BILL REQ. #:  H-0376.1 

Read first time 01/15/09.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & Children's Services.

     AN ACT Relating to requiring recipients of temporary assistance for needy families to participate in activities designed to reduce and eliminate barriers to employment; and amending RCW 74.08A.260.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 74.08A.260 and 2006 c 107 s 3 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) If the assessment conducted under this section or other reliable information indicates the likelihood that the recipient's reliance on public assistance is the result in whole or in part of the recipient's substance abuse or chemical dependency, the individual responsibility plan developed under this section shall include a process for the recipient to engage in periodic urinalysis drug testing, which may be accomplished through a treatment program, routine employer screening of employees, or other lawful means. A recipient required to engage in periodic drug testing under this subsection must sign a release allowing for the results to be sent to the department. If a recipient produces a positive test, he or she shall be required to engage in a treatment program that includes a urinalysis test at the conclusion of the program to confirm compliance with the goals of the program, if not already engaged in such a program. If a recipient refuses to submit to a urinalysis test, sign a release, or engage in treatment, the department shall assign a protective payee for the recipient.
     (3) 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))) (4) 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))) (5) The department may waive the penalties required under subsection (((3))) (4) 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.
     (((7))) (8) Assessments conducted under this section shall include a consideration of the potential benefit to the recipient of engaging in financial literacy activities. The department shall consider the options for financial literacy activities available in the community, including information and resources available through the financial literacy public-private partnership created under RCW 28A.300.450. The department may authorize up to ten hours of financial literacy activities as a core activity or an optional activity under WorkFirst.