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Public Policy

The goal of the Disability Policy Collaboration is to impact national public policy for people with developmental disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, and their friends, families and loved ones.

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TANF

New Disability-Related Bill Introduced for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Reauthorization

On July 31, Senators Smith (R-OR), Jeffords (I-VT), and Conrad (D-ND) introduced S. 1523, the Pathways to Independence Act of 2003. The bill’s provisions, if included in the larger TANF reauthorization, would significantly help individuals with disabilities in low-income families move toward self-sufficiency. The Pathways to Independence Act of 2003 would improve the ability of states to help families successfully move from welfare to work while also ensuring that the needs of family members with disabilities are met.

More than 7 million individuals have transitioned from welfare to work since TANF was enacted in 1996. However, research shows that a very large proportion of individuals still receiving TANF assistance have a physical or mental disability of their own or are caring for a child or adult family member with a disability. PPC staff, along with colleagues from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), has been working to convince policymakers that Congress must take into account the needs of families with members with disabilities when designing policies for TANF reauthorization.

Major Provisions Included in S. 1523

Some of the major provisions included in S. 1523 would allow states to:

  1. Count participation in rehabilitative services as work as long as the individual is also simultaneously engaged in work activities.

    Under current law, states have the flexibility to ensure that individuals with a disability receive the rehabilitative services they need in order to move towards work. In recent years, increasing numbers of states have utilized the flexibility as they realized that some people need more specialized assistance in their transition back into the work place. Some of the current reauthorization proposals, including H.R. 4 passed by the House, only allow a state to count three months of rehabilitative services as work activity. An arbitrary limit of three months of rehabilitative services is inadequate in helping disabled members of a family to find and sustain employment. With proposed increases in state participation rates on the horizon, states may be less inclined to design programs and work requirements that would help assist people with the most severe barriers back into the workplace.


  2. Count rehabilitative services as work activity beyond three months as long as the rehabilitative services are mixed with work activity.

    UCP and The Arc believe a mix of activities and supports will help an individual with severe barriers move from welfare to work at a pace that will lead to success and greater independence.


  3. Count the time an adult in a TANF family spends caring for a child or adult relative with a disability as work activity.

    It is often very difficult to find safe, affordable, accessible, and appropriate child care for a child with a disability. Balancing the needs of a child with workplace responsibilities is challenging for all parents. In the case of caring for a child with disabilities, the challenge can be even greater. Some children’s disabilities require more frequent medical appointments or additional assistance at school, which requires a parent to spend more significant time away from work. While wanting to meet the needs of their child, a parent also wants to work as much as possible to receive the training necessary to secure a job outside of the home when their disabled child or adult relative no longer needs intensive in-home care.


  4. Receive work credit for the time a parent spends caring for a child or adult relative with a disability if the state determines this to be the best way to care for the individual.

    This provision helps to address the difficulty some TANF recipients face when they learn they must work outside of the home in order to meet work requirements. In such cases, a disabled, elderly parent or other relative would be left at home without the care they need to continue to live in the community.

Next Steps

Senator Smith asked CCD to submit a letter for the record expressing support for the legislation. PPC staff assisted in drafting the letter that was submitted into the Congressional Record on July 31, 2003. Nearly 40 disability organizations, including UCP and The Arc, signed onto the letter.

S. 1523 is only a step in the reauthorization process. The Senate Finance Committee has yet to consider the legislation, but is expected to do so in September. We are hopeful, and will continue to work to ensure, that the provisions in S. 1523 become part of the legislation as the Committee reauthorizes the TANF program.