2020 -- H 7881 | |
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LC004538 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM | |
| |
Introduced By: Representatives Edwards, Diaz, Williams, Filippi, and Bennett | |
Date Introduced: February 26, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Labor | |
(Dept. of Health & Human Services) | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 40-5.2-2, 40-5.2-8 and 40-5.2-10 of the General Laws in Chapter |
2 | 40-5.2 entitled "The Rhode Island Works Program" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 40-5.2-2. The Rhode Island Works Program. |
4 | Statement of Purpose. |
5 | (a) The purpose of the Rhode Island Works Program is to help parents who are eligible for |
6 | cash assistance to support their children by preparing for, accepting and retaining employment. It |
7 | is the intent of the Rhode Island general assembly that the Rhode Island Works Program shall |
8 | provide employment and support services along with temporary cash assistance so that parents can |
9 | participate in the workforce rather than depend on public assistance to support themselves and their |
10 | children. |
11 | (b) Under this law, parents are mandated to enter into an employment plan, as a condition |
12 | of to retain eligibility for cash assistance, and unless they are found to be temporarily exempt from |
13 | the work requirements, they must participate in intensive employment services at the department |
14 | of labor and training as the first step in their employment plan with a department of human services |
15 | certified vendor. Because it is believed that employment is the most effective anti-poverty measure, |
16 | all activities and services provided through the Rhode Island Works Program are designed to |
17 | promote economic independence through employment and the development of employment skills |
18 | and to strengthen families through parental responsibility and short-term assistance. |
19 | 40-5.2-8. Definitions. |
| |
1 | (a) As used in this chapter, the following terms having the meanings set forth herein, unless |
2 | the context in which such terms are used clearly indicates to the contrary: |
3 | (1) "Applicant" means a person who has filed a written application for assistance for |
4 | herself/himself and her/his dependent child(ren). An applicant may be a parent or non parent |
5 | caretaker relative. |
6 | (2) "Assistance" means cash and any other benefits provided pursuant to this chapter. |
7 | (3) "Assistance unit" means the assistance filing unit consisting of the group of persons, |
8 | including the dependent child(ren), living together in a single household who must be included in |
9 | the application for assistance and in the assistance payment if eligibility is established. An |
10 | assistance unit may be the same as a family. |
11 | (4) "Benefits" shall mean assistance received pursuant to this chapter. |
12 | (5) "Community service programs" means structured programs and activities in which cash |
13 | assistance recipients perform work for the direct benefit of the community under the auspices of |
14 | public or nonprofit organizations. Community service programs are designed to improve the |
15 | employability of recipients not otherwise able to obtain paid employment. |
16 | (6) "Department" means the department of human services. |
17 | (7) "Dependent child" means an individual, other than an individual with respect to whom |
18 | foster care maintenance payments are made, who is: (A) under the age of eighteen (18); or (B) |
19 | under the age of nineteen (19) and a full-time student in a secondary school (or in the equivalent |
20 | level of vocational or educational training), if before he or she attains age nineteen (19), he or she |
21 | may reasonably be expected to complete the program of such secondary school (or such training). |
22 | (8) "Director" means the director of the department of human services. |
23 | (9) "Earned income" means income in cash or the equivalent received by a person through |
24 | the receipt of wages, salary, commissions, or profit from activities in which the person is self- |
25 | employed or as an employee and before any deductions for taxes. |
26 | (10) "Earned income tax credit" means the credit against federal personal income tax |
27 | liability under § 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 32, or any successor section, |
28 | the advanced payment of the earned income tax credit to an employee under § 3507 of the code, 26 |
29 | U.S.C. § 3507, or any successor section and any refund received as a result of the earned income |
30 | tax credit, as well as any refundable state earned income tax credit. |
31 | (11) "Education directly related to employment" means education, in the case of a |
32 | participant who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency, |
33 | related to a specific occupation, job, or job offer. |
34 | (12) "Family" means: (A) a pregnant woman from and including the seventh month of her |
