We are proud to announce the release of the 2003 Welfare Status Report, covering the first five years of welfare reform in Alaska. This report, along with the previous reports are also available for viewing on the DPA Publications page.
Click to read the 2003 Welfare Status Report (pdf).
Nearly identical to a plan put forth by President Bush, the GOP legislation passed by a 230-192 vote, largely along party lines. It would renew a 1996 welfare overhaul that allowed states to impose tough new rules and helped spark a massive reduction in welfare rolls.
Editor's Note: The Senate must still pass a similar bill for these rules to become law, and the President must sign it. View the full story by clicking here.
National totals for fiscal year 2002 show recipient caseloads ended the year at 4,995,719 -- decline of 6.2 percent since the end of previous fiscal year and a decline of 59.2 percent since August of 1996, when the TANF law went into effect. Additionally, families receiving TANF benefits declined 3.9 percent to 2,024,691 since the end of the previous fiscal year. Overall, since the TANF legislation was enacted in August of 1996, the number of families receiving TANF assistance has dropped by 54.1 percent, according to statistics from HHS' Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
Full report: TANF Fifth Annual Report to Congress
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the release of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Fifth Annual Report to Congress. The report, covering fiscal year 2001, highlights the status of the TANF caseloads, work participation rates, state expenditures, characteristics of TANF recipients, and other state policies.
Happy New Year to all! 2002 was a productive and fulfilling year for DPA. It brought us great positive change with enhancements to the Temporary Assistance Program through law and field-designed process improvements. The EOIP has brought us improved office organization and management, setting the stage for the performance improvements we
Anchorage K-Mart will no longer be accepting supportive service vouchers. They also have requested that any and all bills be paid in full by 2/22/03.
MANUAL CHANGE #25 AND REVISED NOTICES
Medical Assistance Manual Change #25 is back from the printers and is being
mailed to all district offices this week. This manual change includes new policies,
manual sections, clarifications, and technical corrections. A summary of changes
is listed in the cover memo with the manual change instructions.
In an effort to increase network security the password for all staff and provider accounts has been changed effective January 22, 2003. These accounts are office specific and are used by contractors, temporary and mobile staff for network access.
Please telephone Network Services Helpdesk for the new password. (907) 269-3444.
The Division of Public Assistance Security Agreement for EIS, Network, and Related Systems is available on the Systems Operations web site. This form (previously known as the EIS AND NETWORK SECURITY AGREEMENT) is used for all personnel needing access to mainframe programs including EIS, web applications such as INGENS, and other network services. In order for the new features of the form to work correctly, Internet Explorer must be used.
The following Manual changes have been posted to DPAweb. ATAP Manual Change 7, Food Stamp Manual Change 9, and Child Care PASS I Manual Change 2.