S-0891.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5522
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By Senators Fairley and Kohl‑Welles
Read first time 01/26/1999. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.
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.)) When an adult applicant qualifies for temporary
assistance for needy families, the department shall make an initial assessment
of the qualified adult. Assessments shall be based upon factors that are
critical to obtaining employment, including but not limited to education,
employment strengths, and employment history. The assessment shall also
include an initial screening for barriers to self-sufficiency, including
without limitation, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence
victimization, limited English proficiency, and illiteracy. 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; (d) recommends that adult
recipients assure that their school-age children attend school; (e) requires
that the recipient document immunization of the child or children for whom the
recipient is responsible by a certificate showing that the child has completed
the state board of health's recommended infection disease immunization
schedule, and the minimum standards for the early and periodic screening,
diagnosis, and treatment schedule for preschool children, or is making
satisfactory progress in complying with the schedule, unless the recipient has
a waiver signed by a physician licensed under chapter 18.71 or 18.57 RCW
stating that a particular vaccine is not medically advisable for the child, or
the recipient certifies in writing that he or she has objections to the
required immunizations based upon religious beliefs; 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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