Scott's promise to tighten rules on welfare and work would require a bill

Gov. Rick Scott's promise to enact drug testing for welfare recipients received much attention in his first year in office. PolitiFact Florida's Scott-O-Meter, which tracks Scott's progress on his campaign promises, gave him a Promise Kept after the state Legislature passed a bill in 2011 that required Floridians who receive cash assistance to pass a drug test.

But during his 2010 campaign, Scott combined that promise with a related one about welfare, which has received much less attention. On his campaign website Scott wrote: "Imposing more stringent standards on non-compliance with work requirements and require drug screening for recipients, Florida could save $77 million." His website did not provide additional details about the work requirement component.

Welfare is a generic term for a federal-state program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. The program is designed to short-term provide cash assistance for impoverished families. As of August 2011, there were about 92,000 TANF clients in Florida and the average monthly benefit per family was about $240.

This report from the Florida Department of Children and Families explains the work requirements for TANF recipients. Federal law requires that each state receiving a TANF Block Grant, including Florida, must meet specific work participation rates -- 50 percent for all families receiving assistance and 90 percent for two-parent families receiving assistance, the report states. The work requirements vary depending on the recipient. For example, a teenage head of household can meet the work requirement by attending school, while a household with two parents eligible to work who receive federally subsidized child care are expected to work 55 hours a week combined. Florida has met its work participation rate in recent years, according to the report. (Work requirements are also explained in this state statute.) The penalties for non-compliance start at losing benefits for 10 days and can ultimately escalate to losing benefits altogether.

For some basic information about work requirements and non-compliance we contacted Kenneth Wolfe, a spokesperson at the federal Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

The state determines how many hours an individual must participate in a particular work-related activity and determines when there is a valid reason for missing work activity hours, Wolfe told us in an e-mail. If welfare clients refuse to meet work requirements, the state can cut back on their benefits and ultimately cut them off. The state can't penalize a family in certain circumstances if they lack child care.

We searched Nexis for news articles and couldn't find any steps that Scott took to impose more stringent standards in Florida on non-compliance with work requirements. We asked Scott spokesman Lane Wright for an update repeatedly between Aug. 16 and Aug. 22 and never received an answer. 

Sen. Nan Rich, the Democratic leader whose district includes part of western Broward County, said she wasn't aware of any changes at the state level to the requirements or penalties related to welfare recipients and work. But any such changes would require legislative approval said Rich, vice chair of the health and human services appropriations committee and a member of a committee that deals with legislation about children and families.

The Florida Department of Children and Families imposes financial penalties for non-compliance. Department spokesman Joe Follick said he was not aware of any planned changes at the state level.

We'll be on watch for any proposed legislation related to work requirements for TANF recipients during the 2012 session and how Scott responds. But for now we rate this Promise Stalled.