Testimony presented to Ohio House of Representatives subcommittee

House Finance and Appropriations Committee Human

Services Subcommittee

Testimony of Jack Frech, Director,

Athens County Department of Job and Family Services

March 17, 2009

Here is a link to an Ohio Works First fact sheet presented with the testimony.

Here is a link to a document telling the stories of a few of our clients. This document was also presented with the testimony.

Chairwoman Brown, ranking Member Burke and members of the subcommittee. I am Jack Frech, Director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services.
I am here today to request that the benefit level for the Ohio Works First Program be increased by at least $100 a month. According to the Governor’s budget proposal, the average OWF benefit is $358 per month. Under his plan, these families will only receive increased benefits of about $19 a month over the next two years. Even when combined with food stamps, the total benefits still are only slightly over half of the federal poverty level.

Today in Ohio, there are more than 140,000 children who depend on the OWF program. Their families are faced with daily struggles to meet the most very basic of human needs. They are often hungry, cold and living in substandard housing. It must be remembered that these are the families who are living by all of the rules of the “reformed welfare” system. They have work requirements, time limits, and strict eligibility requirements. We go to great lengths to verify that they are dirt poor, then we give them half of what we know they need to live on. I know of no other government policy which is as intentionally harmful to children.

Half of these children live with grandparents or other relatives. In a typical situation, a grandmother would receive only about $259 a month for the full time care of a child. That amount compares to:
· An average per child per month cost for childcare is about $450.
· Monthly foster care payments are about $600.
· Monthly payments for the Early Learning Initiative are over $1000.

Intervention programs to help these families such as job training, education , parenting classes, counseling and substance abuse treatment are all unlikely to succeed when so much energy must be focused simply on surviving. When parents are worried about how they are going to feed their children or where they are going to sleep at night, it makes it difficult to succeed in these other programs.

Currently, only about one third of the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families block grant is spent on direct cash assistance through the OWF program. While an additional $100 would not solve the problems these families face, it would make a huge difference in their daily struggle.

I would also ask that the committee restore the funds the Governor’s budget cut from the Counties. These funds have been used to provide a wide range of essential services to low income families as well as offer job and education support. Our agency is losing $1.3 million and 34 staff positions with the following consequences;
· Cuts in eligibility workers and job counselors will increase caseloads by at least 25%
· Work support programs to repair autos, provide gas vouchers for new hires, and pay for training, tools and uniforms have been eliminated.
· Nurses to conduct home visits to help families whose caretakers are disabled have been eliminated.
· A very successful dental access and other supportive health programs have been eliminated.
· A program to provide computers for low income children is gone.
· Contracts for Child welfare services, domestic violence intervention, home delivered meals, summer education camp for poor kids and Big Brothers Big Sisters have been terminated.

All of these cuts have been made at a time when our caseloads for cash assistance, food stamps and other programs are increasing. More and more people need our help, but Ohio has reduced the funding for the programs that have proven to be successful in helping these families.

Our families also struggle with a lack of behavioral health services, especially for adults. Mental health and substance abuse issues are far too prevalent in our clients’ lives. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that the appropriate services are there when needed.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of my testimony.

Stories of a few of our clients

We want you to know more about the people we serve and the challenges they face every day. Many get by each month with very little income. Some are facing health problems, some are single parents trying to pay for all of their family expenses, some are grandparents struggling to raise their grandchildren on fixed incomes, some have lost their jobs due to layoffs and others are working several jobs and still can't make enough money to pay all of their expenses.
Over the next few months, we will be posting stories about our clients, and letting them explain the obstacles they are facing and overcoming in thier lives. To read more about our clients and how today's economic conditions are affecting them, click here.

Video shows huge need at local food pantry

State, federal governments do not provide enough assistance to cover basic needs

Many people believe that cash assistance, food programs and other forms of public assistance provide enough to allow people living in poverty to get by, but that is not the case.
Cash assistance, called Ohio Works First (OWF), is only provided to families with children. The monthly funding is less than one-third of the monthly federal poverty level. The majority of OWF recipients are grandparents raising their grandchildren, and the second highest group of recipients is single mothers. The recipients have to meet strict requirements, including work requirements, in order to be eligible for benefits.
In 2009, a family of two will receive up to $355 per month in OWF funding, while a family of three will receive up to $434 per month.
By comparison, the federal poverty level for a family of two is $1,215 per month. For a family of three, it is $1,526 per month. Some families may also receive money for food through the Food Assistance Program, but that program is designed to only provide about two weeks worth of food per month.
The monthly income for these families is much less than the federal poverty level, and they are forced to turn to food banks and other charitable programs for assistance.
Many people living in poverty in our community have had to leave their homes to move in with family or friends or stay at shelters. Too many children live in overcrowded and unsafe homes and go to bed hungry. Grandparents who are living on fixed incomes often can’t afford the medicine or the medical care they need because all of their money goes to food and living expenses for their families.
People are living in abject poverty all around us, and we cannot allow this to continue.
The human and social service agencies in several southeastern Ohio counties are calling on state and federal leaders to make important changes to help these families.
· Ohio Works First funding must be increased by $100 a month.
· Food Assistance funding must be increased so that it can provide enough food for a whole month.
· Health care services must be available to all adults who live below the federal poverty level.
· Disability income must be increased.
· Funding for mental health and substance abuse counseling for families living below the poverty level must be increased.

