2015 -- H 5399

========

LC000482

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

____________

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Casey, Phillips, Amore, Blazejewski, and Kazarian

     Date Introduced: February 11, 2015

     Referred To: House Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

1

     SECTION 1. Sections 40-5.2-8, 40-5.2-12 and 40-5.2-20 of the General Laws in Chapter

2

40-5.2 entitled "The Rhode Island Works Program" are hereby amended to read as follows:

3

     40-5.2-8. Definitions. -- (a) As used in this chapter, the following terms having the

4

meanings set forth herein, unless the context in which such terms are used clearly indicates to the

5

contrary:

6

      (1) "Applicant" means a person who has filed a written application for assistance for

7

herself/himself and her/his dependent child(ren). An applicant may be a parent or non parent

8

caretaker relative.

9

      (2) "Assistance" means cash and any other benefits provided pursuant to this chapter.

10

      (3) "Assistance Unit" means the assistance filing unit consisting of the group of persons,

11

including the dependent child(ren),living together in a single household who must be included in

12

the application for assistance and in the assistance payment if eligibility is established. An

13

assistance unit may be the same as a family.

14

      (4) "Benefits" shall mean assistance received pursuant to this chapter.

15

      (5) "Community Service Programs" means structured programs and activities in which

16

cash assistance recipients perform work for the direct benefit of the community under the

17

auspices of public or nonprofit organizations. Community service programs are designed to

18

improve the employability of recipients not otherwise able to obtain paid employment.

19

      (6) "Department" means the department of human services.

 

1

      (7) "Dependent Child" means an individual, other than an individual with respect to

2

whom foster care maintenance payments are made, who is: (A) under the age of eighteen (18); or

3

(B) under the age of nineteen (19) and a full-time student in a secondary school (or in the

4

equivalent level of vocational or educational training), if before he or she attains age nineteen

5

(19), he or she may reasonably be expected to complete the program of such secondary school (or

6

such training).

7

      (8) "Director" means the director of the department of human services.

8

      (9) "Earned income" means income in cash or the equivalent received by a person

9

through the receipt of wages, salary, commissions, or profit from activities in which the person is

10

self-employed or as an employee and before any deductions for taxes.

11

      (10) "Earned income tax credit" means the credit against federal personal income tax

12

liability under § 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 32, or any successor

13

section, the advanced payment of the earned income tax credit to an employee under § 3507 of

14

the code, 26 U.S.C. § 3507, or any successor section and any refund received as a result of the

15

earned income tax credit, as well as any refundable state earned income tax credit.

16

      (11) "Education directly related to employment" means education, in the case of a

17

participant who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school

18

equivalency, related to a specific occupation, job, or job offer.

19

      (12) "Family" means: (A) a pregnant woman from and including the seventh month of

20

her pregnancy; or (B) a child and the following eligible persons living in the same household as

21

the child: (C) each biological, adoptive or stepparent of the child, or in the absence of a parent,

22

any adult relative who is responsible, in fact, for the care of such child; and (D) the child's minor

23

siblings (whether of the whole or half blood); provided, however, that the term "family" shall not

24

include any person receiving benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §

25

1381 et seq. A family may be the same as the assistance unit.

26

      (13) "Gross earnings" means earnings from employment and self-employment further

27

described in the department of human services rules and regulations.

28

      (14) "Individual Employment Plan" means a written, individualized plan for employment

29

developed jointly by the applicant and the department of human services that specifies the steps

30

the participant shall take toward long-term economic independence developed in accordance with

31

subsection 40-5.2-10(e). A participant must comply with the terms of the individual employment

32

plan as a condition of eligibility in accordance with subsection 40-5.2-10(e) of this chapter.

33

      (15) "Job Search and Job Readiness" means the mandatory act of seeking or obtaining

34

employment by the participant, or the preparation to seek or obtain employment.

 

LC000482 - Page 2 of 14

1

      In accord with federal requirements, job search activities must be supervised by the

2

department of labor and training and must be reported to the department of human services in

3

accordance with TANF work verification requirements.

4

      Except in the context of rehabilitation employment plans, and special services provided

5

by the department of children, youth and families, job search and job readiness activities are

6

limited to four (4) consecutive weeks, or for a total of six (6) weeks in a twelve (12) month

7

period, with limited exceptions as defined by the department. The department of human services

8

in consultation with the department of labor and training shall extend job search, and job

9

readiness assistance for up to twelve (12) weeks in a fiscal year if a state has an unemployment

10

rate at least fifty percent (50%) greater than the United States unemployment rate if the state

11

meets the definition of a "needy state" under the contingency fund provisions of federal law.

