BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to job placement for recipients of aid to families with dependent children; amending RCW 74.25.010 and 74.25.020; adding a new section to chapter 74.12 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 74.25 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; providing a contingent expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 74.25.010 and 1994 c 299 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature establishes as state policy the goal of economic self-sufficiency for employable recipients of public assistance, through employment, training, and education. In furtherance of this policy, the legislature intends to comply with the requirements of the federal social security act, as amended, by creating a job opportunities and basic skills training program for applicants and recipients of aid to families with dependent children. ((The purpose of this program is to provide recipients of aid to families with dependent children the opportunity to obtain appropriate education, training, skills, and supportive services, including child care, consistent with their needs, that will help them enter or reenter gainful employment, thereby avoiding long-term welfare dependence and achieving economic self-sufficiency.)) The job opportunities and basic skills training program shall provide employment and training and education support services to assist recipients under chapter 74.04 RCW to obtain employment. The program shall be operated by the department of social and health services in conformance with federal law ((~~and consistent with the following legislative findings:~~)).

(1) The legislature finds that the well-being of children depends ((~~not only on meeting their material needs, but also~~)) on the ability of parents to become economically self-sufficient. It is in this way that the material needs of children can best be met. The job opportunities and basic skills training program is specifically directed at increasing the labor force participation and household earnings of aid to families with dependent children recipients, through the removal of barriers preventing them from achieving self-sufficiency. ((These barriers include, but are not limited to, the lack of recent work experience, supportive services such as affordable and reliable child care, adequate transportation, appropriate counseling, and necessary job-related tools, equipment, books, clothing, and supplies, the absence of basic literacy skills, the lack of educational attainment sufficient to meet labor market demands for career employees, and the nonavailability of useful labor market assessments.))

(2) The legislature ((~~also~~)) recognizes that aid to families with dependent children recipients ((~~must be acknowledged as active~~)) are participants in self-sufficiency planning under the program. The legislature finds that the department of social and health services should communicate concepts of the importance of work and how performance and effort directly affect future career and educational opportunities and economic well-being, as well as personal empowerment, self-motivation, and self-esteem to program participants. The legislature further recognizes that informed choice is consistent with individual responsibility, and that parents should be given a range of options for available child care while participating in the program.

(3) The legislature finds that current work experience is one of the most important factors influencing an individual's ability to work toward financial stability and an adequate standard of living in the long term, and that work experience should be the most important component of the program.

(4) The legislature finds that education, including, but not limited to, literacy, high school equivalency, vocational, secondary, and postsecondary, is one of the most important tools an individual needs to achieve full independence, and that this should be an important component of the program.

(5) The legislature further finds that the objectives of this program are to assure that aid to families with dependent children recipients gain experience in the labor force and thereby enhance their long-term ability to achieve financial stability and an adequate standard of living at wages that will meet family needs.

(6) All participants in the job opportunities and basic skills training program, including those participants in the full employment act, shall sign a written three-year employment development contract of mutual responsibility with the department, which shall be developed with the full involvement of the participant.

(a) The contract shall set forth the responsibilities of and expectations for the program participants and responsibilities and obligation of the department, including services to be provided to the participating family. The contract shall identify specific employment, training, education, or support activities that will direct a participant toward gainful employment and eventually self-sufficiency. The contract shall be in a format developed for state-wide use, provide a mechanism for revisions and amendments based on changed circumstances, and notify participating families of their right to appeal the contents of the contract and of their other appeal rights under this chapter. Services required by the contract of mutual responsibility shall be offered according to the timetable established in the contract to enable members of the family to achieve self-sufficiency and to carry out their personal and family responsibilities.

(b) The department shall review the employment development contract of mutual responsibility every six months and assess participants' progress. The department shall reduce aid to families with dependent children benefits by thirty-three percent every six months for those recipients who are found to be out of compliance with the contract based on the assessment.

(c) The department may require persons to obtain substance or alcohol abuse treatment before referral for employment. Unwillingness to cooperate with treatment is deemed noncompliance with the job opportunities and basic skills training program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

Within one year after the effective date of this section, all applicants and recipients of aid to families with dependent children shall participate in the job opportunities and basic skills training program or no longer be eligible for benefits under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Within one year after the effective date of this section, all applicants and recipients under this chapter shall participate in the job opportunities and basic skills training program or no longer be eligible for benefits under chapter 74.12 RCW.

