Health and Disability Issues
Major Barriers to Leaving WelfareReprinted with permission by Rachel Hickson from
Monday Morning, Developmental Disabilities Council,
Late November 1999The New Jersey Department of Human Services is sponsoring a five-year, comprehensive evaluation of welfare reform in our state. The primary purpose is to learn how adults and children subject to new welfare regulations are faring - both while on welfare and after leaving welfare. This study involves following and interviewing a random sample of welfare clients several times over five years. DHS will use the information collected to improve both program administration and client outcomes.
Here are just a few of the findings from the first survey of welfare clients, which was published October 21, 1999.
The single largest barrier to work reported by the 1,400 clients and former clients was health problems - theirs or their dependents.
Thirty-six percent of Work First NJ Clients reported having health problems at the time of the survey. One in four said they had been seriously ill in the past year; 22 percent reported that their health limited the kind or amount of work they could do. One in 10 clients reported that they could not work at all because of their health.
Health problems were particularly common among clients still receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and not currently working. Among this group, 49 percent reported a health problem, and 39 percent reported being seriously ill in the past year.
Thirteen percent of welfare clients who had not worked at all since entering welfare (the past 21 months, on average) say they were not working because of another household member’s health problems. (Welfare recipients must now work or be preparing for work or risk losing their benefits.)
The results of the evaluation should be of interest to disability advocates and service planners for these reasons:
The welfare/post-welfare population may include people who belong in SSI or SSDI coverage but for whatever reason have not obtained it. DHS believes that there is a sizeable proportion of people on welfare (and people on general assistance) in NJ who cannot work (now or in the future) because of disabilities. Special advocacy efforts may be needed to get them through the SSI application process. DHS is already sponsoring an initiative, through Legal Services of NJ, to help with applying for SSI should they need it.
People with disabilities who cannot get SSI may need extra help dealing with the work requirements under the new welfare law, and/or getting a disability-related exemption from work requirements. Otherwise, they risk losing their welfare benefits after two years.
Early results indicate that the fraction getting a work deferment is far smaller than the fraction claiming a health-related difficulty with being able to work. The Division of Family Development will be looking closely at the situations of people who have a health-related work deferment, to see if they need rehabilitation, help with applying for SSI, or other assistance.
There is already measurable evidence that people leaving welfare lose Medicaid coverage at a higher rate than should be happening. To some extent, administrative snafus are to blame; however, some clients do not have or understand all the information to help them keep their Medicaid benefits.
The full survey report is available at http://www.mathematica-mpr.com