12

      Preparation to seek employment, or job readiness, may include, but may not be limited

13

to, the participant obtaining life skills training, homelessness services, domestic violence services,

14

special services for families provided by the department of children youth and families, substance

15

abuse treatment, mental health treatment, or rehabilitation activities as appropriate for those who

16

are otherwise employable. Such services, treatment or therapy must be determined to be

17

necessary and certified by a qualified medical or mental health professional. Intensive work

18

readiness services may include work-based literacy, numeracy, hands-on training, work

19

experience and case management services. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to mean

20

that the department of labor and training shall be the sole provider of job readiness activities

21

described herein.

22

      (16) "Job skills training directly related to employment" means training or education for

23

job skills required by an employer to provide an individual with the ability to obtain employment

24

or to advance or adapt to the changing demands of the workplace. Job skills training directly

25

related to employment must be supervised on an ongoing basis.

26

      (17) "Net income" means the total gross income of the assistance unit less allowable

27

disregards and deductions as described in subsection 40-5.2-10(g).

28

      (18) "Minor parent" means a parent under the age of eighteen (18). A minor parent may

29

be an applicant or recipient with his or her dependent child(ren) in his/her own case or a member

30

of an assistance unit with his or her dependent child(ren) in a case established by the minor

31

parent's parent.

32

      (19) "On-the-job-training" means training in the public or private sector that is given to a

33

paid employee while he or she is engaged in productive work and that provides knowledge and

34

skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job. On-the-job training must be

 

LC000482 - Page 3 of 14

1

supervised by an employer, work site sponsor, or other designee of the department of human

2

services on an ongoing basis.

3

      (20) "Participant" means a person who has been found eligible for assistance in

4

accordance with this chapter and who must comply with all requirements of this chapter, and has

5

entered into an individual employment plan. A participant may be a parent or non-parent

6

caretaker relative included in the cash assistance payment.

7

      (21) "Recipient" means a person who has been found eligible and receives cash

8

assistance in accordance with this chapter.

9

      (22) "Relative" means a parent, stepparent, grandparent, great grandparent, great-great

10

grandparent, aunt, great aunt, great-great aunt, uncle, great-uncle, great-great uncle, sister,

11

brother, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, first cousin, first cousin once removed,

12

niece, great niece, great-great niece, nephew, great nephew, or great-great nephew.

13

      (23) "Resident" means a person who maintains residence by his or her continuous

14

physical presence in the state.

15

      (24) "Self-employment income" means the total profit from a business enterprise,

16

farming, etc., resulting from a comparison of the gross receipts with the business expenses, i.e.,

17

expenses directly related to producing the goods or services and without which the goods or

18

services could not be produced. However, items such as depreciation, personal business and

19

entertainment expenses, and personal transportation are not considered business expenses for the

20

purposes of determining eligibility for cash assistance in accordance with this chapter.

21

      (25) "State" means the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

22

      (26) "Subsidized employment" means employment in the private or public sectors for

23

which the employer receives a subsidy from TANF or other public funds to offset some or all of

24

the wages and costs of employing a recipient. It includes work in which all or a portion of the

25

wages paid to the recipient are provided to the employer either as a reimbursement for the extra

26

costs of training or as an incentive to hire the recipient, including, but not limited to, grant

27

diversion.

28

      (27) "Subsidized housing" means housing for a family whose rent is restricted to a

29

percentage of its income.

30

      (28) "Unsubsidized employment" means full or part-time employment in the public or

31

private sector that is not subsidized by TANF or any other public program.

32

      (29) "Vocational Educational Training" means organized educational programs, not to

33

exceed twelve (12) months with respect to any participant, that are directly related to the

34

preparation of participants for employment in current or emerging occupations. Vocational

 

LC000482 - Page 4 of 14

1

educational training must be supervised.

2

      (30) "Work experience" means a work activity that provides a participant with an

3

opportunity to acquire the general skills, training, knowledge, and work habits necessary to obtain

4

employment. The purpose of work experience is to improve the employability of those who

5

cannot find unsubsidized employment. An employer, work site sponsor, and/or other appropriate

6

designee of the department must supervise this activity.

7

      (31) "Work Supplementation" also known as "Grant Diversion" means the use of all or a

8

portion of a participant's cash assistance grant and food stamp grant as a wage supplement to an

9

employer. Such a supplement shall be limited to a maximum period of twelve (12) months. An

10

employer must agree to continue the employment of the participant as part of the regular work

11

force, beyond the supplement period, if the participant demonstrates satisfactory performance.

