Communities need to use a holistic approach to help families whose benefits are about to expire, the director of Alaska's Division of Public Assistance told members of the Matanuska-Susitna Agencies Partnership during a recent meeting at Valley Hospital Medical Center.
MAP is a group made up of individuals who work in the social services field. Nugen's Ranch, Head Start, United Way and Love Inc. are among the agencies represented.
Gov. Frank Murkowski at the beginning of the 2005 legislative session plans to introduce a bill to make permanent a program allowing Alaska Native nonprofit organizations to continue overseeing their regions' temporary assistance programs.
The state Legislature in 2000 authorized a pilot program, called the Native Family Assistance Program, that adds state money to federal funds so that regional nonprofit organizations can operate the welfare-to-work and welfare cash benefits programs under the state Department of Health and Social Service's Division of Public Assistance.
The number of Alaska families collecting welfare has dropped 54 percent since the inception of the federal welfare reform efforts in 1996, according to the state Division of Public Assistance.
In addition, spending on the program during that same time period has dropped nearly 58 percent, to $49 million, the division said.
"It's been a tremendous success," said Katherine Farnham, the division's director. "Our performance has been better than most states on employment outcomes. We've really placed an emphasis on getting people into work activities and then getting them off benefits."
Seasons Greetings to all! Following the Thanksgiving holiday, it is more than appropriate to say 'Way to GO! and THANKS' to our two latest DPAStars!
I am pleased to be able to share with you some updates on the division's Strategic Plan, and to commend the organization for your accomplishments so far. DPA's Leadership Team has been reflecting on all of the accomplishments and new initiatives of the past year, while also looking ahead and refining our plans. The Strategic Plan that was rolled out last year emphasized a strong focus on outcomes, performance measurement, continuous improvement, and building new teams and teamwork on the heels of reorganization. DPA is delivering on all accounts!
Since I announced the creation of a healthy marriage initiative in Alaska, there has been considerable interest and discussion throughout the state. In an essay entitled, "Sharing our learning with the community," Jeanne Curran of California State University and professor Susan Takata of the University of Wisconsin maintain, "Responsible democracy, representational or otherwise, requires a citizenry able to hear validity claims in good faith and come to collective action." Alaska's Healthy Marriage Initiative is a "coming to action" of sorts as we work to promote and protect the health and well-being of Alaskans. It has been my experience that good social welfare policy is developed when we engage in public discourse, especially to the extent we endeavor to hear the valid claims of those with opposing views.
Our Department has launched several initiatives over the past two years to increase the efficiency of our work and improve our delivery of services to Alaskans. On May 10th, the Commissioner continued this effort by approving a new regional framework for our Department. DPA will take part in the gradual transition from the multiple regional structures in DHSS to a set of common regions. We will do this by designing our own implementation plan and specifying our own timeframe that fully address our specific issues.
It has been a whirlwind few weeks since I accepted the appointment as Director of Public Assistance, I've begun to get around the state and look forward to continuing these initial visits to our various offices. I am honored and excited to be asked to join the DHSS team, and to work with you to fulfill our mission of helping Alaskans achieve self-sufficiency.
Katherine Farnham has been appointed Director of the DHSS Division of Public Assistance, filling the vacancy created by my appointment to Deputy Commissioner. Katherine joins DHSS from the State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, where she has served as Director of the Division of Business Partnerships and as Executive Director of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board.
Once again it's time for DPA stars. Given the incredible hard work going into our quality initiatives by staff all over the state and the stellar performance being seen in the plummeting reduction in the foodstamp error rate, DPA is quickly becoming a galaxy! So, plucked from the growing DPA constellations, here are our DPA Stars...