Tenn. mayor seeks to tap into TANF funds
State has $741M reserve of federal grants to help struggling people
NASHVILLE – The mayor of Jackson has an idea — one that stems from Tennessee having hundreds of millions of dollars in unused federal grants available for struggling families, and a significant number of those families in his community.
Mayor Scott Conger, with help from city staff, last week submitted a proposal to state officials asking them to consider sharing a small portion of Tennessee’s $741 million reserve of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants to help the West Tennessee city get people in the region back on their feet.
“Just come to Madison County, and 48% of our households are either ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — or living in poverty,” Conger said, citing a recent report from United Ways of Tennessee on how many working people struggle to afford basic necessities like housing, food, transportation and child care.
“People need help, there’s money there at the state to help people, and cities can take an active role. Not just to give residents a handout, per se, but give them a hand up and help them be empowered and in control of their finances.”
Tennessee in recent years has amassed the large reserve of TANF funds, which are federal dollars designed to help struggling people with children find better work, stay together as a family unit and improve their livelihoods. But the state has not developed a strategy to spend down much of that surplus, which continues to grow.
The state’s reserve of TANF funds dwarfs every other state’s, though Gov. Bill Lee and other top officials have framed the surplus as a positive, saying it will be available during difficult economic times.
City wants to take active role in putting TANF funds to use
While Conger and the city haven’t asked for a specific dollar amount, they’re proposing that with TANF funds, Jackson can launch a mobile financial empowerment center to reach needy families in their region, both in urban and rural areas, and in and outside of city limits.
“Local government is able to streamline that more effectively, because people come to us,” Conger said of residents frequently calling local officials for help when they don’t know where else to turn. “We get calls all the time for help and assistance. We’re having to point them to five (different) agencies.”
Their proposed model would be similar to the Nashville Financial Empowerment Center which previously received a TANF grant through the Department of Human Services’ 2Gen initiative, a program that provides grants to nonprofits using TANF funds.
The city wants to help parents not only learn how to manage their finances, but have a one-stop resource center to provide people with guidance on ultimately becoming self-sufficient through additional training, education and meeting career goals.
Conger is also asking the state to consider using TANF funds to offer low-interest payday alternative loans, something that has been done through similar programs in other states.
Lauren Kirk, Jackson’s director of performance management, noted that Tennessee is not one of 10 states that allow local governments to directly administer TANF funds.
But the city believes the state should consider allowing municipalities to apply for and receive 2Gen grants to administer locally.
Any resource in Jackson wouldn’t just serve its residents, Kirk said, but also people in the rural areas surrounding it. There is still no homeless shelter in the county of nearly 100,000, and the region lacks many options for people struggling with where to turn to get back on their feet.
Conger, the former CEO of United Way of West Tennessee, noted that despite so many people struggling, “jobs are sitting vacant” in town because there aren’t trained workers to fill them.
“We’ve got to bridge that gap of people worrying about tomorrow and getting them to the point where they are employable and employed and providing for their families,” Conger said.
Legislators signal openness to proposal; DHS declines comment
Through a spokesperson, DHS interim commissioner Tony Matthews declined to comment on Conger’s plan or weigh in on whether the department believes the proposal needs legislative involvement.
Tennessee lawmakers began to take an increased interest in the TANF program following reporting in fall 2019 about the growing surpus.
Sen. Ed Jackson, R-jackson, is among the lawmakers who received Conger’s proposal. He is in favor of the legislature’s bipartisan TANF working group considering the issue and whether the city’s plan checks the right boxes.
But regardless of if the state grants Conger’s request, there is no question, Jackson said, that there are unmet needs in his district. They are needs that small local nonprofits dependent on donations struggle to address.
“The resources are divided so thinly right now,” Jackson said. “Everybody’s asking, ‘We need more funds, we need more help.’ The food banks, Salvation Army. Those helping alcohol and drug abuse problems. There are so many needs and the funds are so limited.”
Regarding what he makes of the state’s hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves that could be used to address some of those needs, Jackson called it “a big sum — huge sum.”
“But when you start dividing it out, you have to make sure you divide it out properly,” Jackson said. “We’re trying to do it responsibly, take our time. I know people need it right now, and hopefully that’s what we’ll be able to do — get this money and divide it out to whoever needs it soon, very soon, but we do need to so responsibly and in an orderly manner.”
“We are suffering,” said Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-bolivar, who represents part of the region. He said there is a great need for the type of program Jackson is proposing.
“We would need some help to do it and do it right,” Shaw said of the city requiring state assistance.
Rep. Robin Smith, R-hixson, a member of the TANF working group, said she had not been able to closely study Jackson’s proposal yet.
So long as the plan meets federal requirements and the city had the funds and resources upfront to get the project started, Smith said she thinks the legislature and Department of Human Services should be open to hearing innovative proposals for using TANF, especially from places outside of Tennessee’s urban areas.
“There continues in my heart to be a desire to see Tennesseans be the recipient of that money, and not have it sitting in a reserve category,” Smith said. “I just think there needs to be a process that’s public, that’s transparent and meets the requirements of the federal spend — and everybody has a chance to participate.”
Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.