How we spend TANF money.(letters to the editor)(Letter to the editor)

There has been much media coverage on how state and local agencies have been using the stimulus money, especially regarding Temporary Assistance for Needy Family funds. We have seen mostly critical, if not negative, coverage in general. But there are a lot of positive activities coming out of stimulus money. Among these activities is one being implemented by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, which is using TANF Emergency Contingent Funds for a subsidized employment program, with the goal of creating 10,000 subsidized jobs by Sept. 30, 2010.

This transitional subsidized employment program was developed as a post-assessment activity for participants who remain unemployed or underemployed after receiving services and job search assistance. The goal is to provide participants with hands-on experience in a real work setting so that they can earn an income while acquiring new skills and enhancing existing skills. The county's primary contractor for subsidized employment is the South Bay Workforce Investment Board, which subcontracts with WorkSource Centers.

Los Angeles will draw down 80 percent of its expanded subsidized employment costs from ECF. The remaining 20 percent will be funded by participating employers, and each employer's costs for supervising subsidized employees will count toward the employer's contribution.

To achieve the goal of 10,000 placements, Los Angeles will be using several recruitment strategies. Participants who remain unemployed after completing job search and for whom a lack of work experience is cited as a barrier to employment by a vocational assessor will be referred to subsidized employment.

Targeted recruitment will also occur within sub-populations, including time-limited safety net cases, those who are partially employed, participants receiving specialized supportive services (i.e., mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence services) whose clinicians have identified concurrent employment as a desirable element in their overall treatment plan, those facing housing instability and sanctioned participants.

Participants will be placed in subsidized employment for up to 40 hours per week at a pay rate of $10 per hour for up to 12 months. Enrollments in subsidized employment began in May 2009, and referral will cease in March 2010 (to ensure the last batch of referrals will receive at least six months of subsidized employment).

Participants will be placed into subsidized jobs in all sectors of the economy, and participants will be matched with jobs that match their Employment Plans. Slots are being identified in other county departments and public-sector agencies, in community-based organizations and nonprofit companies, as well as with private-sector for-profit firms.

The DPSS has acquired about a decade's worth of experience operating subsidized employment programs. Experience has highlighted a number of significant benefits participants receive from being placed in subsidized employment. First and foremost is that the earnings associated with the activity are a powerful motivator for securing long-term unsubsidized employment.

By working alongside an organization's regular employees, participants build higher levels of confidence and self-esteem, and develop good work habits and establish a recent work history, which is most beneficial when interviewing for unsubsidized jobs. Beyond developing and demonstrating a track record of responsibility, dependability and a strong work ethic, participants also acquire new skills and enhance existing skills acquired during traditional classroom training.

Seventy percent of participants who complete subsidized employment make a successful transition to unsubsidized employment. Since the program's inception in March 2003, a total of 4,431 participants have been enrolled in subsidized employment. Of this number, 3,350 have completed their programs and 2,356 have secured unsubsidized employment.

I think this transitional subsidized employment program is a wonderful example of how state and local agencies use TANF stimulus money to help the nation's most needy.

Philip Browning,

Director

Los Angeles County Department

Of Public Social Services

City of Industry, Calif.

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