12

      (32) "Work Activities" mean the specific work requirements which must be defined in

13

the individual employment plan and must be complied with by the participant as a condition of

14

eligibility for the receipt of cash assistance for single and two (2) family households outlined in §

15

40-5.2-12 of this chapter.

16

     (33) "Institutions of post-secondary education" shall include, but not be limited to, any

17

university, college, or community college, which is authorized to confer associate's degrees,

18

bachelor's degrees, master's degrees or doctoral degrees.

19

     40-5.2-12. Work requirements for receipt of cash assistance. -- (a) The department of

20

human services and the department of labor and training shall assess the applicant/parent or non-

21

parent caretaker relative's work experience, educational, and vocational abilities, and the

22

department, together with the parent, shall develop and enter into a mandatory individual

23

employment plan in accordance with § 40-5.2-10(e) of this chapter.

24

      (b) In the case of a family including two (2) parents, at least one of the parents shall be

25

required to participate in an employment plan leading to full-time employment. The department

26

may also require the second parent in a two-parent (2) household to develop an employment plan

27

if, and when, the youngest child reaches six (6) years of age or older.

28

      (c) The written, individual employment plan shall specify, at minimum, the immediate

29

steps necessary to support a goal of long-term, economic independence.

30

      (d) All applicants and participants in the Rhode Island works employment program must

31

attend and participate in required appointments, employment plan development, and employment-

32

related activities, unless temporarily exempt for reasons specified in this chapter.

33

      (e) A recipient/participant temporarily exempted from the work requirements may

34

participate in an individual employment plan on a voluntary basis, however, remains subject to

 

LC000482 - Page 5 of 14

1

the same program compliance requirements as a participant without a temporary exemption.

2

      (f) The individual employment plan shall specify the participant's work activity(ies) and

3

the supportive services that will be provided by the department to enable the participant to engage

4

in the work activity(ies).

5

      (g) Work Requirements for single parent families. - In single parent households, the

6

participant parent or non-parent caretaker relative in the cash assistance payment, shall participate

7

as a condition of eligibility, for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week if the youngest child in

8

the home is under the age of six (6), and for a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week if the

9

youngest child in the home is six (6) years of age or older, in one or more of their required work

10

activities, as appropriate, in order to help the parent obtain stable, full-time, paid employment, as

11

determined by the department of human services and the department of labor and training;

12

provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensive employment services as the first step

13

in the individual employment plan. Required work activities are as follows:

14

      (1) At least twenty (20) hours per week must come from participation in one or more of

15

the following ten (10) work activities:

16

      (A) Unsubsidized employment;

17

      (B) Subsidized, private-sector employment;

18

      (C) Subsidized, public-sector employment;

19

      (D) Work experience;

20

      (E) On the Job Training;

21

      (F) Job search and job readiness;

22

      (G) Community service programs;

23

      (H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12) months;

24

      (I) Providing child care services to another participant parent who is participating in an

25

approved community service program; and

26

      (J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness program.

27

      (2) Above twenty (20) hours per week, the parent may participate in one or more of the

28

following three (3) activities in order to satisfy a thirty-hour (30) requirement:

29

      (A) Job skills training directly related to employment;

30

      (B) Education directly related to employment; and

31

      (C) Satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in a course of study leading to a

32

certificate of general equivalence if it is a teen parent under the age twenty (20) who is without a

33

high school diploma or General Equivalence Diploma (GED).

34

      (3) In the case of a parent under the age of twenty (20), attendance at a secondary school

 

LC000482 - Page 6 of 14

1

or the equivalent during the month, or twenty (20) hours per week on average for the month in

2

education directly related to employment, will be counted as engaged in work.

3

      (4) A parent who participates in a work experience or community service program for

4

the maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is

5

deemed to have participated in his or her required minimum hours per week in core activities if

6

actual participation falls short of his or her required minimum hours per week.

7

      (5) A parent who has been determined to have a physical or mental impairment affecting

8

employment, but who has not been found eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits or

9

Supplemental Security Income must participate in his or her rehabilitation employment plan as

10

developed with the office of rehabilitative services that leads to employment and/or to receipt of

11

disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.

12

      (6) A required work activity may be any other work activity permissible under federal

13

TANF provisions or state-defined Rhode Island Works Program activity, including up to ten (10)

14

hours of activities required by a parent's department of children, youth and families service plan.

