S-3876.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6461

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Senators B. Sheldon, Winsley, Costa, Patterson, Hargrove, Kline, McAuliffe, Kohl‑Welles, Spanel, Rasmussen and Gardner

Read first time 01/17/2000.  Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

Allowing certain training at community or technical colleges to qualify as a work activity under the temporary assistance for needy families program.

    AN ACT Relating to work activities for recipients of temporary assistance for needy families; amending RCW 74.08A.250; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that the best path to leave welfare and achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency is postsecondary education.  Recent studies demonstrate that without some postsecondary education, most women who leave welfare for work will earn wages far below the federal poverty line for several years thereafter.  In addition, only twenty-two percent of new jobs created through 2006 will be available to women who have only completed high school.  Furthermore, the national economy is expected to create fewer low-skill jobs than there will be welfare recipients entering the work force.  Some postsecondary education is required in order to qualify for more of the new jobs created.  The legislature also finds that young teen parents, who lack postsecondary education, are more likely to return and remain on welfare longer than those with postsecondary education.

    Sec. 2.  RCW 74.08A.250 and 1997 c 58 s 311 are each amended to read as follows:

    Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, as used in this chapter, "work activity" means:

    (1) Unsubsidized paid employment in the private or public sector;

    (2) Subsidized paid employment in the private or public sector;

    (3) Work experience, including work associated with the refurbishing of publicly assisted housing, if sufficient paid employment is not available;

    (4) On-the-job training;

    (5) Job search and job readiness assistance;

    (6) Community service programs;

    (7) Vocational educational training, not to exceed twelve months with respect to any individual except those individuals meeting the requirements of subsection (11) of this section;

    (8) Job skills training directly related to employment;

    (9) Education directly related to employment, in the case of a recipient who has not received a high school diploma or a GED;

    (10) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in a course of study leading to a GED, in the case of a recipient who has not completed secondary school or received such a certificate;

    (11) Satisfactory maintenance of a full credit load in a vocational or two-year community college program providing job-specific education or training in a high demand field, and the individual is within the ages of eighteen and twenty-one years;

(12) The provision of child care services to an individual who is participating in a community service program; and

    (((12))) (13) Services required by the recipient under RCW 74.08.025(3) and 74.08A.010(3) to become employable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned.  Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.

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