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1 | pregnancy; or (B) a child and the following eligible persons living in the same household as the |
2 | child: (C) each biological, adoptive or stepparent of the child, or in the absence of a parent, any |
3 | adult relative who is responsible, in fact, for the care of such child; and (D) the child's minor siblings |
4 | (whether of the whole or half blood); provided, however, that the term "family" shall not include |
5 | any person receiving benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq. |
6 | A family may be the same as the assistance unit. |
7 | (13) "Gross earnings" means earnings from employment and self-employment further |
8 | described in the department of human services rules and regulations. |
9 | (14) "Individual employment plan" means a written, individualized plan for employment |
10 | developed jointly by the applicant and the department of human services that specifies the steps the |
11 | participant shall take toward long-term economic independence developed in accordance with |
12 | subsection 40-5.2-10(e). A participant must comply with the terms of the individual employment |
13 | plan as a condition of eligibility in accordance with subsection 40-5.2-10(e) of this chapter. |
14 | (15) "Job search and job readiness" means the mandatory act of seeking or obtaining |
15 | employment by the participant, or the preparation to seek or obtain employment. |
16 | In accord with federal requirements, job search activities must be supervised by the |
17 | department of labor and training a department of human services certified vendor and must be |
18 | reported to the department of human services in accordance with TANF work verification |
19 | requirements. |
20 | Except in the context of rehabilitation employment plans, and special services provided by |
21 | the department of children, youth and families, job search and job readiness activities are limited |
22 | to four (4) consecutive weeks, or for a total of six (6) weeks in a twelve (12) month period, with |
23 | limited exceptions as defined by the department. The department of human services in consultation |
24 | with the department of labor and training shall extend job search, and job readiness assistance for |
25 | up to twelve (12) weeks in a fiscal year if a state has an unemployment rate at least fifty percent |
26 | (50%) greater than the United States unemployment rate if the state meets the definition of a "needy |
27 | state" under the contingency fund provisions of federal law. |
28 | Preparation to seek employment, or job readiness, may include, but may not be limited to, |
29 | the participant obtaining life skills training, homelessness services, domestic violence services, |
30 | special services for families provided by the department of children youth and families, substance |
31 | abuse treatment, mental health treatment, or rehabilitation activities as appropriate for those who |
32 | are otherwise employable. Such services, treatment or therapy must be determined to be necessary |
33 | and certified by a qualified medical or mental health professional. Intensive work readiness services |
34 | may include work-based literacy, numeracy, hands-on training, work experience and case |
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1 | management services. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to mean that the department of |
2 | labor and training shall be the sole provider of job readiness activities described herein. |
3 | (16) "Job skills training directly related to employment" means training or education for |
4 | job skills required by an employer to provide an individual with the ability to obtain employment |
5 | or to advance or adapt to the changing demands of the workplace. Job skills training directly related |
6 | to employment must be supervised on an ongoing basis. |
7 | (17) "Net income" means the total gross income of the assistance unit less allowable |
8 | disregards and deductions as described in subsection 40-5.2-10(g). |
9 | (18) "Minor parent" means a parent under the age of eighteen (18). A minor parent may be |
10 | an applicant or recipient with his or her dependent child(ren) in his/her own case or a member of |
11 | an assistance unit with his or her dependent child(ren) in a case established by the minor parent's |
12 | parent. |
13 | (19) "On-the-job-training" means training in the public or private sector that is given to a |
14 | paid employee while he or she is engaged in productive work and that provides knowledge and |
15 | skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job. On-the-job training must be |
16 | supervised by an employer, work site sponsor, or other designee of the department of human |
17 | services on an ongoing basis. |
18 | (20) "Participant" means a person who has been found eligible for assistance in accordance |
19 | with this chapter and who must comply with all requirements of this chapter, and has entered is |
