Community service policy includes some exemptions

Question: I live in public housing on Maui, and I want to know why people like me who are working part time and looking for better jobs have to do community service when people who are sitting around collecting welfare don’t. How did this rule come into place?

Answer: Kokua Line checked with the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, or HPHA, whose executive director clarified the community service requirements for public housing residents, including those receiving direct financial aid called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, commonly known as welfare.

While the housing authority’s website states simply that TANF recipients are exempt from community service requirements, Executive Director Hakim Ouansafi made clear that they must fulfill other work requirements and are exempt from community serv-ice only if they do so. Here’s his full response:

“The community service and self-sufficiency requirement is a legislative mandate by Congress as part of the Public Housing Reform Act of 1998. The Community Service Requirement (CSR) applies to all federal public housing residents, unless exempted as provided under 24 CFR 960.601. It requires that non-exempt adults contribute or participate in eight hours of community service or self-sufficiency each month as a condition of receiving federal housing assistance.

“Temporary Assistance to Needy Families recipients may be exempt from the HPHA’s community service requirement only if the recipient is in compliance with the TANF work activities requirement, which may include minimum work hours per week, job search, etc. Please contact the the Department of Human Services for more information on the TANF work activities requirement. Presumably, TANF recipients are exempt from the community service requirement to prevent CSR hours from interfering with their required TANF work activities.

“The HPHA makes the final determination whether to grant an exemption from the community service requirement. If a resident does not agree with the HPHA’s determination, the resident may dispute the decision through the HPHA Grievance Procedure process. This determination is done annually during the resident’s recertification process.”

TANF recipients are not the only public housing residents exempt from the HPHA’s community service requirements. People who work at least 30 hours a week also are exempt, according to the housing authority’s website. Also exempt are people over age 62, those who are disabled or victims of domestic violence, those who are needed at home to care for ill family members, and people who actively participate in self-sufficiency programs.

Although you did not give details about your situation, you did mention that you work part time. If your work hours were to increase, it seems you too would be exempt from the community service requirement.

For reference, CFR stands for Code of Federal Regulations. You can find the mandate Ousanfi cited here, in Title 24, Part 960, Chapter 601, 808ne.ws/1QLnRzr.

As Ouansafi suggested, we followed up with the state Department of Human Serv-ices. Work requirements for TANF recipients in Hawaii align with federal regulations, DHS spokeswoman Keʻopu Reelitz confirmed.

TANF is a time-limited welfare reform program for adults with children, “designed to protect those who cannot work and to require those who are able to work to do so,” according to the DHS website.

TANF recipients generally must work as soon as they are job-ready (20 or 30 hours a week, depending on the age of their children) or no later than two years after first receiving assistance. Some people, such as the disabled and seniors, do not have to work to qualify. Children and unmarried teenage parents must meet educational requirements.

For a summary of the TANF program, see 808ne.ws/1PgZxoX. For more detailed information see Hawaii’s administrative rules on the subject, which can be found on the DHS website at 808ne.ws/1So92An.

Auwe

Auwe to stores that don’t ship to Hawaii. I wasted so much time trying to shop online. In three instances I selected an item, and when I tried to complete the transaction, they said it couldn’t be shipped to my ZIP code.

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.