BILL REQ. #:  H-4906.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to preserving the WorkFirst child safety net program; and amending RCW 74.08A.260.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 74.08A.260 and 2003 c 383 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each recipient shall be assessed after determination of program eligibility and before referral to job search. Assessments shall be based upon factors that are critical to obtaining employment, including but not limited to education, availability of child care, history of family violence, history of substance abuse, and other factors that affect the ability to obtain employment. Assessments may be performed by the department or by a contracted entity. The assessment 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, 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; and (d) 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: (a) Shall be reduced by the recipient's share((,)); and (b) may, if the department determines it appropriate, be terminated.
     (4) The department shall exempt a recipient's family from application of subsection (3)(b) of this section by providing child safety net payments to maintain housing, basic utilities, and other verified needs of children in a recipient's family if the recipient or another adult in the recipient's family is in sanction status. The child safety net payment shall not be less than sixty percent of the assistance unit's regular monthly grant, and shall be sent to a protective payee who shall pay only the family's verified rent and utility costs with the child safety net payment. Any remaining amount shall be used only to pay for children's expenses, such as clothing, food, diapers, toiletries, school supplies, or other school-related costs.
     (5) 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))) (6) 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))) (7) 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.