![](media/image1.png) ![](media/image2.wmf)

####### *A taskforce of the National Rural Development Partnership*

### 

### March 23, 2001

2:30pm EDT

### **Minutes**

#### I. Welcome & Introductions

> **Present on the call:** Cindy Ace (PA), Theresa Arney (DC) Robin
> Bernardy (NV), Lisa K Billups (FL), Lisa Brittingham (MT), Tiffany
> Carr (FL), Lara Compton (NY), Stevin Dahl (IA), Marian DeBuhr (NE),
> Peter Froning (NM), Gaila Gilliland (NE), Jan McDonald (NE), Claire
> Parins (IL), Margaret Pilch (WY), Don Shircel (AK), Linda Snedigar
> (MT), Sarah Vokes (DC), Carol Webber (PA), Shanna Whitley (DC), Cheryl
> Zalenski (IL), Julie Zimmerman (KY)
>
> **Presenters:** Eleanor Lyon, Ann Burek, Carol Krager, Tracy Cooley

#### II. Business Items

-   **Spring Conference:**

> The Spring 2001 National Rural Development Partnership Rural Policy
> Conference will be held from April 1-4 in Washington, D.C. April
> Bender, a member of this taskforce, will be presenting a workshop
> entitled, "The Service Constellation of the Rural Universe: A Look at
> Welfare Reform in Rural America." If you are interested in registering
> check out: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nrdp/M2001Registration.html

-   **Listserve:**

> If you are not on the listserve and would like to join, please let
> Sarah know. Also if you are joining the taskforce just for this call,
> please give Sarah your email address if you would like to receive
> minutes.

#### III. Special Presentations: Domestic Violence & Welfare Reform

#### Eleanor Lyon, Research Scientist, University of Connecticut, School of Social Work

-   **Ann Burek**, Senior Program Specialist, Office of Family
    Assistance, Administration of Children & Families, Department of
    Health & Human Services

-   **Carol Krager**, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Adult and
    Family Services, Oregon Department of Human Services

-   **Tracy Cooley**, State Coordinator, Maine Coalition to End Domestic
    Violence

**Eleanor Lyon, Research Scientist, University of Connecticut School of
Social Work**

Phone: 860-429-6422, Email: elyon@ct1.nai.net. For full summary of
research see:

http://www.vawnet.org/vnl/library/general/BCS10_POV.htm

There's a lot of research about the connections between welfare and
domestic violence.

-   Over ½ of the women on TANF say that they have experienced abuse
    from an intimate male partner -- twice the rate of the general
    population.

-   10-25% of women on TANF admit to having experienced abuse in the
    past year.

Domestic Violence effects women on TANF in many ways:

-   Women on TANF report more physical and mental health problems, and
    women who've experienced abuse have higher incidences of physical
    and mental health difficulties than other women on TANF. Those who
    have been abused in the past year are twice as likely to have health
    problems.

-   Women on TANF who've experienced domestic violence have higher
    incidences of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.

-   They are more likely to experience alcohol dependency.

Research also shows very clear evidence of explicit **direct sabotage**
of women's efforts to attain work and training. The rates of direct
sabotage are very high -- this has an effect on their participation in
work programs and training.. Some examples are:

-   Fights before key events like tests and job interviews,

-   Emotional abuse, like being told they will never succeed or other
    demeaning things,

-   Threats at work

One study in Wisconsin reported:

-   Half of women say they're not safe at work.

-   Many women have been fired because of domestic violence

-   Over one third have been hampered by abuse.

Women who've experienced abuse are more likely to cycle on and off
assistance -- but they continue their efforts to work. These women are
working; **the problem is in sustaining employment**. One study in
Washington noted that women who've experienced physical and sexual abuse
have had more jobs than other women, but were employed for less total
time.

