# Presentation: 287885

- Grant E. Collins II
- Office of Family Assistance
- Administration for Children and Families
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

** ****TANF Access to the NDNH:**** DC Pilot and 10-State Statistical Analysis**** PARIS Conference****December 6, 2005**

## Why is NDNH Important?

- Welfare agencies historically have difficulty learning about employment
- Particularly challenging in urban and border areas
- Leaver study that used NDNH indicated higher rate of employment than known to agency
- TANF agencies rely on self-reports and other matching sources
- Issuing work supports may sustain jobs of new earners and more may be working than what is reported

## Current Computer Match Options for TANF Agencies

|  | IEVS | PARIS | SDNH | NDNH |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Accessed by All |  |  |  |  |
| Optional |  |  |  |  |
| Quarterly Wage Records |  |  |  |  |
| W-4 Records (New Hires) |  |  |  |  |
| Federal Employment Records |  |  |  |  |
| Cross-Border Employment (W-4) |  |  |  |  |
| Multi-State Employers (W-4) |  |  |  |  |

## National Directory of New Hires (NDNH)

- New Hires (W-4)
- New hires data from all States and federal agencies (30 days later)
- Quarterly Wage (QW)
- Wage information on employees from all States (4-6 months later) and federal agencies (1-3 months later)
- Unemployment Insurance (UI)
- UI information on those who receive or apply for UI benefits from all States (1-3 months later)

**NDNH and TANF**

## The Four Matches

| When Was the Match? | June 03 | July 03 | Jan 04 | Sept 04 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Over What Period? | 4/02-6/03 | 5/02-7/03 | 11/02-1/04 | 7/03-9/04 |
|  |  |  |  |  |
| What NDNH Component? |  |  |  |  |
| New Hires (W-4) |  |  |  |  |
| Quarterly Wage (QW) |  |  |  |  |

**NDNH and TANF: The DC Pilot**

## Matches as a Percent of SSNs

| Unduplicated Cumulative SSNs Matched | 20,096 |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unduplicated individuals with a match | 6,681 | 33% |

**NDNH and TANF: The DC Pilot**

## Employed as a Percent of Matches

| Unduplicated Individuals With a Match | 6,681 |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
|      Verified as employed | 5,410 | 81% |

**NDNH and TANF: The DC Pilot**

## Detail of Match Results

| Unduplicated Individuals With a Match | 6,681 |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Known earnings (verified) | 226 | 3% |
| Verified as employed | 5,184 | 78% |
| Verification pending | 578 | 9% |
| Verified not employed, never employed, or unverifiable | 693 | 10% |

**NDNH and TANF: The DC Pilot**

## Actions Taken as a Percent of Employed

| Verified as Employed | 5,184 |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Closed for exceeding earnings threshold | 2,436 | 47% |
| Incurred benefit reduction | 2,748 | 53% |

**NDNH and TANF: The DC Pilot**

## Actions Taken as a Percent of SSNs

| Social Security Numbers Matched | 20,096 |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Closed for exceeding earnings threshold | 2,436 | 12% |
| Incurred benefit reduction | 2,748 | 14% |

**NDNH and TANF: The DC Pilot**

## TANF-Reported Employment v. NDNH Adults with Earnings

|  | TANF |  |  | NDNH |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | Total Adults | Number Employed | Percent Employed | Percent with QW Earnings |
| 10-State Total | 547,093 | 137,171 | 25.1% | 34.4% |
| 1 | 210,621  | 69,470  | 33.0% | 35.2% |
| 2 | 8,110  | 3,252  | 40.1% | 50.9% |
| 3 | 98,553  | 19,494  | 19.8% | 27.4% |
| 4 | 45,087  | 12,585  | 27.9% | 42.0% |
| 5 | 21,196  | 6,118  | 28.9% | 44.1% |
| 6 | 46,230  | 11,076  | 24.0% | 37.6% |
| 7 | 29,084  | 4,480  | 15.4% | 29.6% |
| 8 | 4,098  | 754  | 18.4% | 37.7% |
| 9 | 73,563  | 9,200 | 12.5% | 32.5% |
| 10 | 10,551  | 742  | 7.0% | 29.3% |

**NDNH and TANF: 10-State Analysis**

## TANF-Reported Employment v. NDNH Adults with Earnings

**NDNH and TANF: 10-State Analysis**

## New Hires (W-4) Matches Using NDNHOctober 2004

## Implications of the NDNH for TANF

- Higher Work Participation
- Often more TANF clients work than known to agency
- Greater Program Integrity
- Agency can know of employment within days
- Increased Savings/Cost Avoidance
- States keep block grant savings and may re-invest at state discretion
- Improved Worker Efficiency
- Helps agencies sustain work and better serve employed clients

**NDNH and TANF**

## Benefits of Matching NDNH and TANF 

- Best Source of Information on Possible Employment
- 30 days (W-4) versus up to 9 months (QW)
- May help preserve time limited assistance and reduce recidivism
- Identify Gaps in Operations
- Find patterns-identify client status at “point of entry”
- Target matches for exempted, sanctioned, disengaged, applicants and other TANF adults
- Use as Mechanism to Issue Work Supports
- Use call-in process to deliver transitional benefits, undistributed child support, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

**NDNH and TANF**

##     
    “Access to the NDNH gives welfare agencies an unprecedented opportunity to learn promptly when TANF recipients go to work....The ability to know in a more timely way that a TANF recipient has gone to work, so that we can provide the appropriate services to help with this transition, makes the NDNH an essential tool in welfare administration.” 
                                           District of Columbia 

-     “*Access to the NDNH gives welfare agencies an unprecedented opportunity to learn promptly when TANF recipients go to work....The ability to know in a more timely way that a TANF recipient has gone to work, so that we can provide the appropriate services to help with this transition, makes the NDNH *_*an essential tool*_* in welfare administration.”*
-                                            District of Columbia