AN ACT Relating to public assistance; amending
RCW 74.25.020; reenacting and amending RCW 74.04.005; adding new sections to
chapter 74.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.12 RCW; adding a new
chapter to Title 74 RCW; creating new sections; providing effective dates; and
declaring an emergency.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.
The legislature finds that:
(1) Public assistance is intended to be a
temporary financial relief program, recognizing that families can be confronted
with a financial crisis at any time in life. Successful public assistance
programs depend on the availability of adequate resources to assist individuals
deemed eligible for the benefits of such a program. In this way, eligible
families are given sufficient assistance to reenter productive employment in a
minimal time period.
(2) The current public assistance system
requires a reduction in grant standards when income is received. In most
cases, family income is limited to levels substantially below the standard of
need. This is a strong disincentive to work. To remove this disincentive, the
legislature intends to allow families to retain a greater percentage of income
before it results in the reduction or termination of benefits;
(3) Employment, training, and education
services provided to employable recipients of public assistance are effective
tools in achieving economic self-sufficiency. Support services that are
targeted to the specific needs of the individual offer the best hope of
achieving economic self-sufficiency in a cost-effective manner;
(4) State welfare-to-work programs, which move
individuals from dependence to economic independence, must be operated
cooperatively and collaboratively between state agencies and programs. They
also must include public assistance recipients as active partners in
self-sufficiency planning activities. Participants in economic independence
programs and services will benefit from the concepts of personal empowerment,
self-motivation, and self-esteem;
(5) Many barriers to economic independence are
found in federal statutes and rules, and provide states with limited options
for restructuring existing programs in order to create incentives for
employment over continued dependence;
(6) The legislature finds that the personal and
societal costs of teenage childbearing are substantial. Teen parents are less
likely to finish high school and more likely to depend upon public assistance
than women who delay childbearing until adulthood; and
(7) The legislature intends that an effort be
made to ensure that each teenage parent who is a public assistance recipient
live in a setting that increases the likelihood that the teen parent will
complete high school and achieve economic independence.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.
For purposes of determining the amount of grant payments to recipients of aid
to families with dependent children, all countable nonexempt earned income
shall be subtracted from an amount equal to fifty-five percent of the need
standard. The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement the intent
of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.
The department shall amend the state plan to eliminate the one hundred hour
work rule for recipients of aid to families with dependent children-employable.
The department shall seek federal approval for the amendment to the state plan
and report on federal action to the appropriate standing committees of the
legislature by December 1, 1993.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.
The department shall initiate a pilot project using electronic benefit transfer
technology for the food stamp, aid to families with dependent children, and
women, infant, and children programs. The department shall report to the
appropriate standing committees of the legislature on the project
implementation status by December 1, 1994.
Sec. 5.
RCW 74.04.005 and 1992 c 165 s 1 and 1992 c 136 s 1 are each reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
For the purposes of this title, unless the
context indicates otherwise, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Public assistance" or
"assistance"CPublic aid to persons in
need thereof for any cause, including services, medical care, assistance
grants, disbursing orders, work relief, general assistance and federal-aid
assistance.
(2) "Department"CThe
department of social and health services.
(3) "County or local office"CThe
administrative office for one or more counties or designated service areas.
(4) "Director" or
"secretary" means the secretary of social and health services.
(5) "Federal-aid assistance"CThe
specific categories of assistance for which provision is made in any federal
law existing or hereafter passed by which payments are made from the federal
government to the state in aid or in respect to payment by the state for public
assistance rendered to any category of needy persons for which provision for
federal funds or aid may from time to time be made, or a federally administered
needs-based program.
