Topics on this page: Goal 3. Objective B | Table of Related Performance Measures | Analysis of Results | Plans for the Future | Objective Progress Update Summary
Goal 3. Objective B: Promote economic and social well-being for individuals, families, and communities
Strong individuals, families, and communities are the building blocks for a strong America. Many vulnerable Americans live in poverty, lack the skills needed to obtain good jobs, need supportive services to get or retain jobs, experience unstable family situations, or live in unsafe, unhealthy communities. Community disorganization and poverty can reduce the social capital of residents and can lead to a lack of accountability of, and trust in, public institutions like those dedicated to public safety and education. Lack of employment opportunities and low levels of academic achievement can lead to juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and criminal activity that are major drivers of community violence and family disruption.
Promoting economic and social well-being requires attention to a complex set of factors, through the collaborative efforts of agencies, policymakers, researchers, community members, and providers. HHS agencies work together and collaborate across departments to maximize the potential benefits of various programs, services, and policies designed to improve the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Many HHS agencies fund essential human services for those who are least able to help themselves, typically through the Department’s state, local, and tribal partners.
ACF is the principal agency responsible for promoting the economic and social well-being of families, children, and youth through income support, financial education and asset-based strategies, job training and work activities, child support and paternity establishment, and assistance for the provision of child care. State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Support Enforcement programs provide critical income assistance to some of the Nation’s poorest families, while helping mothers and fathers prepare for and secure employment. ACL and SAMHSA also provide essential supportive services to highly vulnerable individuals and families.
HHS and the U.S. Department of Labor are developing strategies to integrate and enhance skills development opportunities to help low-income individuals enter and succeed in the workforce. HHS is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand access to nutritional supports for low-income youth and families. Below is a sample of the performance measures that are used by HHS to promote economic and social well-being for individuals, families, and communities. The Office of the Secretary led this Objective’s assessment as a part of the Strategic Review.
Objective 3.B Table of Related Performance Measures
Increase the percentage of Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) state subgrant-funded domestic violence program clients who report improved knowledge of safety planning. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 14D)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 89.4 % | 89.7 % | 90 % | 90 % | 90 % | 90 % |
| Result | 90.7 % | 90.3 % | 92.6 %53 | May 30, 2015 | May 31, 2016 | Mar 31, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Increase the recipiency targeting index score for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) households having at least one member 60 years or older. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 1.1LT and 1A)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 75 targeting index score | 80 targeting index score | 85 targeting index score | 84 targeting index score54 | Maintain Prior Result | Maintain Prior Result |
| Result | 78 targeting index score | 83 targeting index score | 84 targeting index score | Nov 30, 2015 | Nov 30, 2016 | Nov 30, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Not Met but Improved | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Increase the recipiency targeting index score for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) households having at least one member five years or younger. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 1.1LT and 1B)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 110 targeting index score | 124 targeting index score | 116 targeting index score | 117 targeting index score54 | Maintain Prior Result | Maintain Prior Result |
| Result | 122 targeting index score | 114 targeting index score | 117 targeting index score | Nov 30, 2015 | Nov 30, 2016 | Nov 30, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Not Met | Target Exceeded | Pending |
Pending |
Pending |
Increase the percentage of refugees who are not dependent on any cash assistance within the first six months (180 days) after arrival. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 16.1LT and 16C)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 68.79 % | 71.75 % | 71.77 % | 69.76 % | 76.84 % | Prior Result +1% |
| Result | 71.04 % | 71.06 % | 69.07 % | 76.08 % | Nov 30, 2015 | Nov 30, 2016 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Not Met but Improved | Target Not Met | Target Exceeded | Pending | Pending |