Sec. 4. RCW 74.25.020 and 1993 c 312 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department of social and health services ((~~is authorized to~~)) shall contract ((with public and private employment and training agencies and other public service entities to provide services prescribed or allowed under the federal social security act, as amended, to carry out the purposes of the jobs training program)) at least fifty percent of the job training, job finding, and job matching leading to independent employment with private nonprofit community action agencies, nonprofit local community organizations, and other organizations with experience and abilities in meeting the employment needs of individuals receiving public assistance and services required or allowed under the federal social security act. The contracts shall be performance based. The department of social and health services has sole authority and responsibility to carry out the job opportunities and basic skills training program and establish criteria for contracts under this subsection. No contracting entity shall have the authority to review, change, or disapprove any administrative decision, or otherwise substitute its judgment for that of the department of social and health services as to the application of policies and rules adopted by the department of social and health services.

(2) ((To the extent feasible under federal law, the department of social and health services and all entities contracting with it shall give first priority of service to individuals volunteering for program participation.

(3) The department of social and health services shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW establishing criteria constituting circumstances of good cause for an individual failing or refusing to participate in an assigned program component, or failing or refusing to accept or retain employment. These criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the following circumstances: (a) If the individual is a parent or other relative personally providing care for a child under age six years, and the employment would require the individual to work more than twenty hours per week; (b) if child care, or day care for an incapacitated individual living in the same home as a dependent child, is necessary for an individual to participate or continue participation in the program or accept employment, and such care is not available, and the department of social and health services fails to provide such care; (c) the employment would result in the family of the participant experiencing a net loss of cash income; or (d) circumstances that are beyond the control of the individual's household, either on a short-term or on an ongoing basis.

~~(4)~~)) The department shall comply with federal guidelines with regard to good cause for an individual failing or refusing to participate in an assistance program component or failing or refusing to accept or retain employment. Bearing another child while a recipient of aid to families with dependent children and participating in the job opportunities and basic skills training program does not constitute good cause.

(3) The department of social and health services shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW as necessary to effectuate the intent and purpose of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) In administering the job opportunities and basic skills training program, the department shall ensure that delivery and coordination of all services are provided through intensive case management. All program participants shall be referred to a case manager. The case manager shall fully explain the program to the participant and shall provide the participant with written materials explaining the program.

(2) Each program participant shall sign a written three-year employment development contract of mutual responsibility that shall be developed in accordance with RCW 74.25.010.

(3) The secretary, assisted by the director of community, trade, and economic development and the commissioner of employment security, shall prepare and maintain an annual plan for coordinating and integrating all appropriate services in order to promote successful outcomes. The plan shall encourage the use of local and regional public and nonprofit service providers and permit a variety of methods of providing services. Emphasis shall be placed on coordinating and integrating career counseling, job development, job training and skills, job placement, and academic and technical education. Public and private institutions of higher education and other agencies that offer similar or related services shall be invited to participate as fully as possible in developing, implementing, and updating the annual coordination plan.

(4) The secretary shall:

(a) Increase public awareness of the federal earned income credit and encourage families who may be eligible to apply for this tax credit;

(b) Pursue aggressive child-support initiatives as established by the legislature;

(c) Work with community providers to develop adoption, education, family planning, parenting, and training options for program participants;

(d) Provide leadership for the development of community work experience opportunities;

(e) Develop strategies to educate, assist, and stimulate employers to hire participants and to provide community work experience opportunities, in consultation with the council, representatives of employers, and other relevant public and private nonprofit agencies on the state and local level;

(f) Provide technical assistance to local departments of social services to assist them in working with local nonprofit community action agencies and nonprofit community organizations with experience in job training for public assistance recipients in the community to develop job and community work experience opportunities for participants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The department shall report to the legislature annually on the job opportunities and basic skills training program. The report shall include, but not be limited to the number of individuals who have employment in jobs with wages that increase their family's income above the federal poverty level. The department shall record the finding from each departmental region and report the findings to the legislature at the beginning of each biennium.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 7 through 18 of this act.

