RECOMMENDED SERVICE EFFORTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS (SEA) REPORTING INDICATORS FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) is the largest cash assistance program in the country. It provides monthly payments to families that are determined to be eligible by county or local officials. Though it is a federal program, the actual grant amounts vary between states and depend on such factors as family size and income. The primary objective of the AFDC program is:

To ensure a basic standard of living for children who lack parental support due to absence, death, disability of one or both parents or the unemployment of the principal wage earner in an intact family (State of Missouri, as quoted in Hatry et al. 1990: 209).

Secondary administrative goals are:

To operate the program as accurately and economically as possible.

To operate it in a time-efficient manner.

T o help parents in these families become self-sufficient.

Below follow SEA indicators recommended by GASB for AFDC and General Assistance (GA) programs (which are operated by many states and localities in conjunction with AFDC):

INPUTS

• Administrative cost of program (current and constant dollars)

• Total cost--administrative cost plus benefit payments (current and constant dollars)

• Total staff-hours used to operate program

OUTPUTS

• Total number of recipients

• Total amount of assitance provided

OUTCOMES

• Percentage of applications processed within 45 days

• Percentage of cases redetermined within 6 months

• Percentage of fair hearing appeal decisions made within 90 days

• Positive payment error rates (overpayments)

• Negative payment error rates (underpayments)

• Overpayments recovered as a percentage of overpayments identified during the fiscal year

• Degree of difficulty of the application process

• Percentage of initial applicants completing the application process

• Percentage of surveyed who meet predetermined levels of physical health

• Percentage of surveyed who live in adequate housing

• Percentage of surveyed who do not live below poverty line

• Percentage of grants reduced due to employment

• Percentage of grants increased that had been reduced due to employment

• Percentage of cases reopened within one year

• Percentage of cases reopened within two years

EFFICIENCY

• Number of accurate case actions processed per worker

• Administrative cost per case

• Staff-hours per accurate case action

EXPALANATORY DATA

• Unemployment rate

• Number of cases per worker

• Number or percentage of working recipients

• Changes in regulations

• Staffing problems

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