20 | entering into an individual employment plan. A participant may be a parent or non-parent caretaker |
21 | relative included in the cash assistance payment. |
22 | (21) "Recipient" means a person who has been found eligible and receives cash assistance |
23 | in accordance with this chapter. |
24 | (22) "Relative" means a parent, stepparent, grandparent, great grandparent, great-great |
25 | grandparent, aunt, great aunt, great-great aunt, uncle, great-uncle, great-great uncle, sister, brother, |
26 | stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, first cousin, first cousin once removed, niece, great |
27 | niece, great-great niece, nephew, great nephew, or great-great nephew. |
28 | (23) "Resident" means a person who maintains residence by his or her continuous physical |
29 | presence in the state. |
30 | (24) "Self-employment income" means the total profit from a business enterprise, farming, |
31 | etc., resulting from a comparison of the gross receipts with the business expenses, i.e., expenses |
32 | directly related to producing the goods or services and without which the goods or services could |
33 | not be produced. However, items such as depreciation, personal business and entertainment |
34 | expenses, and personal transportation are not considered business expenses for the purposes of |
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1 | determining eligibility for cash assistance in accordance with this chapter. |
2 | (25) "State" means the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. |
3 | (26) "Subsidized employment" means employment in the private or public sectors for |
4 | which the employer receives a subsidy from TANF or other public funds to offset some or all of |
5 | the wages and costs of employing a recipient. It includes work in which all or a portion of the wages |
6 | paid to the recipient are provided to the employer either as a reimbursement for the extra costs of |
7 | training or as an incentive to hire the recipient, including, but not limited to, grant diversion. |
8 | (27) "Subsidized housing" means housing for a family whose rent is restricted to a |
9 | percentage of its income. |
10 | (28) "Unsubsidized employment" means full or part-time employment in the public or |
11 | private sector that is not subsidized by TANF or any other public program. |
12 | (29) "Vocational educational training" means organized educational programs, not to |
13 | exceed twelve (12) months with respect to any participant, that are directly related to the preparation |
14 | of participants for employment in current or emerging occupations. Vocational educational training |
15 | must be supervised. |
16 | (30) "Work experience" means a work activity that provides a participant with an |
17 | opportunity to acquire the general skills, training, knowledge, and work habits necessary to obtain |
18 | employment. The purpose of work experience is to improve the employability of those who cannot |
19 | find unsubsidized employment. An employer, work site sponsor, and/or other appropriate designee |
20 | of the department must supervise this activity. |
21 | (31) "Work supplementation" also known as "grant diversion" means the use of all or a |
22 | portion of a participant's cash assistance grant and food stamp grant as a wage supplement to an |
23 | employer. Such a supplement shall be limited to a maximum period of twelve (12) months. An |
24 | employer must agree to continue the employment of the participant as part of the regular work |
25 | force, beyond the supplement period, if the participant demonstrates satisfactory performance. |
26 | (32) "Work activities" mean the specific work requirements which must be defined in the |
27 | individual employment plan and must be complied with by the participant as a condition of |
28 | eligibility for the receipt of cash assistance for single and two (2) family households outlined in § |
29 | 40-5.2-12 of this chapter. |
30 | 40-5.2-10. Necessary requirements and conditions. |
31 | The following requirements and conditions shall be necessary to establish eligibility for |
32 | the program. |
33 | (a) Citizenship, alienage, and residency requirements. |
34 | (1) A person shall be a resident of the State of Rhode Island. |
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1 | (2) Effective October 1, 2008, a person shall be a United States citizen, or shall meet the |
2 | alienage requirements established in § 402(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity |
3 | Reconciliation Act of 1996, PRWORA, Public Laws No. 104-193 and as that section may hereafter |
4 | be amended [8 U.S.C. § 1612]; a person who is not a United States citizen and does not meet the |
5 | alienage requirements established in PRWORA, as amended, is not eligible for cash assistance in |
6 | accordance with this chapter. |
7 | (b) The family/assistance unit must meet any other requirements established by the |
8 | department of human services by rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Administrative |