(1) "Council" means the full employment act advisory council established in section 11 of this act.

(2) "Department" means the department of social and health services.

(3) "Participants" means recipients and parents of aid to families with dependent children and food stamps.

(4) "Pilot program" or "program" means the Washington full employment act pilot program established in section 8 of this act.

(5) "Washington full employment act" means the Washington full employment pilot program established in section 8 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) In establishing and implementing a pilot program to be known as the Washington full employment act, it is the intent of the legislature to use the benefits of the job opportunities and basic skills training program (JOBS) to promote greater economic self-sufficiency among families and workers by:

(a) Requiring all recipients of aid to families with dependent children, and recipients of food coupons living in the pilot counties to participate in the program;

(b) Increasing the employability of participants who are unemployed and underemployed workers through on-the-job training;

(d) Ensuring that participants improve their work skills, education, and employability through worksite training, mentoring, job placement, and necessary support services that include child care, transportation, and health care; and

(e) Guaranteeing that participation in the Washington full employment act does not result in reductions of net income to participants.

(2) The Washington full employment act is created as a three-year pilot program in which residents of selected counties shall, in lieu of receiving payments from the aid to families with dependent children program and coupons under the food stamp program, be provided jobs that promote self-sufficiency and encourage independence from public assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The governor and the department shall seek all necessary exemptions and waivers from and amendments to federal statutes, rules, and regulations and shall report to the appropriate committees in the house of representatives and senate quarterly on the efforts to secure the federal changes to permit full implementation of the program at the earliest possible date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Upon obtaining all such exemptions, waivers, and amendments referred to in section 9 of this act, the department, with the advice of the council, shall adopt changes to current rules as may be required to implement the program.

(2) The department, with the advice of the council, shall amend the state plans for the aid to families with dependent children program, the job opportunities and basic skills training program, and the food stamp program to incorporate the programs into the Washington full employment act program for the pilot counties, and shall obtain federal approval of plan amendments.

(3) The department, with the advice of the council, shall obtain any exemptions and waivers from federal statutes and regulations necessary to qualify the program as a federally approved demonstration project under section 1115 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1315) of the Social Security Act and section 17 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2026) of the Food Stamp Act.

(4) The purpose of this section is to facilitate implementation of the pilot program at the earliest possible date and with maximum federal financial participation. Therefore, the department is directed to expedite the acquisition of federal waiver and amendment approvals, and the adoption of necessary statute amendments in close and continuous coordination with appropriate federal officials, and to prepare and submit completely and in a timely manner all forms and data required by those officials. The department, with the advice of the council, is authorized to make such changes to the program as are necessary to achieve federal waiver approval. Any such changes should be, in the judgment of the secretary of the department, the fewest necessary to achieve federal approval for the program. Such changes must maintain the general purpose and effect of the program described in section 7 of this act. If changes to the program required to gain waiver approval would be too extensive to maintain the general purpose and effect of the program, the department, with the advice of the council, shall seek the amendments to federal statutes that are required for implementation of the pilot program.

(5) The counties for the pilot program shall be chosen by the department with the assistance of the council. The counties considered shall have existing local programs currently providing mentoring, on-the-job training, and job placement to welfare recipients.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) There is hereby established the full employment act advisory council, which shall be convened by the secretary of the department.

The advisory council shall have the following duties:

(a) Serve, through recommendations to the governor, as a catalyst for generating a pool of jobs for participants in the Washington full employment act.

(b) Provide evaluation and feedback to the governor on incentives designed to promote business participation in the Washington full employment act.

The chair, vice-chair, and members of the council, except for members of the legislature, shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve at his or her pleasure. The council shall consist of twenty-three appointed members, including two members of the senate, to be appointed by the president of the senate; two members of the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; eleven representatives of the business community; two representatives of the labor community; two current and one former recipient of aid to families with dependent children; one representative of the Washington association of counties; one representative of the association of counties; and one representative of a social service agency. The secretary of health and the director of community, trade, and economic development shall serve as ex officio members.