**Other factors** are just as important in explaining sustained
employment. Women who have received job training, for example, are seven
times more likely to be working. Those who've gone through job placement
are four times as likely to be working. The good news is that the
negative effects can diminish over time with intervention.
**Intervention can help!**

Many states are finding that most domestic violence victims are **not
disclosing abuse**. When women do disclose abuse it's often of *past*
abuse but not *current* abuse. In one study in Wisconsin, some of the
factors that influenced women's disclosure were: the women didn't think
it was the TANF workers business, the women were ashamed of the abuse,
they didn't think the workers could help, they were afraid of losing
benefits, etc. Many women are most concerned about keeping their child
support.

Ann Burek, Senior Program Specialist, Office of Family Assistance,
Administration of Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services

Phone: 202-401-4528, Fax: 202-205-5887, Email: aburek@acf.dhhs.gov

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of
1996 gave states a lot of flexibility in designing their welfare reform
plans. The TANF program gives states a lot of options for how they want
to spend their state and federal funds. One of the aspects of this
flexibility is the "Family Violence Option" (FVO). That terminology
doesn't appear in the statute, but that is how it is referred. FVO was
added onto welfare reform though an amendment (Paul Wellstone, MN -- D
was a big proponent). Services for domestic violence are consistent with
the first two goals of the TANF program, which are to help needy parents
to achieve self-sufficiency and to encourage children to live at home
with parents or relatives. There aren't fiscal implications if you don't
adopt FVO. The one thing that there are implications about are what
potential liability states might have (penalties).

The **Family Violence Option** provides for three things:

-   Screening and identifications of victims of domestic violence, while
    maintaining confidentiality.

-   Referral to domestic violence services

-   "Good Cause Waivers" for as long as necessary.

TANF has a variety of accountability provisions for states --
requirements they must meet or they can lose part of their grant
(penalties). The main requirements states must meet are for:

-   **Work participation** -- state have to achieve a certain level of
    work participation

-   **Time limits** -- states cannot provide cash assistance to more
    than 20% of their caseload for more than five years

The final regulations for TANF were issued in April 1999, and they deal
with the FVO and good cause waivers. The final TANF regulation added a
third concept: Federally recognized good cause **domestic violence
waivers**. States can provide good cause waivers, if they meet the
federal requirements. As long as they meet the Federal requirements then
the states are protected from penalty.

These requirements were established to ensure that states didn't just
set aside domestic violence victims and ignore them. Instead states must
come up with a plan, a **service strategy**, for these people. The
waivers have to be requirement specific. States are required to develop
case-specific strategies for clients. These plans should be consistent
with fairness and safety, and they should be designed to lead to work.
States must assess individual cases to determine which requirements will
compromise the family's safety and then give waivers for those specific
aspects of the program. States can also give good cause waivers for
child support requirements.

The final regulations set up **new reporting requirements.** States have
to report the number of waivers they are giving, for example. All states
are saying that they are implementing plans for domestic violence
victims, regardless of whether or not they have opted for the FVO; 38
have implemented FVO.

Carol Krager, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Adult & Family
Services, Oregon Department of Human Services

Phone: 503-945-5931, Fax: 503-373-7032, Email: carol.krager@state.or.us

Oregon has different rules because the state is under a waiver from the
Federal government. This means that the time limits are different. OR
has adopted the FVO, but we have a broader definition of domestic
violence. The state has worked extensively with the Oregon Coalition
Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault in developing its program.

Oregon has a program of Temporary Assistance to Survivors of domestic
violence. When they are on this assistance it doesn't count against the
time limits for TANF. They focus a lot on trying to make sure that
clients know about this service. They advertise through brochures,
posters, etc.

Oregon has 15 districts, most of them are rural (12 of the 15 are
rural). Each district has developed its own plan. On the state level,
the requirements are that each district needs to:

-   Have a process for identification of domestic violence victims

-   Identify the appropriate services

-   Do Individual case planning

-   Complete staff education on domestic violence (conferences provided
    by domestic violence organizations, computer training)

Each plan is a bit different, but they all have those aspects.

Disclosure: Oregon has had about 50% disclosure of domestic violence. We
have 4 questions on the application to help identify situations of
domestic violence, although none of the questions use the words
"domestic violence". What we find is that women will not disclose if you
use those words. Branches or districts can decide to use this screening
or they can work locally with their domestic violence provider, if
that's what they choose to do, to create their own screening.