Increase the percentage of refugees entering employment through ACF-funded refugee employment services. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 18.1LT and 18A)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 42.97 % | 51.02 % | 52.5 % | 54 % | 54.5 % | 54.75 % |
| Result | 50.02 % | 52.91 % | 49.33 % | Dec 31, 2015 | Dec 30, 2016 | Dec 29, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Not Met | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Maintain the IV-D (child support) collection rate for current support. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 20C)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 61 % | 62 % | 62 % | 62 % | 63 % | 65 % |
| Result | 62 % | 63 % | 64 % | Nov 30, 2015 | Nov 30, 2016 | Nov 30, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Increase the percentage of newly employed adult TANF recipients. (Lead Agency - ACF; Measure ID - 22.2LT and 22B)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 27.5 % | 30.6 % | 30.7 % | 32.5 % | Prior Result +0.1PP | Prior Result +0.1PP |
| Result | 30.3 % | 30.4 %55 | 32.4 % | Oct 31, 2015 | Oct 30, 2016 | Oct 31, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Not Met but Improved | Target Exceeded | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Increase the percentage of homeless clients receiving services who were currently employed or engaged in productive activities (Lead Agency - SAMHSA; Measure ID - 3.4.24)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 32.7 % | 32.7 % | 32.7 % | 31.7 % | 31.7 % | 31.7 % |
| Result | 32 % | 32.7 % | 31.7 % | 31.7 % | Oct 31, 2015 | Oct 31, 2016 |
| Status | Target Not Met | Target Met | Target Not Met | Target Met | Pending | Pending |
Increase the percentage of clients receiving services who had a permanent place to live in the community (Lead Agency - SAMHSA; Measure ID - 3.4.25)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 25.6 % | 25.6 % | 25.6 %56 | 24.6 % | 33 % | 33 % |
| Result | 33 % | 35.7 % | 44.9 % | 45.3 % | Oct 31, 2015 | Oct 31, 2016 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Pending | Pending |
Increase the number of caregivers served. (Lead Agency - ACL; Measure ID - 3.1)
| FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 790,000 caregivers | 792,000 caregivers | 796,000 caregivers | 790,000 caregivers | 790,000 caregivers | 825,000 caregivers |
| Result | 819,598 caregivers | 867,546 caregivers | 1,046,159 caregivers | Dec 31, 2015 | Dec 31, 2016 | Dec 31, 2017 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Target Exceeded | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Analysis of Results
Providing the survivors of domestic violence with tools that will assist them to remain safe is important to social and community well-being. The percentage of clients who have improved knowledge of safety planning is correlated with other long-term client safety and well-being measures. ACF again exceeded its target on a measure of the percentage of clients who reported improved knowledge of safety planning with more than 90 percent of clients served through Family Violence Prevention services programs. In FY 2013, the result for this measure increased by 2.3 percentage points.Part of this increase may be attributed to a data quality check measure that identified two grantees that, in the past, had entered these data incorrectly and were unable to correct retroactively the prior years. This would make an artificially lower percentage for the prior years. ACF plans to continue to monitor data reporting with grantees and assess whether new targets should be set for subsequent years.
ACF also focuses on targeting services to populations in need with its recipiency targeting index for families that receive Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. The recipiency targeting index scores are the national percentage of LIHEAP-eligible households that receive services and have either a senior citizen or a young child (under the age of five) in the household compared to the percentage of households estimated by the Census Bureau as being LIHEAP-income-eligible and having a senior citizen or young child in the household. If the recipiency score was 100, it would mean LIHEAP served these target populations at precisely the level they appear in the US population of eligible clients. Although the recipiency score for households with a senior citizen did increase to 84 in FY 2013, this result fell just short of the FY 2013 target of 85 percent. Overall, the targeting index scores indicate that elderly households faced increased difficulty in enrolling in LIHEAP as compared to families with young children; in FY 2013, the recipiency score for households with children resumed an upward trend to 117, surpassing the FY 2013 target of 116. A review of the literature indicates that other federal social programs also find it challenging to serve eligible elderly households, especially in comparison to households with young children. Program participation barriers appear to be most significant when elderly households have not made previous use of public assistance programs.