These changes will not get families out of poverty, but they will make a big difference in their lives.
Please call, write or e-mail these representatives asking them to make these changes.
· Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland – Governor’s Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108. Phone (614) 466-3555. E-mail by logging onto http://www.governor.ohio.gov/ and then clicking on the link that says Contact The Governor.
· State Representative Debbie Phillips - Phillips represents the 92nd Ohio House District. The 92nd District Office can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 11th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2158. The e-mail address is district92@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative Dan Dodd – Dodd represents the 91sth District and has a mailing address at 77 S. High St., 10th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2500 or send an e-mail to district91@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative Clyde Evans – Evans represents the 87th District and can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 13th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-1366 or send an e-mail to district87@ohr.state.oh.us.
· State Representative T. Todd Book – Book represents the 89th District and can be reached by mail at 77 S. High St., 14th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111. Phone (614) 466-2114 or send an e-mail to district89@ohr.state.oh.us
· State Senator Jimmy Stewart – Stewart represents the 20th Senate District and can be reached by mail at Senate Building, Room #040, Ground Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. His office phone number is (614) 466-8076 and his e-mail address is SD20@senate.state.oh.us.
· State Senator John Carey – Carey represents the 17th Senate District and can be reached by mail at Senate Building, Room 127, First Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Phone (614) 466-8156 or send an e-mail to SD17@senate.state.oh.us.
· U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, Sixth District – 226 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone 1-888-706-1833. Wilson can be e-mailed through the link on his office Web site, which is located at http://www.charliewilson.house.gov/.
· U.S. Rep Zack Space, 18th District – 315 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone (202) 225-6265. Space can be e-mailed through the link on his office Web site, which is located at space.house.gov.
· U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown – 455 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone (202) 224-2315. Send e-mails from his office Web site, brown.senate.gov.
· U.S Sen. George Voinovich – 524 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone (202) 224-3353. Send e-mails through his office Web site, voinovich.senate.gov.
· The White House – 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. Phone (202) 456-1111. Send e-mails to comments@whitehouse.gov.

For more information contact Nick Claussen, community relations coordinator, Athens County Job and Family Services, at (740) 797-2523 or clausn@odjfs.state.oh.us.

The Athens County Fast and Free Tax Assistance Center is now open

If you’re filing a basic tax return this year, there is no need to pay anyone to help you prepare your return or to take out a refund anticipation loan.

The Athens County Fast and Free Tax Assistance Center is now open at the Work Station in The Plains. At the Center, area residents can file their basic tax returns for free, and they can receive direct deposits of their refunds in 7-10 days.

Unfortunately, there are professional tax preparation companies that take advantage of low-income citizens who don’t know about the free services available to all area residents. Many low-income taxpayers are so eager to get tax refunds that they turn to refund anticipation loans, pay stub prep, and prepaid credit cards, so that they do not have to wait to receive their refunds. These services attract those who can least afford them, promising to put money in their pockets the same day they file a return. Sadly, these services come at a steep price.

Refund anticipations loans (RALs) are loans based on an individual’s tax return. Taxpayers receive their anticipated refund amount the same day that they file their returns when they use these types of loans. However, they are not only charged the cost of preparing the return, but are also charged with incredibly high interest rates, ranging from 40 to more than 100 percent

The prepaid credit card option is really just a refund anticipation loan disguised as a credit card. Users are charged a fee to take cash out at banks and ATMs, in addition to the fees charged to prepare the return.

Pay stub prep is another approach that many companies use to speed up the income tax process. This occurs when they take your last pay stub of the year and prepare your taxes from it. However, this method is never a good idea, as it can often result in inaccurate results leading to the chance of being audited by the IRS.

The Athens County Fast and Free Tax Assistance Center is a free alternative to all of these high-cost, high risk approaches. At the Center, IRS-certified volunteers prepare simple, basic individual income tax returns FREE of charge for Athens County residents. There are no hidden fees and no high interest rates. With direct deposit of your refund into a checking or savings account, you can have your ENTIRE refund in as little as 7 to 10 business days.

The Tax Assistance Center is conveniently located at The Work Station in The Plains. Basic returns are prepared by appointment. If you want your refund fast and free, and if you have received all of your tax documents, call the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services Fast & Free Tax Assistance Center today to schedule an appointment at 740-797-2523 or 1-800-762-3775.