9 | Procedures Act, as necessary to promote the purpose and goals of this chapter. |
10 | (c) Receipt of cash assistance is conditional upon compliance with all program |
11 | requirements. |
12 | (d) All individuals domiciled in this state shall be exempt from the application of |
13 | subdivision 115(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work |
14 | Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, PRWORA [21 U.S.C. § 862a], which makes any |
15 | individual ineligible for certain state and federal assistance if that individual has been convicted |
16 | under federal or state law of any offense that is classified as a felony by the law of the jurisdiction |
17 | and that has as an element the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance as defined |
18 | in § 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802(6)). |
19 | (e) Individual employment plan as a condition part of eligibility. |
20 | (1) Following receipt of an application, the department of human services shall assess the |
21 | financial conditions of the family, including the non-parent caretaker relative who is applying for |
22 | cash assistance for himself or herself as well as for the minor child(ren), in the context of an |
23 | eligibility determination. If a parent or non-parent caretaker relative is unemployed or under- |
24 | employed, the department shall conduct an initial assessment, taking into account: (A) The physical |
25 | capacity, skills, education, work experience, health, safety, family responsibilities and place of |
26 | residence of the individual; and (B) The child care and supportive services required by the applicant |
27 | to avail himself or herself of employment opportunities and/or work readiness programs in |
28 | accordance with department of human services rules and regulations 218-RICR-20-00-02.10 |
29 | Rhode Island Works Program Requirements and then a work readiness assessment to determine |
30 | the most effective employment plan for that family, so that the family can engage with intensive |
31 | services as quickly as possible. |
32 | (2) On the basis of this assessment, the department of human services and the department |
33 | of labor and training, as appropriate, in consultation with the applicant, shall develop an individual |
34 | employment plan for the family which requires the individual to participate in the intensive |
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1 | employment services. Intensive employment services shall be defined as the work requirement |
2 | activities in § 40-5.2-12(g) and (i). |
3 | (3) The director, or his or her designee, may assign a case manager to an |
4 | applicant/participant, as appropriate. |
5 | (4) The department of labor and training and the department of human services in |
6 | conjunction with the participant shall develop a revised individual employment plan that shall |
7 | identify employment objectives, taking into consideration factors above, and shall include a |
8 | strategy for immediate employment and for preparing for, finding, and retaining employment |
9 | consistent, to the extent practicable, with the individual's career objectives. |
10 | (5) The individual employment plan must include the provision for the participant to |
11 | engage in work requirements as outlined in § 40-5.2-12. |
12 | (6)(i) The participant shall attend and participate immediately in intensive assessment and |
13 | employment services as the first step in the individual employment plan, unless temporarily exempt |
14 | from this requirement in accordance with this chapter. Intensive assessment and employment |
15 | services shall be defined as the work requirement activities in § 40-5.2-12(g) and (i). |
16 | (ii) Parents under age twenty (20) without a high school diploma or general equivalency |
17 | diploma (GED) shall be referred to special teen parent programs which will provide intensive |
18 | services designed to assist teen parents to complete high school education or GED, and to continue |
19 | approved work plan activities in accord with Rhode Island works program requirements. |
20 | (7) The applicant shall become a participant in accordance with this chapter at the time the |
21 | individual takes the required steps to develop, enter, and maintain an employment plan is signed |
22 | and entered into. |
23 | (8) Applicants and participants of the Rhode Island works program shall agree to comply |
24 | with the terms of the individual employment plan, and shall cooperate fully with the steps |
25 | established in the individual employment plan, including the work requirements. |
26 | (9) The department of human services has the authority under the chapter to require |
27 | attendance by the applicant/participant, either at the department of human services or at the |
28 | department of labor and training, at appointments deemed necessary for the purpose of having the |
29 | applicant enter into and become eligible for assistance through the Rhode Island works program. |