(2) It is the intent of the legislature that the council shall meet monthly for the first six months, then every two months thereafter with the assistant secretary for economic services administration within the department. Members of the council shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(3) The council shall report at least biannually to the governor and the legislature on the status and progress of the pilot program in meeting program goals and legislative intent. The chair of the council shall have the additional duty to work with and coordinate the local boards created in section 12 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A Washington full employment act implementation board shall be established in each pilot county as a liaison to the business community and shall work with the department to address particular needs of participants in the county. The board shall be comprised of not fewer than three representatives from the local programs contracted with the department to provide mentoring, on-the-job training, and job placement; two members currently participating in the program who are aid to families with dependent children recipients; five representatives from the local business community; one representative from the labor community; and one representative from the department. Each board shall be responsible for recruiting employment opportunities and encouraging participation in the county.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1) The Washington full employment act special fund is created in the state treasury separate and distinct from the general fund. Moneys in the fund may be spent only after appropriation and shall be used exclusively to meet the necessary expenses of the program. The fund shall be held and administered by the state treasurer.

(2) All funds appropriated for expenditure by or apportioned to the department for operation of the aid to families with dependent children program, the job opportunities and basic skills training program, the food stamp program, and employment-related day care in the pilot counties shall accrue to the fund.

(3) All income earned on moneys in the fund shall be credited to and deposited in the fund to the extent permitted by state and federal law.

(4) Expenditures from the fund shall include pilot program wage reimbursements to participating employers, aid to families with dependent children cash grants, food stamp allotments, Washington full employment act payments, and employment-related day care payments to eligible participants of the pilot counties and administrative costs directly associated with the operation of the pilot program. At the end of the three-year pilot program, expenditures from the fund shall not exceed accruals to the fund.

(5) No less than quarterly, the department shall meet with the council to review the cost-effectiveness of the program and shall take any necessary action to modify or suspend the program to maintain cost neutrality.

(6) In administering the fund, and consistent with other provisions of the pilot program and to the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall maximize the use of federal grants and apportionments of the aid to families with dependent children program, the job opportunities and basic skills training program, the food stamp program, and employment-related child care.

(7) To the extent that additional moneys may be obtained for the program from sources other than state tax revenues, the additional moneys shall be appropriated to the fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. (1)(a) The department shall adopt by rule a method to determine which employers, including public and private sector employers, within this state shall have the opportunity to utilize pilot program participants. The department shall give priority in assigning pilot program participants to those employers located in the pilot counties identified in section 8 of this act. No employer is required to participate in the Washington full employment act. In the event that there are unassigned participants whom no employer desires to utilize, they may be assigned to work for a public agency.

(b) The department by rule may:

(i) Establish criteria for excluding employers from participation for failure to abide by pilot program requirements or other demonstrated unwillingness to comply with the stated intent of the program;

(ii) Provide that employers that have shown a pattern of terminating participants before completion of training without cause shall be ineligible to receive additional participants.

(2) The department shall assign in priority order individuals eligible for the pilot program who are:

(a) Two-parent families who are receiving aid to families with dependent children benefits;

(b) Single adults and caretaker relatives who are receiving aid to families with dependent children benefits; and

(3) Pilot program jobs shall not be offered to the following groups of persons:

(a) Teenage custodial parents working to receive their general education development (GED) certificate or high school diploma;

(b) Persons determined by department rule to require substance abuse treatment prior to job placement;

(c) Persons determined by department rule to be permanently or temporarily incapacitated and persons who are primary caregivers to such persons;

(d) Food stamp applicants or recipients who are employed full time or are food stamp eligible college students enrolled full time in an institution of higher education or enrolled half time in an institution of higher education and working at least twenty hours per week;

(e) Teenage persons who have not received a general education development certificate or high school diploma;

(f) Food stamp recipients in the pilot counties who are eligible for supplemental security income benefits or other ongoing state or federal maintenance benefits based on age or disability;

(g) Persons for whom suitable child care arrangements are necessary but not available; and

(h) Persons who would be required to commute for more than one hour each way without access to public or employer-sponsored transportation, in accordance with Washington full employment act rules.

