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United Way and Seamer Institute ask Senate to restore TANF earmark for family stability programs
Summary
United Way of Central Ohio asked the Senate Finance Committee to restore a TANF earmark that funded multi-city family stability programs; testimony said the programs have leveraged private match, prevented disruptive school moves and helped families retain housing.
David Ryerson, vice president for public partnerships at United Way of Central Ohio, told the Senate Finance Committee the family-stability programs funded by a TANF earmark have demonstrable results and asked the Senate to restore the earmark in HB96.
Ryerson described a multi-city network (Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Toledo and Cincinnati) that began receiving TANF dollars in 2019. He said the initial appropriation aimed to serve roughly 1,000 families and 3,000 children per year; subsequent public and private matching has expanded capacity. "All told, state support through TANF dollars over the last 6 years has allowed the family stability programs to serve 13,086 families and 33,202 children," he said.
He told senators the programs prevented 98% of disruptive school moves and that 79% of families achieved or maintained stable housing. Ryerson asked the committee to restore the TANF earmark at $1.5 million per fiscal year and to preserve the private-match requirement that doubled the state's leverage of funds.
The witness said TANF eligibility for these prevention and early-intervention services produces long-term cost savings and that the programs help avoid more intensive interventions such as rehousing. The committee did not move on the request during the hearing.