30 | The appointments include, but are not limited to, the initial interview, orientation and assessment; |
31 | job readiness and job search. Attendance is required as a condition of eligibility for cash assistance |
32 | in accordance with rules and regulations established by the department. |
33 | (10) As a condition of eligibility for assistance pursuant to this chapter, the |
34 | applicant/participant shall be obligated to keep appointments, attend orientation meetings at the |
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1 | department of human services and/or the Rhode Island department of labor and training, participate |
2 | in any initial assessments or appraisals and comply with all the terms of the individual employment |
3 | plan in accordance with department of human services rules and regulations. |
4 | (11) A participant, including a parent or non-parent caretaker relative included in the cash |
5 | assistance payment, shall not voluntarily quit a job or refuse a job unless there is good cause as |
6 | defined in this chapter or the department's rules and regulations. |
7 | (12) A participant who voluntarily quits or refuses a job without good cause, as defined in |
8 | § 40-5.2-12(l), while receiving cash assistance in accordance with this chapter, shall be sanctioned |
9 | in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. |
10 | (f) Resources. |
11 | (1) The family or assistance unit's countable resources shall be less than the allowable |
12 | resource limit established by the department in accordance with this chapter. |
13 | (2) No family or assistance unit shall be eligible for assistance payments if the combined |
14 | value of its available resources (reduced by any obligations or debts with respect to such resources) |
15 | exceeds one thousand dollars ($1,000). |
16 | (3) For purposes of this subsection, the following shall not be counted as resources of the |
17 | family/assistance unit in the determination of eligibility for the works program: |
18 | (i) The home owned and occupied by a child, parent, relative or other individual; |
19 | (ii) Real property owned by a husband and wife as tenants by the entirety, if the property |
20 | is not the home of the family and if the spouse of the applicant refuses to sell his or her interest in |
21 | the property; |
22 | (iii) Real property that the family is making a good faith effort to dispose of, however, any |
23 | cash assistance payable to the family for any such period shall be conditioned upon such disposal |
24 | of the real property within six (6) months of the date of application and any payments of assistance |
25 | for that period shall (at the time of disposal) be considered overpayments to the extent that they |
26 | would not have occurred at the beginning of the period for which the payments were made. All |
27 | overpayments are debts subject to recovery in accordance with the provisions of the chapter; |
28 | (iv) Income producing property other than real estate including, but not limited to, |
29 | equipment such as farm tools, carpenter's tools and vehicles used in the production of goods or |
30 | services that the department determines are necessary for the family to earn a living; |
31 | (v) One vehicle for each adult household member, but not to exceed two (2) vehicles per |
32 | household, and in addition, a vehicle used primarily for income producing purposes such as, but |
33 | not limited to, a taxi, truck or fishing boat; a vehicle used as a family's home; a vehicle that annually |
34 | produces income consistent with its fair market value, even if only used on a seasonal basis; a |
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1 | vehicle necessary to transport a family member with a disability where the vehicle is specially |
2 | equipped to meet the specific needs of the person with a disability or if the vehicle is a special type |
3 | of vehicle that makes it possible to transport the person with a disability; |
4 | (vi) Household furnishings and appliances, clothing, personal effects, and keepsakes of |
5 | limited value; |
6 | (vii) Burial plots (one for each child, relative, and other individual in the assistance unit) |
7 | and funeral arrangements; |
8 | (viii) For the month of receipt and the following month, any refund of federal income taxes |
9 | made to the family by reason of § 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 32 (relating |
10 | to earned income tax credit), and any payment made to the family by an employer under § 3507 of |
11 | the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 3507 (relating to advance payment of such earned |
12 | income credit); |
13 | (ix) The resources of any family member receiving supplementary security income |
14 | assistance under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq. |
15 | (g) Income. |
16 | (1) Except as otherwise provided for herein, in determining eligibility for and the amount |