HHS has several measures related to economic well-being. Refugees are another vulnerable population targeted by ACF programming with economic well-being performance measures. In FY 2014, 76 percent of refugees served by the Matching Grant program were not dependent on any cash assistance within 180 days of arrival, exceeding the target of 70 percent. ACF has put processes in place to improve future achievement including requiring Performance Improvement Plans for grantees with at least 50 refugee clients and who are performing below average. These plans include increased monitoring, professional development training, reassignment of personnel, and potential funding reductions. Several grantees attributed the increased performance in FY 2014 to the ongoing focus on these performance improvement plans. In FY 2013, the percentage of refugees entering employment through ACF-funded refugee employment services fell to 49.33 percent, missing the target of 52.5 percent. ACF still faces challenges in terms of performance on this measure given the changing demographics of the U.S. Resettlement Program, as many populations require extended employment services in order to enter the U.S. labor market and integrate into U.S. society.
The ACF Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and state Child Support Enforcement programs implement a wide variety of strategies to increase current collections, including early intervention, caseload segmentation and data analysis, income withholding, unemployment compensation interception, state or federal tax refund offsets, new approaches to facilitate stable employment for non-custodial parents, and new strategies to strengthen parent engagement. As a result, the collection rate for FY 2013 of 64 percent exceeded the target for this measure for a third year in a row, a significant accomplishment for states considering data for this measure is most influenced by economic factors beyond the control of the program.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) measures, taken together, assess the extent to which recipients transition from cash assistance to employment. Full success requires not only that recipients get jobs, but also that they stay in employment and increase their earnings in order to reduce dependency and enable families to support themselves. In FY 2013, 32.4 percent of TANF adult recipients became newly employed, which was an improvement over the previous year's result and exceeded the FY 2013 target of 30.7 percent.
The Grants for the Benefits of Homeless Individuals Services in Supportive Housing (GBHI-SSH) seek to use a permanent supportive housing approach to expand and strengthen substance use treatment or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders treatment services for individuals who experience chronic homelessness and veterans who experience homelessness. GBHI-SSH supports innovative strategies and services that help integrate individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and who also have substance abuse and mental health disorders into the community. For example, GBHI-SSH assists providers in strengthening the infrastructure for delivering and sustaining housing to support recovery. The FY 2014 target for homeless clients receiving services who were currently employed or engaged in productive activities was met due to increased focus in case management associated with activities that led to (contributed to) stable employment. Homeless clients receiving services who had a permanent place to live in the community experienced consistent performance improvements, increasing from 23.6 percent in FY 2008 to 44.9 percent in FY 2013. In 2014, 45.3 percent of clients receiving services had a permanent place to live in the community, exceeding the target. The GBHI-SSH measures are sensitive to external factors, such as employment. When the percentage of those employed decreases nationally, fewer clients are able to afford housing and addressing housing issues potentially becomes more complicated.
The National Family Caregiver Support Program provides grants to states, territories and tribal organizations to fund a range of supports that assist family and informal caregivers in caring for their loved ones at home for as long as possible. ACL succeeds in serving community-based elderly individuals is to support family and friends who are caregivers of these frail individuals. Increasing the number of caregivers served is a critical component of ACL's efforts to prolong the ability of vulnerable elderly persons to live in their homes. In FY 2013, over 1 million caregivers received services exceeding the target of serving 792,600 caregivers. Performance has trended upward with year to year performance experiencing some variability. These fluctuations are likely due to yearly variation in the mix of five services delivered to meet the needs of the caregivers in the program (i.e. if caregiver needs result in a service mix with more of the expensive services, such as respite versus caregiver training, then fewer caregivers can be served with a given amount of resources).
Plans for the Future
From FY 2014-2016, ACF aims to maintain the target rate of 90 percent of domestic violence program clients reporting improved knowledge of safety planning. This target rate is a realistic expectation of client assessment of their increase in knowledge due to services received. A higher number of clients responding that they increased their knowledge is unrealistic because many program participants receive short term crisis assistance and would not be expected to report significant change. ACF will coordinate with ACF-funded National Resource Centers and state Domestic Violence Coalitions to provide ongoing technical assistance in order to assure accurate data collection methods.
