illinois at Chicago, Women's Studies Program, 1997), summarized in Jody Raphael and Richard M. Tolman Ph.D., Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: Supplement I (Ann Arbor, Mich., and Chicago, Ill.: Project for Research on Welfare, Work, and Domestic Violence, July 1998), 5.

5. L.S. Lein et al., "With the best of intentions: Family violence option and abused women's needs," Violence Against Women 7 (2001): 193-210.

6. Martha R. Burt, Janine M. Zweig, and Kathryn Schlichter, Strategies for Addressing the Needs of Domestic Violence Victims Within the TANF Program: The Experience of Seven Counties (Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, 2000), xii - xiii.

7. It is not clear why El Paso County has achieved a higher level of disclosure than other locations. Researchers believe that the two levels of formal screening for violence during TANF intake, TANF workers' familiarity and comfort level with domestic violence, and the program's commitment to address violence when it is identified all contribute to women's willingness to disclose domestic violence.

Selected References

Burt, Martha; Janine M. Zweig; and Kathryn Schlichter. Strategies for Addressing the Needs of Domestic Violence Victims Within the TANF Program: The Experience of Seven Counties. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, June 2000. Http://www.urban.org/welfare/dv_tanf.html.

Raphael, Jody, and Richard M. Tolman, Ph.D. Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare. Ann Arbor, Mich., and Chicago, Ill.: Project for Research on Welfare, Work, and Domestic Violence, April 1997. Http://www.ssw.umich.edu/trapped/pubs_trapped.pdf.

---. Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: Supplement I. Ann Arbor, Mich., and Chicago, Ill.: Project for Research on Welfare, Work, and Domestic Violence, July 1998. Http://www.ssw.umich.edu/trapped/pubs_trapped_sup1.pdf.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Family Assistance. TANF Program Policy Questions. Http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/polquest/index.htm.

Wilkins, Andrea. "Domestic Violence and Welfare Reform." LegisBrief (National Conference of State Legislatures) 9, no. 27, (June/July 2001).

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Anne Menard, Senior Advisor for the Domestic Violence Resource Network, for offering valuable assistance and insight. This publication is funded by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

For More Information

Sheri Steisel and Lee Posey
NCSL-Denver
(202)624-5400
sheri.steisel@ncsl.org
lee.posey@ncsl.org

STATE LEGISLATIVE REPORT is published 12 to 18 times a year. It is distributed without charge to legislative leaders, council and research directors, legislative librarians, and selected groups for each issue. For further information on STATE LEGISLATIVE REPORT or to obtain copies, contact the NCSL Book Order Department in Denver at (303) 830-2054.

© 2002 by the National Conference of State Legislatures

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