(4) The department shall ensure that jobs made available to pilot program participants shall:

(a) Not require work in excess of forty hours per week;

(b) Be in conformity with section 3304(a)(5) of the federal unemployment tax act;

(d) Not pay a wage that is substantially less than the wage paid for similar jobs in the local economy with appropriate adjustments for experience and training.

(5)(a) Participants desiring work through the pilot program shall contact the nearest community service office of the department serving the pilot county in which they reside.

(b) With the assistance of the local full employment act implementation board and the council, the department shall develop a job inventory of sufficient size to accommodate all of the participants who desire to work in the program. In consultation with the participant, the department shall try to match the profile of a participant with the needs of an employer when assigning a participant to work with the employer.

(c) Either the employer or the participant may terminate the assignment by contacting the appropriate department office. In such event, the department shall reassess the needs of the participant and assign the participant to another Washington full employment act placement or another Washington full employment act component and, at the employer's request, provide the employer with another participant.

(d)(i) If after nine months in a placement, a participant has not been hired for an unsubsidized position, the employer shall allow the worker to undertake eight hours of job search per week. Participating employers shall consider such time as hours worked for the purposes of paying wages.

(ii) If after twelve months in a placement, a participant has not been hired for an unsubsidized position, the placement shall be terminated, and the case worker shall reassess the participant's employment development contract. Based on the assessment, the department may either reassign the participant to another on-the-job training assignment or refer the individual to the training component of the program.

(6) Aid to families with dependent children and food stamp benefits shall be suspended at the end of the calendar month in which an employer makes the first wage payment to a participant who is a custodial parent in a family that receives aid to families with dependent children or to any adult member of a household receiving food stamps.

(7)(a) Employers shall pay all participating individuals at least the hourly rate of the Washington minimum wage.

(b) Sick leave, holiday, and vacation absences shall conform to the individual employer's rules for new employees.

(c) Group health insurance benefits shall be provided by the employer to pilot program participants if, and to the extent that, state or federal law requires the employer to provide such benefits.

(d) All persons participating in the Washington full employment act shall be considered to be temporary employees of the individual employer providing the work and shall be entitled only to benefits required by state or federal law.

(e) Employers shall provide workers' compensation coverage for each Washington full employment act participant.

(8) In the event that the net monthly full-time wage paid to a participant would be less than the level of income from the aid to families with dependent children program and the food stamp benefit amount equivalent that the participant would otherwise receive, the department shall determine and pay a supplemental payment as necessary to provide the participant with that level of net income. The department by rule shall adopt an equivalency scale to be adjusted for household size and other factors. The purpose of this equivalency scale is to ensure that participants are not economically disadvantaged, in terms of net income, by accepting a job under the pilot program. The department shall determine and pay in advance supplemental payments to participants on a monthly basis as necessary to ensure equivalent net pilot program wages. Participants shall be compensated only for time worked.

(9) Pilot program participants who are eligible for federally and state-funded medical assistance at the time they enter the pilot program shall remain eligible as long as they continue to participate in the pilot program. In conformity with existing state and federal employment-related child care program regulations, child day care shall be provided for all pilot program participants who require it.

(10) Washington full employment act employers shall:

(a) Endeavor to make Washington full employment act placements positive learning and training experiences;

(b) Maintain health, safety, and working conditions at or above levels generally acceptable in the industry and no less than that of comparable jobs of the employer;

(d) Recruit volunteer mentors from among their regular employees to assist the participants in becoming oriented to work and the workplace;

(e) Sign an agreement between the department and the recipient for each placement outlining the specific job offered to the participant and agreeing to abide by all requirements of the pilot program, including the requirement that the pilot program not supplant existing jobs. All agreements shall include provisions noting the employer's responsibility to repay reimbursements in the event the employer violates pilot program rules; and

(f) Coordinate with the department and the recipient to complete all necessary paperwork to receive earned income tax credit monthly.

(11) Pilot program participant wages shall be subject to federal tax, social security taxes, and unemployment insurance tax or reimbursement as applicable, which shall be withheld and paid in accordance with state and federal law. Supplemental payments made pursuant to subsection (8) of this section, to the extent allowed by federal law, shall not be subject to federal income taxes and social security taxes.