We work closely with domestic violence service agencies. Districts have
domestic violence point people who are their staff in all branches and
districts. They collaborate with local domestic violence provider and
make sure communication lines are open. We work to make sure that info
about domestic violence is available to all contractors for jobs
programs and other services. We also realize that families are not just
affected by domestic violence, so our intervention programs also include
programs for substance abuse, mental health, etc. Families are affected
by many issues, not just one.

**Tracy Cooley, State Coordinator, Maine Coalition to End Domestic
Violence**

Phone: 207-941-1194, Email: mcedv@agate.net

Domestic violence effects many aspects of a woman's life, including her
ability to use assistance and meet program requirements.

Maine opted not to use the Family Violence Option. Instead Maine decided
to treat domestic violence like other barriers that people have. And ME
has crafted options for anyone who has a barrier, including domestic
violence victims. ME is still meeting its requirements with caseloads
(the 20% limit).

In ME, we are focusing on **training** people who work with domestic
violence victims. Regional TANF offices have access to advocates to
learn how to do screening, learn what the effects of domestic violence
are on a TANF recipient. We are focusing on trying to have both service
providers and state government employees learn about each other -- so
that TANF workers understand domestic violence and advocates understand
the system.

Right now we are working with a **fee-for-service** system, compensating
for those providing services and training. That's been a stumbling
block: figuring out how to compensate the advocates.

**Regionally**, we have been meeting with New England states and New
York. We are sharing what's going on in our different states. The
Regional HHS Office is working hard to get some sort of application so
that someone can move from Massachusetts to Maine and not have to start
all over to get assistance.

**Disclosure**: Women have a lot of fears about disclosing abuse. They
prefer to work with advocates for screening; they don\'' trust TANF
workers to understand their situation, and there is also a great deal of
embarrassment and fear, as Eleanor mentioned. These fears are very real.
Training TANF folks to understand the effects of abuse and for advocates
to learn about TANF is very important.

# [IV. Discussion/Question & Answers]{.smallcaps}

**Question:** What if there is no domestic violence service provider in
a rural area?

**Carol Krager:** In some rural areas the domestic violence provider
might not be in that county. Often the service providers cover a 3-4
county area. So they might outstation their employees, do some in-kind
work and TANF offices might give them space in their office so they can
work with clients. In Oregon that's been crucial. Also some domestic
violence councils have written grants to get safe home networks in their
areas.

**Tracy Cooley:** In Maine we have service providers in all 16 counties.
There are outreach areas for the areas that are more rural.
Transportation continues to be the issue in getting whatever services
that rural families need.

**Carol Krager:** If someone is using a domestic violence program, TANF
dollars can pay for transportation. We are also working on outreach --
going to the clients, instead of bringing them to a central location.
Outreach satellite offices are being opened.

**Question:** Are there any other common barriers in rural areas?

**Carol Krager:** In Oregon the problem continues to be a lack of
resources in rural areas. In Oregon they do not adequately fund domestic
violence programs; we're not unique in that by any means! Some of the
advantages in rural areas are that collaboration between partners (TANF
agencies, domestic violence service providers) is easier because
everyone knows each other. Collaboration is easier, but you have to be
more creative.

**Tracy Cooley:** Clearly in Maine we are struggling to keep up with
demand -- demand for knowledge about screening, for resources, training,
etc. So the challenge is to keep up with that demand and to build an
infrastructure that can respond.

**Question (Don Shircel):** Given the fact that caseloads have been
declining substantially in most states, is there any concern that the
20% limit may not be high enough to include the all domestic violence
victims, as well as others with disabilities or other "good causes"?

**Ann Burek**: The 20% standard does become tougher when the caseload
declines, and those who remain are often the hardest to serve. We're
approaching the 5-year time limit, and reauthorization is coming up next
year, so that'll be something we'll have to evaluate.

**Tracy Cooley:** In Maine we haven't experienced an economic boom.
Finding jobs with good wages is difficult. We're hoping that the state
program will be able to assist people when those five years are up.

