BILL REQ. #:  H-2504.1 

READ FIRST TIME 04/01/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to temporary assistance for needy families benefits; amending RCW 74.08A.260, 43.88C.010, 74.08.025, 74.08A.230, 74.08.270, and 74.08A.340; adding a new section to chapter 74.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.08A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.12 RCW; creating new sections; providing effective dates; providing expiration dates; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that stable and sustainable employment is the key goal of the WorkFirst and temporary assistance for needy families programs. The legislature further finds that, with almost fifteen years of experience operating the temporary assistance for needy families program and through the WorkFirst redesign project, we have gained significant knowledge regarding program design elements that are most likely to lead to self-sufficiency through stable and sustainable employment. Particularly in times of fiscal challenge, temporary assistance for needy families and WorkFirst resources must be invested in program elements that produce the best results for low-income families and the state of Washington, to the extent that such investments do not substantially jeopardize Washington state's receipt of federal temporary assistance for needy families block grant funds.
     The core tenets that are the foundation of Washington state's WorkFirst program are: (1) Achieving stable and successful employment; (2) employing a family-centered case planning and engagement approach to achieve good outcomes and reduce long-term dependency and generational poverty within families; (3) recognizing the critical role that participants play in their children's development, healthy growth, and promotion of family stability; (4) developing strategies founded on the principle that WorkFirst is a transitional, not long-term, program to assist families on the pathway to self-sufficiency; and (5) leveraging resources outside of the funding for the temporary assistance for needy families program is crucial to achieving the goals of WorkFirst. It is the intent of the legislature, using evidence-based and research-based practices, to develop a road map to self-sufficiency for participants in WorkFirst and recipients of temporary assistance for needy families.

Sec. 2   RCW 74.08A.260 and 2009 c 85 s 2 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 department shall conduct an initial comprehensive family assessment at program entry. The primary purpose of the assessment is to determine the applicant's readiness for employment, including full consideration of factors that are critical to obtaining stable and sustainable employment, such as education, availability of child care, history of family violence, history of substance abuse, mental illness and chronic medical conditions, and other factors that affect a recipient's ability to obtain stable and sustainable employment. 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:))
     (2) The department shall develop a plan to implement a predictive modeling tool to be used to identify risk factors relating to a recipient's participation in the temporary assistance for needy families program and his or her employability. The predictive modeling tool must be designed to assist the department in identifying recipients who are at high risk to remain in or return to the temporary assistance for needy families program and those who are at low risk to remain and are likely to exit the program and not return.
     (3) Based upon the information obtained by the predictive modeling tool under subsection (2) of this section, when developed, and the information obtained from the assessment under subsection (1) of this section, an individual responsibility plan shall be prepared for the recipient. The individual responsibility plan is intended to establish an employment goal and effectively address each of the needs identified in the recipient's assessment so that his or her employment goal can be met. The plan shall: (a) Set((s)) forth an employment goal and a plan for maximizing the recipient's success at meeting the employment goal; (b) ((considers)) identify WorkFirst educational and training programs ((from which the recipient could benefit)) that, whether alone or in combination with work activities, will enable the recipient to reach his or her employment goal; (c) identify services necessary to address barriers to employment, such as behavioral health services, domestic violence services, or services to address learning disabilities; (d) contain((s)) the obligation of the recipient to participate in the program by complying with the plan; (((d))) (e) move((s)) the recipient into full-time WorkFirst activities as quickly as possible; and (((e))) (f) describe((s)) the services available to the recipient either during or after WorkFirst to enable the recipient to obtain and keep employment and to advance in the workplace and increase the recipient's wage earning potential over time. In determining which training or educational programs or other services to include in the plan, the department must endeavor to utilize training and educational programs and other services that have been shown to produce the most stable and sustainable employment outcomes for recipients.
     (((2))) (4) 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))) (5) 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))) (6) The department may waive the penalties required under subsection (((3))) (5) 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))) (7) 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))) (8) 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))) (9) 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)) education 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 74.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By December 1, 2011, the department shall develop an implementation plan for redesign of the WorkFirst program. The plan must include, but not be limited to, the following:
     (a) A strengthened assessment and predictive modeling process, as provided in RCW 74.08A.260;
     (b) Individualized case management to meaningfully engage recipients in services and activities necessary to address employment barriers and increase successful outcomes;
     (c) Improvements in employment pathway activities related to job search, education and training programs, and work activities. Improvements should rely upon employment outcomes data from the employment security department, state board for community and technical colleges, and the department of commerce, as well as research identifying evidence-based and research-based programs operating successfully in other states;
     (d) Services for families that have exited the temporary assistance for needy families program;
     (e) Strategy for involvement of participants with local community organizations;
     (f) Revised requirements for families with young children in school less than full time; and
     (g) A continuous evaluation process that includes monitoring of outcome measures identified in RCW 74.08A.410.
     (2) This section expires June 30, 2013.

