Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 39, September 26, 2024
Each applicant or recipient of TANF, unless exempted, shall be
required to participate in one or more components of the work program. Any
exempt applicant or recipient may volunteer for participation in the program.
The geographic areas in the state and the public assistance programs in which
work program requirements are to be enforced shall be designated by the
secretary. The administration of the work program shall be within the limits of
appropriations.
(a) Exemptions. The
following persons shall be exempt from the work requirements:
(1) Any person who is aged 17 or younger or
who is aged 18 and working toward attainment of a high school diploma or its
equivalent. This exemption shall not be claimed by a female who is pregnant or
a parent of a child in the home and who has not yet attained a high school
diploma or its equivalent;
(2) any
person who is needed in the household because another member of the household
requires the person's presence due to illness or incapacity and no other
appropriate member of the household is available to provide the needed care;
and
(3) any parent or other
caretaker who is personally providing care for a child under the age of three
months. Only one person in a case may be exempt on the basis of providing care
for a child under the age of three months. This exemption shall not be claimed
under any of the following circumstances:
(A)
A custodial parent or pregnant woman under the age of 20 does not possess a
high school diploma or its equivalent;
(B) both parents, a stepparent, a cohabiting
partner, or a caretaker of the child is present and is not exempt, unsuitable,
or incapable of providing child care; or
(C) a parent, a stepparent, a cohabitating
partner, or a caretaker is determined to have a substance abuse
disorder.
(b)
Participation requirements. Each applicant or recipient shall participate in
one or more components of a department-approved, work-related program directed
toward the recipient's plan of self-reliance.
(c) Support costs. Payment of support costs
shall be provided to participants. Support costs may include the following:
(1) Transportation expenses for each person
participating in a work program activity in accordance with a
department-approved plan;
(2) child
care expenses, as necessary for the person to participate in a work program
activity in accordance with a department-approved plan;
(3) education and training costs for each
participant based on a department-approved plan, which may include tuition,
books, and fees; and
(4) support
service expenses to obtain goods and services needed to participate in an
approved component.
(d)
Transitional expenses. Payment for transitional expenses may be provided to
each qualifying participant who loses eligibility for TANF if not otherwise
disqualified. Transitional expenses may include any reasonable and necessary
expenses for job retention.
(e)
Penalty.
(1) A person who is required to
participate in the work program shall be ineligible for assistance if one of
the following conditions is met in any assistance program administered by the
secretary in which work program participation is required:
(A) The person fails without good cause to
cooperate in the work assessment process or participate in the
program.
(B) The person refuses
without good cause a bona fide referral for or offer of employment.
(C) The person terminates employment without
good cause.
(D) The person is
terminated from employment by voluntarily making oneself unacceptable without
good cause.
(E) The person reduces
earnings without good cause.
(2) The period of ineligibility shall be as
follows:
(A) For the first penalty, three
months and full cooperation with work program activities;
(B) for the second penalty, six months and
full cooperation with work program activities;
(C) for the third penalty, one year and full
cooperation with work program activities; and
(D) for the fourth and each subsequent
penalty, 10 years. If the person is an adult, the mandatory filing unit of
which the person is a member shall also be ineligible.
(f) Good cause. Each individual
who presents verification that the individual meets one or more of the
following conditions shall be determined to have good cause for failing to
participate in the work program:
(1) The
individual is exempt from participation in the program.
(2) The individual was incapable of
performing the activity as determined by the individual's case
manager.
(3) Performance of the
activity was so dangerous or hazardous according to occupational safety and
health administration (OSHA) standards as to make a refusal to perform the
activity or termination of the activity a reasonable one.
(4) Child care or day care for an
incapacitated individual living in the same home is necessary for an individual
to participate or continue to participate in the program, and the care is not
available.
(5) The total daily
commuting time to and from home to the activity to which the individual is
assigned exceeds two hours, not including the transporting of a child to and
from a child care facility. If a longer commuting distance is generally
accepted in the community, the round trip commuting time shall not exceed the
generally accepted community standards.
(6) The failure occurred in the month in
which the individual's pregnancy ended or the two following months.
(7) A single custodial parent has
demonstrated the inability to obtain needed child care for a child under the
age of six, because of one or more of the following reasons:
(A) Unavailability of appropriate child care
within a reasonable distance from the individual's home or work site;
(B) unavailability or unsuitability of
informal child care. "Informal child care" shall mean care that is legally
exempt from regulation; or
(C)
unavailability of appropriate and affordable formal child care
arrangements.
(8) The
individual was a victim of domestic violence, and compliance with program
requirements would increase the risk of harm for the individual or any children
in the individual's care.
(9) There
was no bona fide offer of employment or training.
(10) The payment offered for employment was
less than the federal minimum wage.
