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art.018/4/018/3/018/2

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ARTICLE 18 SUBSTITUTE A

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RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY

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FAMILIES AND CHILD CARE

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     SECTION 1. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Pilot Initiative.

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     WHEREAS, The state is focused on providing opportunities to low income people to

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increase their skills and training, find employment and support their families; and

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     WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services (the "Department") provides numerous

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programs to assist low income families to not only find employment but also retain employment

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and increase career path opportunities; and

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     WHEREAS, the Rhode Island Works and Child Care Assistance Programs administered

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by the Department offer the assistance necessary to ensure low income Rhode Islanders have

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every chance to succeed in the workplace; and

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     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Works Program offers a number of opportunities for

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participants including, but not limited to, on the job training, subsidized employment, unpaid

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work experiences, community service, job readiness training and vocational education training;

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and

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     WHEREAS, the FY 2014 budget provides $3,000,000 in temporary assistance for needy

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families ("TANF") surplus funds to establish a pilot initiative that promotes innovation in TANF

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supported programs and tests new ways of delivering services to low income individuals and

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families; and

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     WHEREAS, There are a number of challenges that need to be addressed in these

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programs to increase the success rate of participants including, but not limited to, the work

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participation rates in Rhode Island Works and the ability of parents to increase their work hours

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and/or salaries without immediately losing access to important child care assistance; and

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     WHEREAS, Opportunities exist as part of the pilot initiative to identify innovations for

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how the Rhode Island Works and Child Care Assistance Programs deliver services to those

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families and individuals that benefit from the programs; now therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That the Department shall draft an innovative proposal to test new

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approaches and shall award a contract on a competitive basis with a job development vendor(s) to

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increase the work participation rates of the Rhode Island Works Program; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Department may increase its case management of Rhode Island

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Works participants in order to ensure greater levels of success, quality employment and training

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opportunities for participants; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the statutory limitations for income levels eligible for the Child Care

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Assistance Program will be temporarily adjusted to provide that parents whose income increases

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from a level at or below one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty level to a level

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between one hundred eighty percent (180%) and two hundred twenty-five percent (225%) will

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not lose access to the program because of the increase in income; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Department shall provide the Governor with monthly written

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reports regarding the implementation of the pilot initiative including, but not limited to,

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performance measures and progress made to increase work participation rates for Rhode Island

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Works programs; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Department shall report to the Governor and the General

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Assembly no later than April 1, 2014 regarding the findings of the pilot initiative including

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program changes that were tested, vendor performance and benchmarks achieved,

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recommendations for statutory amendments to continue the successes of the pilot, and the number

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of individuals and families that participated in the pilot and their successes; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That any and all information in the Department's report regarding

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participants shall be in the aggregate and shall not include personally identifying information that

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may be highlighted as models for the pilot initiative's success without prior consent of any

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participants.

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     SECTION 2. Section 40-5.2-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-5.2 entitled "The

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Rhode Island Works Program" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     40-5.2-20. Child care assistance. -- Families or assistance units eligible for childcare

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assistance.

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      (a) The department shall provide appropriate child care to every participant who is

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eligible for cash assistance and who requires child care in order to meet the work requirements in

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accordance with this chapter.

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      (b) Low-Income child care. - The department shall provide child care to all other

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working families with incomes at or below one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal

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poverty level, if and to the extent such other families require child care in order to work at paid

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employment as defined in the department's rules and regulations.

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      (c) No family/assistance unit shall be eligible for child care assistance under this chapter

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if the combined value of its liquid resources exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Liquid

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resources are defined as any interest(s) in property in the form of cash or other financial

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instruments or accounts which are readily convertible to cash or cash equivalents. These include,

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but are not limited to, cash, bank, credit union, or other financial institution savings, checking and

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money market accounts, certificates of deposit or other time deposits, stocks, bonds, mutual

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funds, and other similar financial instruments or accounts. These do not include educational

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savings accounts, plans, or programs; retirement accounts, plans, or programs; or accounts held

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jointly with another adult, not including a spouse. The department is authorized to promulgate

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rules and regulations to determine the ownership and source of the funds in the joint account.

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      (d) As a condition of eligibility for child care assistance under this chapter, the parent or

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caretaker relative of the family must consent to and must cooperate with the department in

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establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child support and medical support

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orders for all children in the family in accordance with title 15 of the general laws, as amended,

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unless the parent or caretaker relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the

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requirements of this subsection.

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      (e) For purposes of this section "appropriate child care" means child care, including

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infant, oddler toddler, pre-school, nursery school, school-age, which is provided by a person or

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organization qualified, approved, and authorized to provide such care by the department of

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children, youth, and families, or by the department of elementary and secondary education, or

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such other lawful providers as determined by the department of human services, in cooperation

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with the department of children, youth and families and the department of elementary and

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secondary education.

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      (f)(1) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable

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federal poverty level guidelines shall be provided with free childcare. Families with incomes

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greater than one hundred percent (100%) and less than one hundred eighty (180%) of the

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applicable federal poverty guideline shall be required to pay for some portion of the childcare

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they receive, according to a sliding fee scale adopted by the department in the department's rules.

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     (2) For a twelve (12) month period beginning October 1, 2013, the Child Care Subsidy

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Transition Program shall function within the department of human services. Under this program,

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families who are already receiving childcare assistance and who become ineligible for childcare

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assistance as a result of their incomes exceeding one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the

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applicable federal poverty guidelines shall continue to be eligible for childcare assistance from

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October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014 or until their incomes exceed two hundred twenty-five

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percent (225%) of the applicable federal poverty guidelines, whichever occurs first. To be

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eligible, such families must continue to pay for some portion of the childcare they receive, as

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indicated in a sliding fee scale adopted in the department's rules and in accordance with all other

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eligibility standards.

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      (g) In determining the type of childcare to be provided to a family, the department shall

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take into account the cost of available childcare options, the suitability of the type of care

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available for the child, and the parent's preference as to the type of child care.

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      (h) For purposes of this section "income" for families receiving cash assistance under

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section 40-5.2-11 means gross earned income and unearned income, subject to the income

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exclusions in subdivisions 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3) and income for other families

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shall mean gross earned and unearned income as determined by departmental regulations.

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      (i) The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast

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the expenditures for childcare in accordance with the provisions of section 35-17-1.

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      (j) In determining eligibility for child care assistance for children of members of reserve

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components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the department shall freeze the family

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composition and the family income of the reserve component member as it was in the month prior

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to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall continue until the individual is officially

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discharged from active duty.

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     SECTION 3. This article shall take effect upon passage.