BILL REQ. #:  S-2084.1 

Read first time 03/05/11.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to participation in the WorkFirst program; amending RCW 74.08A.010 and 74.08A.270; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 74.08A.010 and 2004 c 54 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A family that includes an adult who has received temporary assistance for needy families for sixty months after July 27, 1997, shall be ineligible for further temporary assistance for needy families assistance.
     (2) For the purposes of applying the rules of this section, the department shall count any month in which an adult family member received a temporary assistance for needy families cash assistance grant unless the assistance was provided when the family member was a minor child and not the head of the household or married to the head of the household or if the family was not engaged in work or work activities for good cause provided in RCW 74.08A.270(1).
     (3) The department shall refer recipients who require specialized assistance to appropriate department programs, crime victims' programs through the department of ((community, trade, and economic development)) commerce, or the crime victims' compensation program of the department of labor and industries.
     (4) The department may exempt a recipient and the recipient's family from the application of subsection (1) of this section by reason of hardship or if the recipient meets the family violence options of section 402(A)(7) of Title IVA of the federal social security act as amended by P.L. 104-193. The number of recipients and their families exempted from subsection (1) of this section for a fiscal year shall not exceed twenty percent of the average monthly number of recipients and their families to which assistance is provided under the temporary assistance for needy families program.
     (5) The department shall not exempt a recipient and his or her family from the application of subsection (1) of this section until after the recipient has received fifty-two months of assistance under this chapter.
     (6) Beginning on October 31, 2005, the department shall provide transitional food stamp assistance for a period of five months to a household that ceases to receive temporary assistance for needy families assistance and is not in sanction status. If necessary, the department shall extend the household's food stamp certification until the end of the transition period.

Sec. 2   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. If a participant does not participate on a voluntary basis, the participant is not eligible for child care services provided in RCW 74.08A.340.
     (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.

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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   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, and takes effect May 1, 2011.