(6)(a) "General assistance"CAid
to persons in need who:
(i) Are not eligible to receive federal-aid
assistance, other than food stamps and medical assistance; however, an
individual who refuses or fails to cooperate in obtaining federal-aid
assistance, without good cause, is not eligible for general assistance;
(ii) Meet one of the following conditions:
(A) Pregnant: PROVIDED, That need is based on
the current income and resource requirements of the federal aid to families
with dependent children program: PROVIDED FURTHER, That during any period in
which an aid for dependent children employable program is not in operation,
only those pregnant women who are categorically eligible for medicaid are
eligible for general assistance; ((or))
(B) Under twenty years of age and ineligible
for aid to families with dependent children solely due to federal age
requirements, and are full-time students reasonably expected to complete a
program of secondary school or the equivalent level of vocational or technical
training before the end of the month in which the person reaches age twenty.
Reasonably expected to complete a program of secondary school or the equivalent
level of vocational or technical training means maintaining a grade point
average equal to or greater than a 2.5. For purposes of determining payment
amount, the student is considered a member of the aid to families with
dependent children household of which the student would be a member but for the
federal age requirement. In determining eligibility, earnings of a full-time
student shall be disregarded, in accordance with department standards,
notwithstanding the earnings limitation imposed by RCW 74.04.266;
(C) Subject to chapter 165, Laws of
1992, incapacitated from gainful employment by reason of bodily or mental
infirmity that will likely continue for a minimum of ninety days as determined
by the department((.)); or
(((C))) (D) Persons who are
unemployable due to alcohol or drug addiction are not eligible for general
assistance. Persons receiving general assistance on July 26, 1987, or becoming
eligible for such assistance thereafter, due to an alcohol or drug-related
incapacity, shall be referred to appropriate assessment, treatment, shelter, or
supplemental security income referral services as authorized under chapter
74.50 RCW. Referrals shall be made at the time of application or at the time
of eligibility review. Alcoholic and drug addicted clients who are receiving
general assistance on July 26, 1987, may remain on general assistance if they
otherwise retain their eligibility until they are assessed for services under
chapter 74.50 RCW. Subsection (6)(a)(ii)(((B)))(C) of this
section shall not be construed to prohibit the department from granting general
assistance benefits to alcoholics and drug addicts who are incapacitated due to
other physical or mental conditions that meet the eligibility criteria for the
general assistance program;
(iii) Are citizens or aliens lawfully admitted
for permanent residence or otherwise residing in the United States under color
of law; and
(iv) Have furnished the department their social
security account number. If the social security account number cannot be
furnished because it has not been issued or is not known, an application for a
number shall be made prior to authorization of assistance, and the social
security number shall be provided to the department upon receipt.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (6)(a)(i), (ii), and (c) of this section, general assistance shall
be provided to the following recipients of federal-aid assistance:
(i) Recipients of supplemental security income
whose need, as defined in this section, is not met by such supplemental
security income grant because of separation from a spouse; or
(ii) ((To the extent authorized by the
legislature in the biennial appropriations act, to)) Recipients of
aid to families with dependent children whose needs are not being met because
of a temporary reduction in monthly income below the entitled benefit payment
level caused by loss or reduction of wages or unemployment compensation
benefits or some other unforeseen circumstances. The amount of general
assistance authorized shall not exceed the difference between the entitled
benefit payment level and the amount of income actually received. Payment
shall be made within fifteen days of the request.
(c) General assistance shall be provided only
to persons who are not members of assistance units receiving federal aid
assistance, except as provided in subsection (6)(a)(ii)(A) and (b) of this
section, and will accept available services which can reasonably be expected to
enable the person to work or reduce the need for assistance unless there is
good cause to refuse. Failure to accept such services shall result in termination
until the person agrees to cooperate in accepting such services and subject to
the following maximum periods of ineligibility after reapplication:
(i) First failure: One week;
(ii) Second failure within six months: One
month;
(iii) Third and subsequent failure within one
year: Two months.
(d) Persons found eligible for general
assistance based on incapacity from gainful employment may, if otherwise
eligible, receive general assistance pending application for federal supplemental
security income benefits. Any general assistance that is subsequently
duplicated by the person's receipt of supplemental security income for the same
period shall be considered a debt due the state and shall by operation of law
be subject to recovery through all available legal remedies.
