State welfare agency seeks budget increase

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A family of three on the welfare rolls in Nevada receives an average of $348 a month from the state, an amount that hasn't changed since 1992, and Nevada's per-family average ranks it 32nd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

But Gov. Kenny Guinn has not included any money in his budget for increasing the allocation, advocates for the needy have noted. When asked about the subsidy levels Wednesday, state Welfare Administrator Nancy Ford told the budget committees of the Legislature that any increase would have to come solely from state money.

That's because the federal government gives the state a block grant for welfare and the amount hasn't been increased since 2001, despite the increase in the state's population, Ford said.

Outside the hearing, Jon Sasser, statewide advocacy coordinator for the legal services agency, said buying power has significantly declined in the last 13 years and he would like to see an increase.

But he said the emphasis of legislators seems to be to reduce the amount of money the state spends on public assistance.

"It will be difficult to get grant raises," he said.

Bobbie Gang, who has represented the Nevada's Women's Lobby, asked how a family of three could survive on $348 a month. The average grant was raised to $364 a month in the 1991 Legislature but was reduced to its current level when the state ran into severe economic problems in 1992.

Welfare officials point out that these families receive various other forms assistance because they qualify for Medicaid, the program for medical care; food stamps; child care if they are in training for a job; and assistance to help pay their fuel bills. Ford said the average yearly grant for energy assistance is $480.

The agency, which wants to change its name to the Division of Transitional and Supportive Services, is asking to increase its present two-year budget of $463.5 million to $478.7 million for the next biennium. Of that amount, $146.2 million could come from the state.

Officials say one reason the increase is needed is the welfare rolls will grow by a little more than 10 percent in the coming biennium. There are currently 23,717 welfare recipients, but the tally is expected to rise to 26,169 by June 30, 2007, the end of the second fiscal year.

The agency takes the applications for welfare, Medicaid and food stamps. Ford said it may also have to take applications for the new drug program for senior citizens on Medicare. That could require up to 11 new employees to process these applications and forward them to the Social Security Administration.

Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, said she doubted the senior citizens would be coming to the welfare offices for the applications. Ford said Social Security has only three offices in Nevada while the welfare division has branches scattered across the state.

Ford also said anywhere from two to 30 workers would be required under a proposed federal program to check for errors in the public assistance programs. The error measurement program, she told the committees, was "pretty onerous" and will require combing through an estimated 2,000 cases.

The division also faces a $2.1 million penalty from the federal government for failing to meet the training requirements for welfare recipients. Ford said the agency "had reasonable cause" because its welfare numbers increased dramatically after 9/11 and the staff had to be diverted to take care of new applications and other duties.

She said a "correction plan" has been submitted and she expected that the penalty would be waived.

Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, said the division did not "have a good strategy" to move people from welfare to jobs. Ford said her staff is dedicated to training and finding employment but added "if unemployment goes up, the caseload goes up."

Ford also said that state law needed to be changed to allow the division to seek additional state money if there was a downturn in the economy or a major catastrophe that prompts a jump in the number of persons applying for public assistance.

The current law prevents the division from approaching the Legislative Interim Finance Committee for extra money during the time between sessions of the Legislature.

Because of 9/11, the division spent down its $22 million reserve. And it won't have any reserve left by June 30, 2007.