Kentucky One of Nine States Chosen for Grants to Streamline Services
« Back
Feb 27th, 2011
Kentucky One of Nine States Chosen for Grants to Streamline Services
Kentucky is one of nine states selected by the Urban Institute to receive $250,000 each in planning grants to test inventive ways to streamline services for low-income working families.
Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina were chosen from 27 competing states for first-year grants as part of a five-year initiative with lead funding of $15 million from the Ford Foundation.
States participating in the "Work Support Strategies: Streamlining Access, Strengthening Families" initiative will design and—if chosen next year for an implementation grant— experiment with new integrated approaches to delivering work supports to low-income families, including health coverage, nutrition benefits, and child care subsidies. Without such supports, low-income workers often drop out of the workforce to manage family, health, and other crises, leaving them stuck in poverty and unable to climb up the economic ladder.
The Urban Institute is directing the project in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which is leading technical assistance to the states. Urban Institute researchers will also rigorously evaluate the new approaches' effectiveness.
"By supporting learning and experimentation, this project is designed to speed innovation and arm states with tools they are looking for to reach working families more efficiently and effectively," said Pablo FarÃas, vice president of the Ford Foundation's Economic Opportunity and Assets program. "We hope that it will lift up promising new ideas to streamline efforts across the country while better addressing the realities of busy working families."
States applying for grants had to secure the approval of their governors and the participation of key agency heads, generally a mix of those overseeing Medicaid, children's health insurance, food stamps, and child care subsidies. Planning grant recipients vary across many dimensions, including geography, demography, gubernatorial and legislative party control, and share of residents eligible for various benefits.
The applications were reviewed by an advisory committee of experts in policy and state operations, including participants from the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Academy for State Health Policy, and other organizations. After this review, project teams conducted intensive site visits to highly rated states.
During the first year, the nine states will thoroughly assess their current operations and develop plans for testing new ways of doing business. States that demonstrate they can execute their plans will compete for three-year implementation grants of up to $500,000 per year.
Project Goals
The Work Support Strategies project has three goals:
· improve the health and well-being of low-income families, stabilize their family and work lives, and enable them to progress in the labor force by increasing the share of eligible families receiving work supports;
· deliver benefits more effectively and efficiently, reducing state administrative burdens and the burden on clients; and
· glean lessons to inform broader state and federal policies.
"This project targets the central role that states play in helping families get the supports they need to work steadily while raising their children," said Olivia Golden, an Institute fellow at the Urban Institute and the project's director. "State officials tell us that streamlining these benefit systems is essential because past practices mean long bureaucratic delays for needy families, time-consuming and duplicative work for caseworkers, and budget-busting administrative costs for states."
Throughout the project, participating states will receive technical assistance from national experts in policy, operations, program evaluation, and project management. In addition, states' ideas will be sent to federal policymakers for policy guidance and refinement.
« Back