(e) The department shall adopt by rule medical
criteria for general assistance eligibility to ensure that eligibility
decisions are consistent with statutory requirements and are based on clear,
objective medical information.
(f) The process implementing the medical
criteria shall involve consideration of opinions of the treating or consulting
physicians or health care professionals regarding incapacity, and any
eligibility decision which rejects uncontroverted medical opinion must set
forth clear and convincing reasons for doing so.
(g) Recipients of general assistance based upon
a finding of incapacity from gainful employment who remain otherwise eligible
shall not have their benefits terminated absent a clear showing of material
improvement in their medical or mental condition or specific error in the prior
determination that found the recipient eligible by reason of incapacitation.
Recipients of general assistance based upon pregnancy who relinquish their
child for adoption, remain otherwise eligible, and are not eligible to receive
benefits under the federal aid to families with dependent children program
shall not have their benefits terminated until the end of the month in which
the period of six weeks following the birth of the recipient's child falls.
Recipients of the federal aid to families with dependent children program who
lose their eligibility solely because of the birth and relinquishment of the
qualifying child may receive general assistance through the end of the month in
which the period of six weeks following the birth of the child falls.
(h) Students with earnings shall not be
eligible for the essential persons program unless the earnings are disregarded.
(7) "Applicant"CAny
person who has made a request, or on behalf of whom a request has been made, to
any county or local office for assistance.
(8) "Recipient"CAny
person receiving assistance and in addition those dependents whose needs are
included in the recipient's assistance.
(9) "Standards of assistance"CThe
level of income required by an applicant or recipient to maintain a level of
living specified by the department.
(10) "Resource"CAny
asset, tangible or intangible, owned by or available to the applicant at the
time of application, which can be applied toward meeting the applicant's need,
either directly or by conversion into money or its equivalent: PROVIDED, That
an applicant may retain the following described resources and not be ineligible
for public assistance because of such resources.
(a) A home, which is defined as real property
owned and used by an applicant or recipient as a place of residence, together
with a reasonable amount of property surrounding and contiguous thereto, which
is used by and useful to the applicant. Whenever a recipient shall cease to
use such property for residential purposes, either for himself or his dependents,
the property shall be considered as a resource which can be made available to
meet need, and if the recipient or his dependents absent themselves from the
home for a period of ninety consecutive days such absence, unless due to
hospitalization or health reasons or a natural disaster, shall raise a
rebuttable presumption of abandonment: PROVIDED, That if in the opinion of
three physicians the recipient will be unable to return to the home during his
lifetime, and the home is not occupied by a spouse or dependent children or
disabled sons or daughters, such property shall be considered as a resource
which can be made available to meet need.
(b) Household furnishings and personal effects
and other personal property having great sentimental value to the applicant or
recipient, as limited by the department consistent with limitations on
resources and exemptions for federal aid assistance.
(c) A motor vehicle, other than a motor home,
used and useful having an equity value not to exceed one thousand five hundred
dollars.
(d) All other resources, including any excess
of values exempted, not to exceed one thousand dollars or other limit as set by
the department, to be consistent with limitations on resources and exemptions
necessary for federal aid assistance.
(e) Applicants for or recipients of general
assistance shall have their eligibility based on resource limitations
consistent with the aid to families with dependent children program rules
adopted by the department.