Sec. 4   RCW 43.88C.010 and 2000 c 90 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The caseload forecast council is hereby created. The council shall consist of two individuals appointed by the governor and four individuals, one of whom is appointed by the chairperson of each of the two largest political caucuses in the senate and house of representatives. The chair of the council shall be selected from among the four caucus appointees. The council may select such other officers as the members deem necessary.
     (2) The council shall employ a caseload forecast supervisor to supervise the preparation of all caseload forecasts. As used in this chapter, "supervisor" means the caseload forecast supervisor.
     (3) Approval by an affirmative vote of at least five members of the council is required for any decisions regarding employment of the supervisor. Employment of the supervisor shall terminate after each term of three years. At the end of the first year of each three-year term the council shall consider extension of the supervisor's term by one year. The council may fix the compensation of the supervisor. The supervisor shall employ staff sufficient to accomplish the purposes of this section.
     (4) The caseload forecast council shall oversee the preparation of and approve, by an affirmative vote of at least four members, the official state caseload forecasts prepared under RCW 43.88C.020. If the council is unable to approve a forecast before a date required in RCW 43.88C.020, the supervisor shall submit the forecast without approval and the forecast shall have the same effect as if approved by the council.
     (5) A council member who does not cast an affirmative vote for approval of the official caseload forecast may request, and the supervisor shall provide, an alternative forecast based on assumptions specified by the member.
     (6) Members of the caseload forecast council shall serve without additional compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120 while attending sessions of the council or on official business authorized by the council. Nonlegislative members of the council shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (7) "Caseload," as used in this chapter, means the number of persons expected to meet entitlement requirements and require the services of public assistance programs, state correctional institutions, state correctional noninstitutional supervision, state institutions for juvenile offenders, the common school system, long-term care, medical assistance, foster care, and adoption support.
     (8) The office of financial management shall provide the caseload forecast council and the legislature with a caseload forecast of the temporary assistance for needy families program prior to each regularly scheduled meeting of the caseload forecast council.
     (9) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions provided in RCW 43.88.020 apply to this chapter.

