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Page | 46 Part F- Historical

26.0 HISTORICAL 26.1 Hawaii's TANF program is based on the PRWORA of 1996 and the DRA of 2005, which reauthorized the TANF program in February 2006. Hawaii used a planning task force for the development of the TANF program in 1996 when PRWORA was implemented and in 2006, when the DRA of 2005 was passed. The task force was composed of public and private sector individuals. The plan was presented numerous times in the community with an opportunity for public input and comment. All comments and recommendations were considered, and many were incorporated into the final program plan. Administrative rules were drafted to govern the program in 1996 in compliance with PRWORA. These rules were promulgated in accordance with the Hawaii Administrative Procedures Act (Chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes). There was a public comment period of forty-five (45) days to allow individuals and local government organizations and public organizations to provide comments before finalization. The TANF program, according to the 1996 welfare reform, rules were implemented when our “Pursuit of New Opportunities” (PONO) waiver expired in October 2004. Administrative rules were drafted to comply with the DRA of 2005. 26.2 Hawaii’s PONO Program, was approved on August 16, 1996, as a Section 1115 waiver demonstration. The PONO program was an eight (8) year project, effective from December 1 to September 30, 2004. The PONO program initiated the State’s reform, mirroring the federal welfare reform policies. The PONO program encouraged and supported the formation and maintenance of two- parent families. One of the primary hypotheses of the PONO demonstration project was that families need two incomes to survive in our economy. Hawaii, therefore, ran parallel programs for one and two-parent families. There were no penalties for households that included two (2) adults. Compliance with the CSEA was a condition of eligibility. Families who failed to comply, without good cause, were ineligible for financial assistance until they complied. Additionally, the Department had discussions with CSEA regarding Welfare-to-Work eligibility for absent parents and financial incentives to encourage participation. 26.3 The domestic violence option and subsequent regulations were developed in collaboration with the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, and a work group comprised of public and private agencies and individual citizens. These participants represented a cohort of domestic violence agencies and advocates statewide and private citizens. The administrative rules for the amended program were drafted and a Notice of Public Hearing was published the week