S-1825.1 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5522
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By Senate Committee on Labor & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Fairley and Kohl‑Welles)
Read first time 03/01/1999.
AN ACT Relating to work activity provisions for recipients of temporary assistance for needy families; and amending RCW 74.08A.260.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 74.08A.260 and 1997 c 58 s 313 are each amended to read as follows:
Recipients
who have not obtained paid, unsubsidized employment by the end of the job
search component ((authorized in section 312 of this act)) shall be
referred to a work activity.
(1)
((Each recipient shall be assessed immediately upon completion of the job
search component. Assessments)) When an adult applicant qualifies for
temporary assistance for needy families, the department shall make an initial
assessment of the qualified adult, for the purpose of employability screening,
in order to determine if the qualified adult has a condition indicating
temporary deferrability from WorkFirst work activities. The employability
screening shall be based upon factors that are critical to obtaining
employment, including but not limited to education, employment strengths, and
employment history and shall include such factors as homelessness, drug and
alcohol abuse, domestic violence victimization, limited English proficiency,
and illiteracy. ((Assessments)) Screening may be performed
by the department or by a contracted entity. The ((assessment)) screening
shall be based on a uniform, consistent, transferable format that will be
accepted by all agencies and organizations serving the recipient. Based on the
((assessment)) employability screening and its findings, an
individual responsibility plan shall be prepared that: (a) Sets forth an
employment goal and a plan for moving the recipient immediately into
employment; (b) contains the obligation of the recipient to become and remain
employed; (c) moves the recipient into whatever employment the recipient is
capable of handling as quickly as possible; (d) recommends that adult
recipients assure that their school-age children attend school; (e) recommends
that the recipient obtain immunization of the child or children for whom the
recipient is responsible, and work toward completion of the state board of
health's recommended infectious disease immunization schedule, and the minimum
standards for the early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment
schedule for preschool children; and (((d))) (f) describes
the services available to the recipient to enable the recipient to obtain and
keep employment.
(2) Recipients who are not engaged in work and work activities, and do not qualify for a good cause exemption under RCW 74.08A.270, shall engage in self‑directed service as provided in RCW 74.08A.330.
(3) If a recipient refuses to engage in work and work activities required by the department, the family's grant shall be reduced by the recipient's share, and may, if the department determines it appropriate, be terminated.
(4) The department may waive the penalties required under subsection (3) of this section, subject to a finding that the recipient refused to engage in work for good cause provided in RCW 74.08A.270.
(5) In implementing this section, the department shall assign the highest priority to the most employable clients, including adults in two-parent families and parents in single-parent families that include older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in work activities.
(6) In consultation with the recipient, the department or contractor shall place the recipient into a work activity that is available in the local area where the recipient resides.
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