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Colorado State Plan Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Effective July 1, 2018

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Introduction and Summary

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), requires that the following plan be submitted by the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. The plan outlines how the State of Colorado implements the provisions of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and provides some specific detail regarding program design, employment-focused programming, eligibility criteria and benefit levels, administrative policies and procedures, fiscal information and certifications and assurances.

Colorado’s TANF program is known as Colorado Works and is designed to assist families in becoming stable and self-sufficient, reducing the need for the social safety net due to positive outcomes, particularly employment. Colorado values engaging low-income families in services and strategies that result in meaningful, self-supporting employment as the best strategy for promoting long-term well-being for those in poverty. In addition to the core function of the safety net, Colorado Works promotes job preparation, successful transition to and progression in work, and develops strategies and policies that ensure participants are engaged in an individualized and outcome-oriented plan that promotes well-being and economic security.

The Colorado Works program, in its design, also promotes capacity building and preventative measures to strengthen families, provide for positive youth development and healthy relationships. The Colorado Works program operates in all counties in Colorado and is administered locally by county departments of human/social services, per State statute. Each county enters into a performance memorandum of understanding with CDHS and has written county policies describing its program. CDHS is responsible for ensuring that all counties comply with the terms of their county policies, as well as with all federal and State statutes and regulations. County departments of human/social services have flexibility in determining the most effective approach for accomplishing the four federal purposes of TANF within their local area and within the parameters established by the State and federal government, including the authority to contract all or part of the program operation to private and/or public providers. Counties develop their program policies to deliver the most appropriate services to eligible participants in their communities. All local program policies must meet federal and State statutory and regulatory requirements.

In addition to the services and investments made by counties through implementation at the local level, CDHS is committed to supporting programs throughout the State that serve low-income families and that are designed to meet one of the four purposes of TANF. CDHS also administers the Personal Responsibility and Education Program (PREP) grant, which provides comprehensive and medically accurate sexual health education to teens.

Eligibility Criteria, Benefit Levels and Services