15

     (7) A parent who is enrolled in a full-time course of study at an institution of post-

16

secondary education in pursuit of an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree is deemed to have

17

fulfilled his/her work requirements for the purposes of § 40-5.2-20.

18

      (h) Exemptions from work requirements for the single parent family. - Work

19

requirements outlined in § 40-5.2-12(g) above shall not apply to a single parent if (and for so long

20

as) the department finds that he or she is:

21

      (1) Caring for a child below the age of one; provided, however, that a parent may opt for

22

the deferral from an individual employment plan for a maximum of twelve (12) months during

23

the twenty-four (24) months of eligibility for cash assistance, and provided further that a minor

24

parent without a high school diploma or the equivalent, and who is not married, shall not be

25

exempt for more than twelve (12) weeks from the birth of the child;

26

      (2) Caring for a disabled family member, who resides in the home and requires full-time

27

care;

28

      (3) A recipient of Social Security Disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income or

29

other disability benefits that have the same standard of disability as defined by the Social Security

30

Administration;

31

      (4) An individual receiving assistance who is a victim of domestic violence as

32

determined by the department in accordance with rules and regulations;

33

      (5) An applicant for assistance in her third trimester or a pregnant woman in her third

34

trimester who is a recipient of assistance and has medical documentation that she cannot work;

 

LC000482 - Page 7 of 14

1

      (6) An individual otherwise exempt by the department as defined in rules and regulations

2

promulgated by the department.

3

      (i) Work requirement for two-parent families.

4

      (1) In families consisting of two (2) parents, one parent is required, and shall be engaged

5

in, work activities as defined below, for at least thirty-five (35) hours per week during the month,

6

not fewer than thirty (30) hours per week of that are attributable to one or more of the following

7

listed work activities; provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensive employment

8

services as the first step in the Individual Employment Plan. Two parent work requirements shall

9

be defined as the following:

10

      (A) Unsubsidized employment;

11

      (B) Subsidized private-sector employment;

12

      (C) Subsidized public-sector employment;

13

      (D) Work experience;

14

      (E) On-the-job training;

15

      (F) Job search and job readiness;

16

      (G) Community service program;

17

      (H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12) months;

18

      (I) The provision of child care services to a participant individual who is participating in

19

a community service program; and

20

      (J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness program.

21

      (2) Above thirty (30) hours per week, the following three (3) activities may also count

22

for participation:

23

      (A) Job skills training directly related to employment;

24

      (B) Education directly related to employment; and

25

      (C) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in a course of study leading to a

26

certificate of general equivalence.

27

      (3) A family with two (2) parents, in which one or both parents participate in a work

28

experience or community service program, shall be deemed to have participated in core work

29

activities for the maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act

30

(FLSA) if actual participation falls short of his or her required minimum hours per week.

31

      (4) If the family receives child care assistance and an adult in the family is not disabled

32

or caring for a severely disabled child, then the work-eligible individuals must be participating in

33

work activities for an average of at least fifty-five (55) hours per week to count as a two-parent

34

family engaged in work for the month.

 

LC000482 - Page 8 of 14

1

      (5) At least fifty (50) of the fifty-five (55) hours per week must come from participation

2

in the activities listed in § 40-5.1-12(i)(1).

3

      Above fifty (50) hours per week, the three (3) activities listed in § 40-5.1-(i)(2) may also

4

count as participation.

5

      (6) A family with two (2) parents receiving child care in which one or both parents

6

participate in a work experience or community service program for the maximum number of

7

hours per week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be considered to have met

8

their required core hours if actual participation falls short of the required minimum hours per

9

week. For families that need additional hours beyond the core activity requirement, these hours

10

must be satisfied in some other TANF work activity.

11

      (j) Exemptions from work requirements for two-parent families. - Work requirements

12

outlined in § 40-5.2-12(i) above shall not apply to two parent families if (and for so long as) the

13

department finds that:

14

      (1) Both parents receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI);

15

      (2) One parent receives SSI, and the other parent is caring for a disabled family member

16

who resides in the home and who requires full-time care; or

17

      (3) The parents are otherwise exempt by the department as defined in rules and

18

regulations.

19

      (k) Failure to comply with work requirements. Sanctions and Terminations.

