Welfare program receives $10.8 mil bonus

About $8.5 million of the bonus was given in recognition of the state’s No. 2 ranking in the nation for its number of grant recipients who entered jobs. An additional $1.19 million was given for Missouri’s 2.8 percent increase in job placements over last year.

The state also received $1.14 million for ranking third in the nation for its enrollment of grant recipients in Medicaid/State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, managed by the departments of Social Services and Economic Development, is a block grant program that funds state welfare programs. The bonus is in addition to the program’s federal funding of $217 million.

Deborah Scott, spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the direction of the bonus has yet to be determined, but department officials are meeting later this week to decide fund distribution.

“We’ve received a bonus every year it’s been available, and we’ve been a leader nationally in terms of moving people from welfare to work,” she said.

The bonus was authorized by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.