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ISSUE BRIEF Rhode Island Works 3 of 4 limits are more stringent than federal law, which impose a 60-month lifetime limit for TANF recipients.) Rhode Island’s time limits apply to parents, caretaker relatives, and children, although children whose parents receive SSI benefits and children who live with a caretaker relative who does not receive assistance are not subject to time limits, although they are only eligible for assistance until their 18th birthday. The 24-month time limit was postponed when the program was created so that the “clock” would not start until July 1, 2008. As a result, the first families to lose assistance based on the 24-month time limit did so on July 1, 2010. The Department of Human Services (DHS) estimates that 807 families lost eligibility for cash assistance on that date. Families who reach a time limit may apply for a “hardship extension” of three months based on disability, homelessness, domestic violence, or statewide economic conditions. In response to Rhode Island’s record unemployment, DHS is temporarily increasing the length of the first hardship extension from three months to six months to provide additional assistance to those families expected to close in 2010 due to the 24-month time limit. Of the 807 families who reached the limit on July 1, 349 (43.3 percent) applied for and received a hardship extension. PROGRAM BUDGET AND CASELOAD HISTORY Starting in state fiscal year 2010, no state funds are used to provide cash assistance: the entire cash benefit budget is funded through the federal TANF block grant. The FY2011 enacted budget appropriated $41.8 million (all federal TANF funds) for the Rhode Island Works program, including cash payments, transportation subsidies, and other supportive services. The November 2010 Conference adopted an estimate of $39.8 million for FY2011 and $39.5 million for FY2012. By contrast, the budget for the program in FY2006 was $67.2 million, of which $16.1 million was state funds. Figure 1: TANF expenditures and caseloads (FY2006-FY2012) $0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 $70 $80 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Millions 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 Federal State Caseload (Right axis)

The total caseload has decreased by half from more than 33,000 individuals in FY2006 to 16,255 in FY2011. This decrease is attributable primarily to policy changes rather than economic developments. Caseloads had been gradually and steadily decreasing under the predecessor to Rhode Island Works, the Family Independence Program, as families moved off of assistance and obtained employment. With the institution of the stricter lifetime limits and eligible work activities under Rhode Island Works, the decline in caseloads accelerated.