Barriers
A series of focus groups with basic needs assistance providers including several faith based organizations, private non-profits and public agencies called attention to a number of barriers that limit the effectiveness of this "system". The current demand for services that address immediate needs is often hampered by restrictive eligibility guidelines, the availability of services, lack of dependable and accessible transportation, and a lack of coordination among service providers. If barriers to accessing basic services can be removed for people in need, they will then be able to focus attention on activities that foster self-sufficiency.
The need for long term support (case management) services is also very apparent when working with clients unable to satisfy their most basic needs. While providing emergency assistance is a necessary starting point, it is not enough. The goal should be to ensure that clients are transitioning from crisis management to self-sufficiency.
Restrictive Eligibility Guidelines
Many of the eligibility guidelines for basic needs services limit assistance to only the extremely poor. Although these eligibility guidelines are designed to focus services on those people most in need, they also keep those who are on the verge of being self-sufficient from realizing that goal. Service providers have been seeing a growth in the number of "working poor" who do not make enough money to pay for their basic needs, yet make too much to be eligible for assistance. Additionally, Travis County emergency assistance is limited to persons that meet residency requirements.
The Travis County Emergency Assistance Program (EAP) offers a striking example of this barrier. To ensure a focus on "highest need", assistance supported by local tax dollars requires that a person be at or below 50% of the Federal Poverty Income Guideline ($8,350/yr for a family of four). Clearly this does not support people with very real and significant needs who exceed income eligibility guidelines.
Further complicating this situation is the wide variation among income guidelines. Travis County EAP alone has several different guidelines for different types of assistance and different funding sources. The major federal based assistance programs with income eligibility guidelines, TANF, Food Stamps, and the Free/Reduced School Lunch program each has a different income guideline.
Restrictive eligibility guidelines directly impact public entities (the largest providers of assistance) and also impact faith based and other public providers by increasing demand on their services.
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Limited Accessibility of Services
Because of funding limitations across all sectors, there are not enough emergency services available for those in need. Even when services are available, finding providers that are reasonably close to ones home or place of employment, have available capacity, and who are open during convenient hours is a challenge. Navigating through the various agencies that provide different types of assistance can be a very confusing and discouraging process. The amount of assistance received by a given household is quite small. Rarely is it adequate to address the actual need. For example, the average recipient of assistance from Travis County EAP will receive $445 for utilities, $266 for rent/mortgage, and $56 for food in a year.
Most providers also limit the number of times an individual can receive benefits. While time limits are consistent with the "emergency" focus of basic needs assistance, they mask underlying conditions that lead to dependence on public assistance. Since few providers see an individual more than 3-4 times a year, there is little opportunity to observe a persistent level of need and diagnose underlying conditions that drive this need.
Last, assistance is rarely available outside of regular business hours. Few providers offer assistance during evenings, over night, or on weekends.
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Lack Coordination among Service Providers
No one provider or group of providers can do it all. We have repeatedly heard that service providers need to coordinate the provision of their services in several different ways. Currently, most providers have informal relationships with others for referrals. However, formal relationships that would support information sharing, a common intake form, and follow-up case management are lacking. Such a "virtual one-s shop" would be one way to better assist low-income residents in their struggle to meet basic needs. Additionally, the intake process could be simplified, combining several different intake forms to create one form that would be applicable for several agencies. Currently, there is also a lack of communication among service providers. Communication is necessary in order to keep everyone involved in the service delivery system up to date on the range of services and opportunities available to their clients. The Austin/Travis County Welfare to Work Coalition presents a model that could be utilized to address this barrier.
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Lack of Long Term Support
While the existing collection of basic needs providers provides extremely valuable service to the most vulnerable residents of our community, they do not have the opportunity to promote self-sufficiency. Even where assistance is available to meet immediate, emergency needs, little can be done to end chronic dependence and move customers to self-sufficiency.
Poor Access to Reliable Transportation
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, over 90% of welfare recipients do not own a car. A 1998 study by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services identified 164,458 people in Travis County who are transportation disadvantaged. This population is composed of persons who are 65 and older, persons with disabilities, and persons living at or below the federal poverty level. These groups must rely on public transportation. The following challenges affect the entire transportation disadvantaged population in our community:
- Inadequate public transit especially in the rural areas
- Most routes move in and out of downtown efficient but inflexible
- There is little cross-town (east-west) transportation
- Infrequent bus schedules dont allow people to be on time for appointments
- Vans for special populations like the elderly and people with disabilities are flexible but inefficient
Surveys completed by 363 clients at emergency assistance sites across Travis County identified additional problems with public transportation in our community:
- 21% said there was not a bus route near home;
- 20% said the bus takes too long;
- 19% said riding the bus was "too much of a hassle".
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