A request by the state to restrict the use of financial aid given under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was denied by the federal government, according to a response obtained by the state Department of Workforce Services.
The waiver requested by the department for the program -- commonly known as welfare -- sought to restrict cash withdrawals from electronic benefit cards. The restriction also would have limited purchases to "essential and necessary" items such as food, clothing, housing, utilities, child care, transportation and medical needs not covered by insurance.
During its biennial fiscal session that ended in May, the Legislature approved an amendment to the Department of Workforce Services' appropriations bill ordering the department to seek the waiver.
During debate over the inclusion of the waiver amendment into the appropriations bill, many Democrats criticized the proposal as an unfair restriction on poor people.
The department sent its request for the waiver to Larry McDowell, the Dallas-based acting regional manager of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The letter, obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Thursday, was signed by Workforce Services Director Daryl Bassett on May 12.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services replied June 2 in a letter signed by Susan Golonka, the acting director of the Office of Family Assistance.
"Congress was clear that TANF recipients should have adequate access to their cash assistance, and [the Office of Family Assistance] will not be granting waivers of these provisions," Golonka wrote, using an acronym for the welfare program.
The state distributes money from federal block grants ranging from $13 million to $14 million annually, with around 9,950 families receiving aid in fiscal year 2015, the Democrat-Gazette previously reported. Monthly payments ranged from $81 to a single person to $475 for a family of nine. The aid goes to unemployed or low-income pregnant women and families with dependent children.
Despite the lack of support from the federal government, the backer of the legislative amendment, state Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, said he believed there was still room for the state to make adjustments to the program, pointing to restrictions in states such as Texas.
"There is a possibility for the administration that some of the revisions we requested could be enacted through the governor's office," Dotson said earlier this week.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Texas law limits use of the financial aid that beneficiaries receive to "goods and services necessary to the welfare of the family."
It was unclear what actions, if any, the Department of Workforce Services will seek in response to the denial of its petition.
Bassett did not return a request for comment left Thursday. Phil Harris, the department's assistant director in charge of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, did not return multiple messages left this week.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson was in Cleveland this week to attend the Republican National Convention, and a spokesman in Little Rock was unable to give details about what actions the administration would seek.
Metro on 07/22/2016