17 | of cash assistance to which a family is entitled under this chapter, the income of a family includes |
18 | all of the money, goods, and services received or actually available to any member of the family. |
19 | (2) In determining the eligibility for and the amount of cash assistance to which a |
20 | family/assistance unit is entitled under this chapter, income in any month shall not include the first |
21 | one hundred seventy dollars ($170) of gross earnings plus fifty percent (50%) of the gross earnings |
22 | of the family in excess of one hundred seventy dollars ($170) earned during the month. |
23 | (3) The income of a family shall not include: |
24 | (i) The first fifty dollars ($50.00) in child support received in any month from each non- |
25 | custodial parent of a child plus any arrearages in child support (to the extent of the first fifty dollars |
26 | ($50.00) per month multiplied by the number of months in which the support has been in arrears) |
27 | that are paid in any month by a non-custodial parent of a child; |
28 | (ii) Earned income of any child; |
29 | (iii) Income received by a family member who is receiving supplemental security income |
30 | (SSI) assistance under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.; |
31 | (iv) The value of assistance provided by state or federal government or private agencies to |
32 | meet nutritional needs, including: value of USDA donated foods; value of supplemental food |
33 | assistance received under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended and the special food service |
34 | program for children under Title VII, nutrition program for the elderly, of the Older Americans Act |
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1 | of 1965 as amended, and the value of food stamps; |
2 | (v) Value of certain assistance provided to undergraduate students, including any grant or |
3 | loan for an undergraduate student for educational purposes made or insured under any loan program |
4 | administered by the U.S. Commissioner of Education (or the Rhode Island council on |
5 | postsecondary education or the Rhode Island division of higher education assistance); |
6 | (vi) Foster care payments; |
7 | (vii) Home energy assistance funded by state or federal government or by a nonprofit |
8 | organization; |
9 | (viii) Payments for supportive services or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made |
10 | to foster grandparents, senior health aides or senior companions and to persons serving in SCORE |
11 | and ACE and any other program under Title II and Title III of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act |
12 | of 1973, 42 U.S.C. § 5000 et seq.; |
13 | (ix) Payments to volunteers under AmeriCorps VISTA as defined in the department's rules |
14 | and regulations; |
15 | (x) Certain payments to native Americans; payments distributed per capita to, or held in |
16 | trust for, members of any Indian Tribe under P.L. 92-254, 25 U.S.C. § 1261 et seq., P.L. 93-134, |
17 | 25 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq., or P.L. 94-540; receipts distributed to members of certain Indian tribes |
18 | which are referred to in § 5 of P.L. 94-114, 25 U.S.C. § 459d, that became effective October 17, |
19 | 1975; |
20 | (xi) Refund from the federal and state earned income tax credit; |
21 | (xii) The value of any state, local, or federal government rent or housing subsidy, provided |
22 | that this exclusion shall not limit the reduction in benefits provided for in the payment standard |
23 | section of this chapter. |
24 | (4) The receipt of a lump sum of income shall affect participants for cash assistance in |
25 | accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. |
26 | (h) Time limit on the receipt of cash assistance. |
27 | (1) On or after January 1, 2020, no cash assistance shall be provided, pursuant to this |
28 | chapter, to a family or assistance unit that includes an adult member who has received cash |
29 | assistance for a total of forty-eight (48) months (whether or not consecutive), to include any time |
30 | receiving any type of cash assistance in any other state or territory of the United States of America |
31 | as defined herein. Provided further, in no circumstances other than provided for in subsection (h)(3) |
32 | with respect to certain minor children, shall cash assistance be provided pursuant to this chapter to |
33 | a family or assistance unit which includes an adult member who has received cash assistance for a |
34 | total of a lifetime limit of forty-eight (48) months. |
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1 | (2) Cash benefits received by a minor dependent child shall not be counted toward their |
2 | lifetime time limit for receiving benefits under this chapter should that minor child apply for cash |
3 | benefits as an adult. |
4 | (3) Certain minor children not subject to time limit. This section regarding the lifetime time |
5 | limit for the receipt of cash assistance, shall not apply only in the instances of a minor child(ren) |
