Each year, thousands of people move off the state welfare rolls.

They find work in professional, technical and management positions, in construction, office work and sales, hospitality and health services, and other job categories available throughout the state.

But they’re not on their own.

Many of those people get help through the state’s ASPIRE, or Additional Services to People in Retraining and Education, program, which is funded through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families to help recipients find employment that pays enough to make it possible for them to get off welfare.

A separate ASPIRE program, ASPIRE/JET, works with food stamp recipients.

Through a process that can take as long as two years, they move through individualized training, education and preparation courses, designed by staff at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, that prepare them with the skills to find – and keep – a steady job.

Last year, 11,045 people entered employment through the state’s ASPIRE program, according to Barbara Van Burgel, director of the Office of Integrated Assistance and Support at DHHS. That number represents a little more than half of the people receiving state aid through the TANF program.

Van Burgel’s department administers the TANF program and also oversees ASPIRE, whose services, she said, are designed to provide clients with the skills, education and training they need to find permanent employment.

“We’re successful in helping people to get back on their feet,” she said.

There is a perception that people can continue to receive benefits long term, she said.

“Our statistics indicate that that is just not a fact,” she said.

Since 1996, Van Burgel said, the state has had a very low return rate. Of the approximately 74,000 who have received TANF benefits during that time, about 63,000 have left the program and did not come back, she said.

As of June, the ASPIRE program had 8,451 participants. That is about 87 percent of the TANF participants who are eligible for the program.

Developing a work plan

An initial interview with DHHS staff determines a participant’s eligibility for TANF benefits, including their willingness to work with the department’s child support enforcement unit.

Some people get help from TANF for such a short period of time that they do not move on to the ASPIRE program. Others who are disabled and can’t work or are too young to work also do not move on to ASPIRE.For the rest, the process of getting off state aid is mostly individualized and can be involved.

Working with a department specialist, participants identify work goals and the barriers that exist to employment, Van Burgel said.

“We try to design a plan to help get them back on their feet and back to work,” Van Burgel said. “[The specialist and participant] work together to … figure out a road map – what they need to do that.”

Most TANF recipients are required to develop a self-sufficiency plan that includes a federally required work component. The plan and work component are included in a contract which the Office of Integrated Assistance and Support requires clients to sign. Failure to meet the terms of the contract will result in a loss of benefits, Van Burgel said.

The required work activity may include education, training or employment plans, as well as pre-work activities designed to reduce barriers to employment. Pre-work activities, she said, often focus on life management skills such as budgeting, choosing appropriate child care, or arranging reliable transportation, skills that are needed to maintain employment successfully.

Often, those life management skills are taught by DHHS staff in conjunction with the work skills component, to give participants the “real-life” experience, she said.

Programs are individualized and designed specifically for each client, according to Van Burgel.

“We try to look at the individual, their finances and their location,” she said. “We look at what their interests are and what they like to do. We do everything we can to increase the probability for their success. The programs are quite diverse.”

Education

Education qualifies as part of the required work component and, according to Van Burgel, falls into different categories. The department has a “Parents as Scholars” program which provides support for participants seeking two- and four-year college degrees. About 676 people now are enrolled in college classes through that program, but that number will almost double to between 1,000 and 1,200 people when classes begin in the fall, she said.

Participants also work on high school diploma programs. Last year, 689 received their GED diplomas and 537 were enrolled in high school completion programs.

Education also takes the form of specific work skills courses ranging from welding and clerical training to specialty medical services training.

While clients work on their plans, the department provides financial support beyond the basic benefits to help clients take advantage of training, education and job opportunities. Support covers things such as child care and transportation, items they could not afford on the basic benefit.

Although education and training are the focus of the ASPIRE program, Van Burgel said, the program does not directly provide many of those services.

“A very small portion of the budget goes directly to training programs,” she said. “We try to leverage other ones.”

The program works with the Department of Labor, which offers a variety of training programs along with other sources of training such as adult education, postsecondary education, and employers who provide on-the-job training programs.

ASPIRE provides support funds that help clients continue to participate in those programs, she said.

Transformation

Once participants find paying jobs, state benefits are reduced and they lose the TANF support. The department, however, continues to provide some transitional benefits which can include help with child care and transportation, as well as food stamps and Medicaid benefits.

“Those taper off and then, they’re on their own,” Van Burgel said.

“I’m very proud of the work we do,” Van Burgel said. “And I’m very proud of the individuals we work with. They are trying to make a major transformation in their lives. It takes a tremendous amount of hard work for them to get back on their feet. It’s not an easy transition.”

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

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Federal funds, requirements

TANF is a federal program, with federal eligibility guidelines that do not vary from state to state, according to Barbara Van Burgel of DHHS. The federal government provides a maximum of $78 million to the state for the program which also funds the ASPIRE program.

In order to receive those funds, the state has to provide a “maintenance of effort” contribution which is determined by whether it has met specific federal performance standards, including having at least 50 percent of recipients participating in the work component.

According to DHHS figures, the state has met the requirement. About 60 percent of TANF recipients, or about 5,800 people, now are involved in work programs. While the numbers of participants are expected to remain high, Van Burgel said, the percentage may be lower this year as the state struggles to find ways to meet new, more stringent federal verification requirements.

The minimum state contribution is $37 million. If Maine does not meet the 50 percent standard, the state’s share goes up to $40 million and increases yearly based on performance. Approximately $11 million of the state share comes from child support collection.

From ASPIRE to work: jobplacement for 2006

Employment through the ASPIRE program tends to follow the labor market closely. ASPIRE figures for 2006 show where program participants got jobs.

Professional, technical, management: 5.6 percent

Clerical, sales: 17.1 percent

Service (including hospitality and medical services): 69.2 percent

Agricultural: 1.6 percent

Structural (construction) work: 2.1 percent

Machine trades: 1 percent

Benchwork: 1.8 percent

Processing: 1.3 percent