**Carol Krager:** As long as someone is participating in a program (for
domestic violence, substance abuse, etc.), then it doesn't count against
the 2-year time limit. Effectively they haven't cut people off despite
the 2-year time limit.

**Don Shircel:** In Alaska, the state is currently debating statutory
regulations which would allow those cases to be fully funded with state
funds instead of with federal funds.

**Tracy Cooley:** I'd be happy to give names of people in Maine who were
useful in crafting decisions about "good cause" -- it could be useful.

**Don Shircel:** We are currently operating a tribal TANF program for
interior villages in the Yukon River drainage area. It's been our
experience that all of the tribal TANF programs in Alaska include a
domestic violence option specifically stated with their plans. I think
it'd be valuable to look at some of those tribal plans -- they're all
very different and it could be helpful. Some work with TANF funds, some
have more on going projects either with the Department of Justice's
Violence Against Women Office or through HHS.

**Carol Krager:** I also wanted to add that the Taylor Institute put out
a report on implementation of the Family Violence Option in 1999. Jody
Raphael and Eleanor Lyon were both involved.

**Tracy Cooley:** Reauthorization is coming up and I think that will be
the time to make some thoughtful comments on what is and what is not
working. In Maine there's been some work with the tribes and I want to
applaud the efforts of the tribes in Maine. They've got a seamless
system -- it'd be great to hear more about tribal plans.

**Don Shircel:** Our domestic violence provision takes a little bit of a
different perspective on focusing on the issue. Our villages in interior
Alaska are very isolated, so there are no roads that go to these places.
Some are 200-300 miles away from each other. Our service area is
slightly smaller than the size of Texas, and we service about 8,000. The
communities are on average about 150 people. When there is domestic
violence occurring in a community, the tribal courts are actively
involved and they exercise their authority with restraining authorities.
The dynamics in a smaller community of maybe 25-30 households are
different than in an urban area. Our TANF program does exempt
individuals from work participation if safety is a factor. As everyone
is aware, work is a dangerous place for a victim -- the perpetrator
knows where and when to find them. We also focus on coordination of
other efforts. Courts are encouraged to take action in their local
communities and require batterers to receive "re-education" through
state certified programs. As an incentive for batterers to participate
in these programs, they are allowed access to a portion of the household
TANF funds if they participate.

**Question:** Do other states have programs that include batterers
education?

**Tracy Cooley:** Mandatory batterers intervention as a requirement for
services from the state is an interesting idea! We don't have a model
here for batterers intervention. We have a system of certified
education, but only courts can order batterers services.

Carol Krager: We do not have batterer intervention standards in Oregon,
but Washington does. If the court orders it, we can collaborate, but
it's not an area that we've taken a great approach in. The staff needs
to better understand batterer behaviors. This is an area where we have
room to grow.

**Don Shircel:** Our problem here in Alaska is that there are only 15
certified batterers intervention programs. Two are in Fairbanks, but for
those in isolated communities, that's not a possibility. So we have a
non-compliance issue. Also in rural areas, there are different community
dynamics in an isolated area. Everyone in a community plays an important
role, so it's not as much an option to just kick someone out for their
behavior. Communities need to have alternatives. This reflects one issue
that rural communities don't' have the access to the types of resources
and services for victims and batterers.

**Tracy Cooley:** It seems like the ticket is to hold people accountable
-- that's the important aspect to changing the community.

**[V. Future Meetings]{.smallcaps}**

-   **Conference Meeting:** Wednesday, April 4^th^ at 8am -- The Welfare
    Reform Taskforce will have an in-person meeting at the NRDP
    Conference. I look forward to meeting you all there!

-   **April Meeting:** Reauthorization & Tribal TANF -- by conference
    call

Do you have any questions, comments or concerns? Please feel free to
contact:

> Sarah Vokes, NRDP Truman Fellow
>
> Department of Health & Human Services
>
> Phone: 202-690-6093
>
> Fax: 202-690-5672
>
> Email: sarah.vokes@hhs.gov