(f) If an applicant for or recipient of public
assistance possesses property and belongings in excess of the ceiling value,
such value shall be used in determining the need of the applicant or recipient,
except that: (i) The department may exempt resources or income when the income
and resources are determined necessary to the applicant's or recipient's
restoration to independence, to decrease the need for public assistance, or to
aid in rehabilitating the applicant or recipient or a dependent of the
applicant or recipient; and (ii) the department may provide grant assistance
for a period not to exceed nine months from the date the agreement is signed
pursuant to this section to persons who are otherwise ineligible because of
excess real property owned by such persons when they are making a good faith
effort to dispose of that property: PROVIDED, That:
(A) The applicant or recipient signs an
agreement to repay the lesser of the amount of aid received or the net proceeds
of such sale;
(B) If the owner of the excess property ceases
to make good faith efforts to sell the property, the entire amount of
assistance may become an overpayment and a debt due the state and may be
recovered pursuant to RCW 43.20B.630;
(C) Applicants and recipients are advised of
their right to a fair hearing and afforded the opportunity to challenge a
decision that good faith efforts to sell have ceased, prior to assessment of an
overpayment under this section; and
(D) At the time assistance is authorized, the
department files a lien without a sum certain on the specific property.
(11) "Income"C(a)
All appreciable gains in real or personal property (cash or kind) or other
assets, which are received by or become available for use and enjoyment by an
applicant or recipient during the month of application or after applying for or
receiving public assistance. The department may by rule and regulation exempt
income received by an applicant for or recipient of public assistance which can
be used by him to decrease his need for public assistance or to aid in
rehabilitating him or his dependents, but such exemption shall not, unless
otherwise provided in this title, exceed the exemptions of resources granted
under this chapter to an applicant for public assistance. In determining the amount
of assistance to which an applicant or recipient of aid to families with
dependent children is entitled, the department is hereby authorized to
disregard as a resource or income the earned income exemptions consistent with
federal requirements. The department may permit the above exemption of
earnings of a child to be retained by such child to cover the cost of special
future identifiable needs even though the total exceeds the exemptions or
resources granted to applicants and recipients of public assistance, but
consistent with federal requirements. In formulating rules and regulations
pursuant to this chapter, the department shall define income and resources and
the availability thereof, consistent with federal requirements. All resources
and income not specifically exempted, and any income or other economic benefit
derived from the use of, or appreciation in value of, exempt resources, shall
be considered in determining the need of an applicant or recipient of public
assistance.
(b) If, under applicable federal requirements,
the state has the option of considering property in the form of lump sum
compensatory awards or related settlements received by an applicant or
recipient as income or as a resource, the department shall consider such property
to be a resource.
(12) "Need"CThe
difference between the applicant's or recipient's standards of assistance for
himself and the dependent members of his family, as measured by the standards
of the department, and value of all nonexempt resources and nonexempt income
received by or available to the applicant or recipient and the dependent
members of his family.
(13) For purposes of determining eligibility
for public assistance and participation levels in the cost of medical care, the
department shall exempt restitution payments made to people of Japanese and
Aleut ancestry pursuant to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and the Aleutian and
Pribilof Island Restitution Act passed by congress, P.L. 100‑383,
including all income and resources derived therefrom.
(14) In the construction of words and phrases
used in this title, the singular number shall include the plural, the masculine
gender shall include both the feminine and neuter genders and the present tense
shall include the past and future tenses, unless the context thereof shall
clearly indicate to the contrary.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A
new section is added to chapter 74.04 RCW to read as follows:
The department shall amend the state plan to
include an aid to families with dependent children essential persons program
that would, to the extent permitted under federal law, allow eighteen to twenty
year old students to be eligible for federal aid to families with dependent
children matching grants.
Sec. 7.
RCW 74.25.020 and 1992 c 165 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department of social and health
services is authorized to 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. The department of social
and health services has sole authority and responsibility to carry out the job
opportunities and basic skills training program. 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((: PROVIDED, That the department shall require nonexempt
parents under age twenty-four to actively participate in orientation, assessment,
and either education, vocational training, or employment programs. At least
one nonexempt parent in the aid to families with dependent children-employable
program shall actively participate in orientation, assessment, and either job
search, education, training, or employment. Social services shall be offered
to participants in accordance with federal law. The department shall adopt
appropriate sanctions to ensure compliance with the requirements and policies
of this chapter)).
