<<<Back to News Center 2010

Monday, June 7, 2010

Resident Commissioner To Seek State-Like Treatment Under Various Federal Programs Administered by the Puerto Rico Department of the Family

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- The Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, met today with the Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of the Family, Yanitsia Irizarry Méndez, along with members of her leadership team, in order to discuss the Department’s use of both annual and one-time ARRA funding that it has received from the federal government.

This meeting, like previous meetings that the Resident Commissioner has held with other heads of local agencies, served the purpose of identifying those federal programs under which the agency could or should be receiving additional funding—in this instance, funding aimed at improving the well-being of Island families.

The Department of the Family receives federal funding primarily from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but also from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the current fiscal year, the Department of Family will receive more than $2.5 billion in federal funding, about $2 billion of which are designated for the Island’s Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN, for its acronym in Spanish).

“The Department of the Family administers an extraordinary amount of federal funds and, for that reason, deserves my attention and support. It was very useful to meet with management staff at the Department and I appreciate the detailed report they provided me regarding such important programs as PAN, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Head Start,” said Pierluisi.

During the meeting, the Resident Commissioner identified several federal programs administered by the Department of the Family under which Puerto Rico does not receive equal treatment relative to the states.

“I intend to offer legislation to obtain just treatment under certain of these federal programs, such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program,” Pierluisi said.

Secretary Irizarry observed that the Department could receive more than $200 million in additional federal funds per year if the modifications proposed by the Resident Commissioner are made.

With respect to ARRA funding, Pierluisi wants to ensure that the Department applies for and allocates in a timely fashion the money Puerto Rico is eligible for with respect to under, among others, TANF, Head Start, and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program.

“I urged the Department to seek—and then to obligate—every dollar in additional help that it is eligible to obtain under ARRA,” he said.

Pierluisi also asked for information about the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program that the Department administers.

In addition, the Secretary advised the Resident Commissioner that the Department was recently evaluated by the federal government, which recognized the important progress the Department has made in connection with managing federal funds under the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). This is a emergency program designed to offer financial assistance and stabilization services to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless.

“We are making every effort to ensure that we are in full compliance with all federal regulations and that we correct the deficiencies of the past administration, which placed us in a position where we had to return million of dollars to the federal government, including $1.8 million from ASUME, $55 million from ADSEF, and $70 million for nutrition and work programs,” said the Secretary.