6 | living with a parent who receives SSI benefits and a minor child(ren) living with a responsible adult |
7 | non-parent caretaker relative who is not in the case assistance payment. |
8 | (4) Receipt of family cash assistance in any other state or territory of the United States of |
9 | America shall be determined by the department of human services and shall include family cash |
10 | assistance funded in whole or in part by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds |
11 | [Title IV-A of the Federal Social Security Act 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.] and/or family cash assistance |
12 | provided under a program similar to the Rhode Island families work and opportunity program or |
13 | the federal TANF program. |
14 | (5)(i) The department of human services shall mail a notice to each assistance unit when |
15 | the assistance unit has six (6) months of cash assistance remaining and each month thereafter until |
16 | the time limit has expired. The notice must be developed by the department of human services and |
17 | must contain information about the lifetime time limit, the number of months the participant has |
18 | remaining, the hardship extension policy, the availability of a post-employment-and-closure bonus, |
19 | and any other information pertinent to a family or an assistance unit nearing the forty-eight-month |
20 | (48) lifetime time limit. |
21 | (ii) For applicants who have less than six (6) months remaining in the forty-eight-month |
22 | (48) lifetime time limit because the family or assistance unit previously received cash assistance in |
23 | Rhode Island or in another state, the department shall notify the applicant of the number of months |
24 | remaining when the application is approved and begin the process required in subsection (h)(5)(i). |
25 | (6) If a cash assistance recipient family closed pursuant to Rhode Island's Temporary |
26 | Assistance for Needy Families Program (federal TANF described in Title IV A of the Federal |
27 | Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), formerly entitled the Rhode Island family |
28 | independence program, more specifically under § 40-5.1-9(2)(c) [repealed], due to sanction |
29 | because of failure to comply with the cash assistance program requirements; and that recipient |
30 | family received forty-eight (48) months of cash benefits in accordance with the family |
31 | independence program, then that recipient family is not able to receive further cash assistance for |
32 | his/her family, under this chapter, except under hardship exceptions. |
33 | (7) The months of state or federally funded cash assistance received by a recipient family |
34 | since May 1, 1997, under Rhode Island's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program |
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1 | (federal TANF described in Title IV A of the Federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), |
2 | formerly entitled the Rhode Island family independence program, shall be countable toward the |
3 | time limited cash assistance described in this chapter. |
4 | (i) Time limit on the receipt of cash assistance. |
5 | (1) No cash assistance shall be provided, pursuant to this chapter, to a family assistance |
6 | unit in which an adult member has received cash assistance for a total of sixty (60) months (whether |
7 | or not consecutive) to include any time receiving any type of cash assistance in any other state or |
8 | territory of the United States as defined herein effective August 1, 2008. Provided further, that no |
9 | cash assistance shall be provided to a family in which an adult member has received assistance for |
10 | twenty-four (24) consecutive months unless the adult member has a rehabilitation employment plan |
11 | as provided in § 40-5.2-12(g)(5). |
12 | (2) Effective August 1, 2008, no cash assistance shall be provided pursuant to this chapter |
13 | to a family in which a child has received cash assistance for a total of sixty (60) months (whether |
14 | or not consecutive) if the parent is ineligible for assistance under this chapter pursuant to |
15 | subdivision 40-5.2(a) (2) to include any time received any type of cash assistance in any other state |
16 | or territory of the United States as defined herein. |
17 | (j) Hardship exceptions. |
18 | (1) The department may extend an assistance unit's or family's cash assistance beyond the |
19 | time limit, by reason of hardship; provided, however, that the number of families to be exempted |
20 | by the department with respect to their time limit under this subsection shall not exceed twenty |
21 | percent (20%) of the average monthly number of families to which assistance is provided for under |
22 | this chapter in a fiscal year; provided, however, that to the extent now or hereafter permitted by |
23 | federal law, any waiver granted under § 40-5.2-35, for domestic violence, shall not be counted in |