Sec. 5   RCW 74.08.025 and 2005 c 174 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Public assistance may be awarded to any applicant:
     (a) Who is in need and otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of department assistance programs; and
     (b) Who has not made a voluntary assignment of property or cash for the purpose of qualifying for an assistance grant; and
     (c) Who is not an inmate of a public institution except as a patient in a medical institution or except as an inmate in a public institution who could qualify for federal aid assistance: PROVIDED, That the assistance paid by the department to recipients in nursing homes, or receiving nursing home care, may cover the cost of clothing and incidentals and general maintenance exclusive of medical care and health services. The department may pay a grant to cover the cost of clothing and personal incidentals in public or private medical institutions and institutions for tuberculosis. The department shall allow recipients in nursing homes to retain, in addition to the grant to cover the cost of clothing and incidentals, wages received for work as a part of a training or rehabilitative program designed to prepare the recipient for less restrictive placement to the extent permitted under Title XIX of the federal social security act.
     (2) Any person otherwise qualified for temporary assistance for needy families under this title who has resided in the state of Washington for fewer than twelve consecutive months immediately preceding application for assistance is limited to the benefit level in the state in which the person resided immediately before Washington, using the eligibility rules and other definitions established under this chapter, that was obtainable on the date of application in Washington state, if the benefit level of the prior state is lower than the level provided to similarly situated applicants in Washington state. The benefit level under this subsection shall be in effect for the first twelve months a recipient is on temporary assistance for needy families in Washington state.
     (3) Any person otherwise qualified for temporary assistance for needy families who is assessed through the state alcohol and substance abuse program as drug or alcohol-dependent and requiring treatment to become employable shall be required by the department to participate in a drug or alcohol treatment program as a condition of benefit receipt.
     (4) The department may implement a permanent disqualification for temporary assistance for needy families for parents who have been terminated due to WorkFirst noncompliance sanction three or more times since March 1, 2007, when efforts to reengage the parent in WorkFirst activities have not been successful.
     (5) Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 862a(d)(1), the department shall exempt individuals from the eligibility restrictions of 21 U.S.C. 862a(a)(1) and (2) to ensure eligibility for temporary assistance for needy families benefits and federal food assistance.

Sec. 6   RCW 74.08A.230 and 1997 c 58 s 308 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to their monthly benefit payment, a family may earn and keep ((one-half)) up to forty percent of its earnings as set by the department during every month it is eligible to receive assistance under this section.
     (2) In no event may a family be eligible for temporary assistance for needy families if its monthly gross earned income exceeds the maximum earned income level as set by the department. In calculating a household's gross earnings, the department shall disregard the earnings of a minor child who is:
     (a) A full-time student; or
     (b) A part-time student carrying at least half the normal school load and working fewer than thirty-five hours per week.

Sec. 7   RCW 74.08A.270 and 2007 c 289 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Good cause reasons for failure to participate in WorkFirst program components include: (a) Situations where the recipient is a parent or other relative personally providing care for a child under the age of six years, and formal or informal 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 fails to provide such care; or (b) the recipient is a parent with a child under the age of ((one)) two years.
     (2) A parent claiming a good cause exemption from WorkFirst participation under subsection (1)(b) of this section may be required to participate in one or more of the following, up to a maximum total of twenty hours per week, if such treatment, services, or training is indicated by the comprehensive evaluation or other assessment:
     (a) Mental health treatment;
     (b) Alcohol or drug treatment;
     (c) Domestic violence services; or
     (d) Parenting education or parenting skills training, if available.
     (3) The department shall: (a) Work with a parent claiming a good cause exemption under subsection (1)(b) of this section to identify and access programs and services designed to improve parenting skills and promote child well-being, including but not limited to home visitation programs and services; and (b) provide information on the availability of home visitation services to temporary assistance for needy families caseworkers, who shall inform clients of the availability of the services. If desired by the client, the caseworker shall facilitate appropriate referrals to providers of home visitation services.
     (4) Nothing in this section shall prevent a recipient from participating in the WorkFirst program on a voluntary basis.
     (5) A parent is eligible for a good cause exemption under subsection (1)(b) of this section for a maximum total of ((twelve)) twenty-four months over the parent's lifetime.
     (6) If a participant does not participate in WorkFirst activities or other activities under this section on a voluntary basis, the participant is not eligible for child care services provided in RCW 74.08A.340.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   A new section is added to chapter 74.08A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Recipients with children under the age of six who are required to participate in a work activity shall be permitted to limit their participation in that work activity to twenty hours per week.
     (2) This section expires June 30, 2013.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:
     The department may adopt rules establishing eligibility for temporary assistance for needy families benefits for a child, other than a foster child, who lives with a caregiver other than his or her parents. These rules may include, but are not limited to, establishing income eligibility standards for the child's caregiver up to three hundred percent of the federal poverty level based on family size and establishing a sliding scale benefit standard for a child when the income of the child's caregiver is above two hundred percent of the federal poverty level based on family size.