(12)(a) The department shall reimburse employers for the employer share of social security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation premiums paid on behalf of pilot program participants, as well as the minimum wage earnings paid to pilot program participants by the employer from the Washington full employment act special fund.

(b) If the department finds that an employer has violated any of the rules of the Washington full employment act, the department:

(i) Shall withhold any amounts due to employers under (a) of this subsection;

(ii) May seek repayment of any amounts paid to employers under (a) of this subsection.

(13) Recipients who secure permanent employment as a result of participating in the Washington full employment act shall be eligible for up to an additional twenty-four months of child care and health care subsidies calculated on a sliding scale based on income.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) Six months before the completion date of the three-year test period of the pilot program, the department shall submit a written report to the legislature and the governor containing a full and complete analysis of the pilot program. The report shall include recommendations from the department and the council regarding appropriate revisions to the pilot program and the potential for its permanent implementation for the entire state.

(2) The evaluation of the pilot program shall be conducted by an independent evaluator using a combination of group comparison, survey and individualized event and attitude recording techniques. Performance in attaining pilot program goals in each pilot county shall be matched against performance using the traditional welfare and employment characteristics. In addition, the composite performance of the pilot counties shall be compared to the rest of the state. The evaluation shall include measurements of whether program participation has improved the quality of life of program participants. In addition, as a part of the evaluation of the Washington full employment act, the employment security department shall determine whether the pilot program has displaced unsubsidized employment opportunities that would otherwise have been available and whether the pilot program has had any discernible impact on the economies or wage levels in individual pilot counties.

(3) The target goals for the program are to reduce the Washington full employment act eligible aid to families with dependent children or food stamp caseloads in the pilot counties by fifty percent by the end of the third year of the pilot program, and to reduce the costs associated with these caseloads by twenty-five percent over the three-year pilot period.

(4) Twelve months after the beginning of the Washington full employment act, the department shall present to the legislature a report on the cost neutrality projections of the pilot program. If it appears that the pilot program is not likely to achieve cost neutrality over the course of the three-year pilot period, the department shall also present a plan to modify the pilot program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. In the event that the department is not able to obtain the necessary exemptions, waivers, or amendments referred to in section 9 of this act before January 1, 1998, this act shall expire on that date and shall have no further force or effect. Any unexpended and unobligated moneys remaining in the Washington full employment act special fund on that date may not be spent and are subject to legislative appropriation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. The appointment of the members of the council and the establishment of the Washington full employment act implementation board shall occur within sixty days after the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. The performance-based contract for each private nonprofit contractor for job opportunities and basic skills training program services and the general operation and budget for the department shall be audited by the legislative budget committee for the period between June 30, 1993, and July 1, 1997, to determine the effectiveness of programs and services for aid to families with dependent children, food stamp, and general assistance programs to assess eligible recipients in returning to work. The audit shall provide the following information about the effectiveness of the program and about the job opportunities and basic skills training program-eligible participants, in addition to any other information the auditors may provide: The number of participants participating in at least one hundred twenty hours of job readiness training per month; the number of job placements in full-time jobs as a percent of program graduates; the average number of hours worked upon hire; the number as a percent of recipients who held jobs for thirty days, ninety days, and twelve months; wages of graduates on hourly, weekly, and monthly basis and number earning more than one hundred twenty-five percent of the federal poverty level; the number as a percent receiving earned income tax credit; length of time on welfare for each stay and over a five-year period, benefits levels of the aid to families with dependent children, general assistance, and food stamp recipients; total earnings as compared to welfare benefits while on public assistance and working and at the time of ineligibility as a result of excess income; net tax improvement; any additional state and federal government savings; savings to employers in reduction in hiring and turnover costs; adult placement characteristics, such as age, gender, number of children, children under three years of age; criminal record; education; an estimate of the total number of welfare recipients who no longer depend on public assistance and who left public assistance by means of employment; and an estimate of the cost to the state as compared to private contracts for each job opportunities and basic skills training program completion, job placement, ninety-day job retention costs, and the monthly reimbursement in job opportunities and basic skills program funds.

The legislative budget committee shall report its findings to the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature by July 1, 1998.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. Sections 3 and 5 through 18 of this act are each added to chapter 74.25 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1995.