24 | determining the twenty percent (20%) maximum under this section. |
25 | (2) Parents who receive extensions to the time limit due to hardship must have and comply |
26 | with employment plans designed to remove or ameliorate the conditions that warranted the |
27 | extension. |
28 | (k) Parents under eighteen (18) years of age. |
29 | (1) A family consisting of a parent who is under the age of eighteen (18), and who has |
30 | never been married, and who has a child; or a family consisting of a woman under the age of |
31 | eighteen (18) who is at least six (6) months pregnant, shall be eligible for cash assistance only if |
32 | the family resides in the home of an adult parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative. The |
33 | assistance shall be provided to the adult parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative on behalf of |
34 | the individual and child unless otherwise authorized by the department. |
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1 | (2) This subsection shall not apply if the minor parent or pregnant minor has no parent, |
2 | legal guardian, or other adult relative who is living and/or whose whereabouts are unknown; or the |
3 | department determines that the physical or emotional health or safety of the minor parent, or his or |
4 | her child, or the pregnant minor, would be jeopardized if he or she was required to live in the same |
5 | residence as his or her parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative (refusal of a parent, legal |
6 | guardian or other adult relative to allow the minor parent or his or her child, or a pregnant minor, |
7 | to live in his or her home shall constitute a presumption that the health or safety would be so |
8 | jeopardized); or the minor parent or pregnant minor has lived apart from his or her own parent or |
9 | legal guardian for a period of at least one year before either the birth of any child to a minor parent |
10 | or the onset of the pregnant minor's pregnancy; or there is good cause, under departmental |
11 | regulations, for waiving the subsection; and the individual resides in a supervised supportive living |
12 | arrangement to the extent available. |
13 | (3) For purposes of this section, "supervised supportive living arrangement" means an |
14 | arrangement that requires minor parents to enroll and make satisfactory progress in a program |
15 | leading to a high school diploma or a general education development certificate, and requires minor |
16 | parents to participate in the adolescent parenting program designated by the department, to the |
17 | extent the program is available; and provides rules and regulations that ensure regular adult |
18 | supervision. |
19 | (l) Assignment and cooperation. As a condition of eligibility for cash and medical |
20 | assistance under this chapter, each adult member, parent, or caretaker relative of the |
21 | family/assistance unit must: |
22 | (1) Assign to the state any rights to support for children within the family from any person |
23 | that the family member has at the time the assignment is executed or may have while receiving |
24 | assistance under this chapter; |
25 | (2) Consent to and cooperate with the state in establishing the paternity and in establishing |
26 | and/or enforcing child support and medical support orders for all children in the family or assistance |
27 | unit in accordance with title 15 of the general laws, as amended, unless the parent or caretaker |
28 | relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this subsection. |
29 | (3) Absent good cause, as defined by the department of human services through the rule- |
30 | making process, for refusing to comply with the requirements of (l )(1) and (l)(2), cash assistance |
31 | to the family shall be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%) until the adult member of the family |
32 | who has refused to comply with the requirements of this subsection consents to and cooperates with |
33 | the state in accordance with the requirements of this subsection. |
34 | (4) As a condition of eligibility for cash and medical assistance under this chapter, each |
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1 | adult member, parent, or caretaker relative of the family/assistance unit must consent to and |
2 | cooperate with the state in identifying and providing information to assist the state in pursuing any |
3 | third-party who may be liable to pay for care and services under Title XIX of the Social Security |
4 | Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq. |
5 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM | |
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1 | This act would provide that benefits under the Rhode Island works program would be |
2 | conditional on the participation in certain employment and job search requirements to be supervised |
3 | by the department of human services. |
4 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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