ACF plans to maintain the recipiency index score each year for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program in fiscal years 2014-2016 for households with older members and young children. LIHEAP is one of five federal benefit programs for which the National Center for Outreach and Benefit Enrollment is seeking to develop innovative ways to increase enrollment of the elderly.
In the area of refugee self-sufficiency, ACF seeks to continue to make progress despite a challenging job market and a population of refugees who may face significant cultural and language barriers. By FY 2016, the goal is to improve by at least 1 percent over the prior year's actual result for measures of cash assistance dependency and by more than 1.5 percent in employment. ACF intends to increase its monitoring activities to enhance program performance.
Continued success in child support collections will depend, to some degree, on the extent to which states continue to implement policies and programs to ensure that child support orders reflect current earnings at establishment and are modified when earnings change given the explicit link of this measure to economic conditions. ACF also aims to maintain the child support percent collection rate target at 62 percent for FY 2014 and increase to 63 percent in FY 2015 and 65 percent in FY 2016 in anticipation of more modest improvements in economic conditions in the near term.
States continue to help TANF adult recipients enter employment, and ACF is committed to finding innovative and effective employment strategies through research, identifying and disseminating information on promising employment and skill-building strategies, and providing a range of targeted technical assistance efforts to states. Annual measure 22B and long-term objective 22.2LT have the goal of increasing the rate in FY 2016 by 0.1 percentage points above the prior year’s result.
SAMHSA assists homeless individuals to sustain employment and engage in productive activities. SAMHSA will continue to provide targeted technical assistance to grantees and use strategies to improve the percentage of adult clients who have a permanent place to live in the community. The data shows the program has exceeded the targets for the percentage of clients reporting that they have a permanent place to live in the community. Through 2014, performance is stable. Consequently, the targets for FY 2015 and 2016 are increased.
The National Family Caregiver Support Program has achieved a significant upward trend in the number of caregivers served while federal funding has experienced periods of decline followed by stability and total expenditures for the program have increased slightly due to support from the state and local levels. Targets were set at lower levels for FY2014 and FY2015 due to the expectation of a delayed and lingering effect of sequestration and the FY2016 target was increased due to the increased President’s budget request for the program and additional investments in family support and innovations. While the targets are lower than the FY 2013 result, the overall trend is predicted to be positive.
Objective Progress Update Summary
HHS demonstrated progress toward this objective as shown by the representative performance measures described in the HHS Annual Performance Plan and Report. Further evidence of progress is described below.
- An ACF study found that earnings supplements (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, SNAP, and child care and transportation assistance) can substantially increase employment and income and, in many cases, employment retention but have limited effects on employment advancement.
- An ACF study found that transitional jobs programs (such as the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program) for ex-offenders can substantially increase employment in the short term and significantly reduce recidivism among former prisoners who enrolled in the program shortly after release from prison.
- A survey of Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) programs by CDC found that:
- Over the 3-year intervention period, smoking prevalence decreased on average 7.5 percent (or an average of 2.5 percent per year) among African Americans and 4.5 percent among Hispanics.
- In REACH communities that focused on cardiovascular disease or diabetes during this time, the percentage of adults who reported eating five or more fruits and vegetables daily increased 3.9 percent among African Americans and 9.3 percent among Hispanics.
- The percentage of adults aged 65 years or older who had an influenza shot in the past year increased on average 11.1 percent across the 3-year intervention period.
The Department is continuing to support and execute the programs contributing to this objective, monitoring progress, performance, and program integrity while adjusting to any budgetary constraints or changes to programmatic demands.
53 The FY 2013 actual results include corrected data from two grantees that may have been collecting/reporting data incorrectly for prior fiscal years.
54 The FY 2014 target is to maintain the prior year result.
56 SAMHSA’s grant awards are made late in the fiscal year; therefore, performance targets and results for any given fiscal year primarily reflect the output and outcomes associated with activities supported by funding from the prior fiscal year. For example, these FY 2013 performance targets reflect FY 2012 funding levels.