Sec. 10   RCW 74.08A.340 and 2009 c 564 s 953 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((The department of social and health services shall operate the Washington WorkFirst program authorized under RCW 74.08A.200 through 74.08A.330, 43.330.145, 43.215.545, and 74.25.040, and chapter 74.12 RCW within the following constraints:))
     (1) The full amount of the temporary assistance for needy families block grant, plus qualifying state expenditures ((as appropriated in the biennial operating budget)), shall be appropriated to the department of social and health services each year in the ((biennial)) appropriations act to carry out the provisions of the program authorized in RCW ((74.08A.200)) 74.08A.210 through 74.08A.330, 43.330.145, 43.215.545, and 74.25.040, ((and)) chapter 74.12 RCW, and policies established by the legislature.
     (2)(((a))) The full amount of the child care development fund, plus qualifying state expenditures, shall be appropriated to the department of early learning each year in the appropriations act to carry out the provisions of the working connections child care program, child care quality programs, and child care licensing functions. The department of early learning shall transfer to the department of social and health services funds sufficient to carry out working connections child care eligibility determinations, service authorizations, and child care provider payments in a manner consistent with policy established by the legislature and the department of early learning.
     (3) Within funds appropriated and policy established by the legislature, the department ((may)) of social and health services shall implement strategies and expend funds ((defined in subsection (1) of this section in any manner that will effectively accomplish)) in a manner that accomplishes the outcome measures defined in RCW 74.08A.410 ((with the following exception: Beginning with the 2007-2009 biennium, funds that constitute the working connections child care program, child care quality programs, and child care licensing functions.
     (b) Beginning in the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium, the legislature shall appropriate and the departments of early learning and social and health services shall expend funds defined in subsection (1) of this section that constitute the working connections child care program, child care quality programs, and child care licensing functions in a manner that is consistent with the outcome measures defined in RCW 74.08A.410)). Within funds appropriated, the department of early learning shall expend funds in a manner consistent with the requirements of RCW 43.215.135.
     (((c))) (4) No more than fifteen percent of the appropriated amounts ((provided in subsection (1) of this section)) may be spent for administrative purposes. For the purpose of this subsection, "administrative purposes" does not include expenditures for information technology and computerization needed for tracking and monitoring required by P.L. 104-193. ((The department shall not increase grant levels to recipients of the program authorized in RCW 74.08A.200 through 74.08A.330 and 43.330.145 and chapter 74.12 RCW, except as authorized in the omnibus appropriations act for the 2009-2011 biennium.
     (3) The department shall implement strategies that accomplish the outcome measures identified in RCW 74.08A.410 that are within the funding constraints in this section. Specifically, the department shall implement strategies that will cause the number of cases in the program authorized in RCW 74.08A.200 through 74.08A.330 and 43.330.145 and chapter 74.12 RCW to decrease by at least fifteen percent during the 1997-99 biennium and by at least five percent in the subsequent biennium. The department may transfer appropriation authority between funding categories within the economic services program in order to carry out the requirements of this subsection.
     (4))) (5) The department of social and health services and the department of early learning shall operate the programs under subsections (1) and (2) of this section within appropriated levels. The departments each shall monitor expenditures against the appropriation levels provided ((for in subsection (1) of this section)) in the appropriations act. The departments shall each quarterly make a determination as to whether expenditure levels will exceed available funding and communicate ((its)) their findings to the legislature. If the determination indicates that expenditures will exceed funding at the end of the fiscal year, the departments shall take all necessary actions consistent with the appropriations act and chapters 43.215 and 74.08A RCW to ensure that all services provided under ((this chapter)) subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be made available only to the extent of the availability and level of appropriation made by the legislature.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   This act may be known and cited as the family security act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   Section 2 of this act takes effect July 1, 2012.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   Sections 5 through 8 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect May 1, 2011.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14   Section 9 of this act takes effect November 1, 2011.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   Section 7 of this act expires June 30, 2013.