Rich Ohio But Poor Ohioans

By Wendy Cole

One goal of the 1996 federal welfare reform was to give states more flexibility in spending antipoverty funds, through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. But only four states used all their TANF money in 2004, the last year for which data were available. No other state has hoarded like Ohio, which has $900 million in unused TANF funds--a surplus twice as big as second-ranked New York's.

Ohio officials admit the pot is too big, given that the number of Ohioans living in poverty rose 17% from 2000 to 2004 and some 83,000 families are on welfare. They blame the gap on accounting errors and on counties that they say failed to put TANF-eligible programs into place. "We are making aggressive efforts to get more money into the hands of the working poor," says Barbara Riley, director of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services. The state will use $75 million to help heat the homes of low-income Ohioans. And poor households just got their first raise in five years: a family of three now nets $410 a month, up from $373. But even with food stamps, that annual income is about $6,000 below the federal poverty line of $16,092.

Efforts to dole out more money haven't gone far. Last fall G.O.P. state representative Jimmy Stewart proposed a further $100-per-family raise in monthly aid. "We can afford this," he says. His colleagues have not yet scheduled hearings on his bill.