(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 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. 8.
The department may provide grants to community action agencies or other local
nonprofit organizations to provide job opportunities and basic skills training
program participants with transitional support services, one-to-one assistance,
and job retention services.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9.
The department of social and health services shall design a program for
implementation involving recipients of aid to families with dependent
children. A goal of this program is to develop a system that segments the aid
to families with dependent children recipient population and identifies
subgroups, matches services to the needs of the subgroup, and prioritizes
available services. The department shall specify the services to be offered in
each population segment. The general focus of the services offered shall be on
job training, work force preparedness, and job retention.
The program shall be designed for state-wide
implementation on July 1, 1994. A proposal for implementation may include
phasing certain components over time or geographic area. The department shall
submit this program to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of
representatives by December 1, 1993.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A
new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:
(1) As part of the orientation and assessment
conducted pursuant to RCW 74.25.020, the department shall assist the family of
the recipient in determining, in the following order of priority, the most
appropriate living situation that will best ensure the safety and well-being
for each recipient of aid to families with dependent children who is receiving
those benefits as a head of household and is under age eighteen. Appropriate
living situations may include, but are not limited to:
(a) The parent's home;
(b) The home of a relative;
(c) A group living situation with adult
supervision and guidance;
(d) Living independently; and
(e) Payment of the recipient's grant to another
as provided in RCW 74.12.250.
(2) In conducting the assessment, the
department shall consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to:
(a) Whether the recipient is enrolled in and
attending school;
(b) Whether the recipient is employed;
(c) The situation in the home of the
recipient's parents, including but not limited to, whether there is substance
abuse or domestic violence in the home and the adequacy of the dwelling; and
(d) Whether there is a history of physical,
emotional, or sexual abuse of the recipient by a person living in or
frequenting the recipient's parents' home.
(3) If, as a result of the assessment, the
department becomes aware of a recipient's need for other services that will
help the recipient complete high school or achieve economic independence, and
be an effective parent, the department shall make every effort to link the
recipient with the services, including parenting classes.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A
new section is added to chapter 74.04 RCW to read as follows:
In determining food stamp eligibility, the
department shall exclude as income the child support exempted by 42 U.S.C. Sec.
602(a)(8)(vi) or 657 (b).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. By
October 1, 1993, the department shall request the governor to seek
congressional and federal agency action on any federal legislation or federal
regulation that may be necessary to implement chapter 74.-- RCW (sections 2
through 4, 8, and 12 of this act), and any other section of chapter
. . ., Laws of 1993 (this act) that may require a federal waiver.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13.
Sections 2 through 4, 8, and 12 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in
Title 74 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14.
Section 2 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1994, if specific funding for
the purposes of section 2 of this act, referencing section 2 of this act by
bill and section number, is provided by July 1, 1994, in the omnibus
appropriations act. If specific funding is not so provided, section 2 of this
act shall be null and void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15.
Section 3 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1993, if specific funding for
the purposes of section 3 of this act, referencing section 3 of this act by
bill and section number, is provided by July 1, 1993, in the omnibus
appropriations act. If specific funding is not so provided, section 3 of this act
shall be null and void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16.
Section 4 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1993, if specific funding for
the purposes of section 4 of this act, referencing section 4 of this act by
bill and section number, is provided by July 1, 1993, in the omnibus
appropriations act. If specific funding is not so provided, section 4 of this
act shall be null and void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17.
Section 5 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1993, if specific funding for
the purposes of section 5 of this act, referencing section 5 of this act by
bill and section number, is provided by July 1, 1993, in the omnibus
appropriations act. If specific funding is not so provided, section 5 of this act
shall be null and void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18.
Section 11 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1994, if specific funding for
the purposes of section 11 of this act, referencing section 11 of this act by
bill and section number, is provided by July 1, 1994, in the omnibus
appropriations act. If specific funding is not so provided, section 11 of this
act shall be null and void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19.
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.
