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United Way asks Senate to restore TANF earmark for family-stability programs after demonstrated results
Summary
United Way vice president David Ryerson urged the Senate to restore a TANF earmark that funds family-stability programs, saying state support leveraged private dollars and the programs prevented disruptive school moves and stabilized thousands of families.
David Ryerson, vice president of public partnerships at United Way of Central Ohio, urged the Senate to restore a TANF block-grant earmark funding the Seamer Institute’s family-stability programs. Ryerson said the programs, funded in part by TANF since 2019, had been designed to prevent housing instability and disruptive school moves; he reported the programs served 13,086 families and 33,202 children over six years and claimed outcomes including prevention of 98% of disruptive school moves and increased household stability. He said the TANF bridge attracted private matching funds, more than doubling the state’s $7 million investment into nearly $16 million of combined public and private funding.
Ryerson asked the Senate to restore the family-stability TANF earmark at $1.5 million per fiscal year and to preserve the private-match requirement; he argued that early intervention through family-stability programs reduces more costly downstream interventions such as rehousing or increased social services.
Why it matters: The testimony links a specific TANF earmark to demonstrable program outputs and leverages the state appropriation into private leverage; restoring the line item would maintain the service continuum targeting eviction-related school moves and family stabilization.
Ending: Ryerson requested restoration of the $1.5M-per-year award and said the partnership with JFS and local United Way organizations shows TANF eligibility for the program and the capacity to deliver state policy goals.