20

      (1) The cash assistance to which an otherwise eligible family/assistance unit is entitled

21

under this chapter, shall be reduced for three (3) months, whether or not consecutive, in

22

accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department, whenever any participant,

23

without good cause as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, has failed to enter

24

into an individual employment plan; has failed to attend a required appointment; has refused or

25

quit employment; or has failed to comply with any other requirements for the receipt of cash

26

assistance under this chapter. If the family's benefit has been reduced, benefits shall be restored to

27

the full amount beginning with the initial payment made on the first of the month following the

28

month in which the parent: (i) Enters into an individual employment plan or rehabilitation plan

29

and demonstrates compliance with the terms thereof; or (ii) Demonstrates compliance with the

30

terms of his or her existing individual employment plan or rehabilitation plan, as such plan may

31

be amended by agreement of the parent and the department.

32

      (2) In the case where appropriate child care has been made available in accordance with

33

this chapter, a participant's failure, without good cause, to accept a bona fide offer of work,

34

including full-time, part-time, and/or temporary employment, or unpaid work experience or

 

LC000482 - Page 9 of 14

1

community service, shall be deemed a failure to comply with the work requirements of this

2

section and shall result in reduction or termination of cash assistance, as defined by the

3

department in rules and regulations duly promulgated.

4

      (3) If the family/assistance unit's benefit has been reduced for a total of three (3) months,

5

whether or not consecutive in accordance with this section due to the failure by one or more

6

parents to enter into an individual employment plan, or failure to comply with the terms of his of

7

her individual employment plan, or the failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter,

8

cash assistance to the entire family shall end. The family/assistance unit may reapply for benefits,

9

and the benefits shall be restored to the family/assistance unit the full amount the

10

family/assistance unit is otherwise eligible for under this chapter beginning on the first of the

11

month following the month in which all parents in the family/assistance unit who are subject to

12

the employment or rehabilitation plan requirements under this chapter: (1) Enter into an

13

individual employment or rehabilitation plan as applicable, and demonstrate compliance with the

14

terms thereof, or (2) Demonstrate compliance with the terms of the parent's individual

15

employment or rehabilitation employment plan in effect at the time of termination of benefits, as

16

such plan may be amended by agreement of the parent and the department.

17

      (4) Up to ten (10) days following a notice of adverse action to reduce or terminate

18

benefits under this subsection, the client may request the opportunity to meet with a social worker

19

to identify the reasons for non-compliance, establish good cause, and seek to resolve any issues

20

that have prevented the parent from complying with the employment plan requirements.

21

      (5) Participants whose cases had closed in sanction status pursuant to Rhode Island's

22

prior Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, (federal TANF described in Title IVA

23

of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), the Family Independence Program,

24

more specifically, § 40-5.1-9(2)(c), due to failure to comply with the cash assistance program

25

requirements, but who had received less than forty-eight (48) months of cash assistance at the

26

time of closure, and who reapply for cash assistance under the Rhode Island works program, must

27

demonstrate full compliance, as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, before they

28

shall be eligible for cash assistance pursuant to this chapter.

29

      (l) Good Cause. - Good Cause for failing to meet any program requirements including

30

leaving employment, and failure to fulfill documentation requirements, shall be outlined in rules

31

and regulations promulgated by the department of human services.

32

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

33

assistance.

34

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

 

LC000482 - Page 10 of 14

1

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

2

accordance with this chapter.

3

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

4

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

5

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

6

employment or to fulfill requirements relating to enrollment in a full-time course of study at an

7

institution of post-secondary education in pursuit of an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree

8

as defined in the department's rules and regulations. Beginning October 1, 2013, and until June

9

30, 2015, subject to available funding, the department shall also provide child care to families

10

with income below one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty level if, and to the

11

extent, such families require child care to participate on a short-term basis, as defined in the

12

department's rules and regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, on-the-job training,

13

work experience, work immersion, or other job readiness/job attachment program sponsored or

14

funded by the human resource investment council (governor's workforce board) or state agencies

15

that are part of the coordinated program system pursuant to §§ 42-102-9 and 42-102-11.

16

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

17

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

18

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

19

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

20

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

21

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

22

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

23

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

24

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

25

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

26

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

27

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

28

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

29

orders for all children in the family in accordance with title 15, as amended, unless the parent or

30

caretaker relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this

31

subsection.

32

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

33

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

34

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

 

LC000482 - Page 11 of 14

1

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

2

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

3

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

4

secondary education.

5

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

6

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

7

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

8

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

9

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

10

      (2) For a thirty-six (36) month period beginning October 1, 2013, the child care subsidy

11

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

12

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

13

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

14

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

15

October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2016 or until their incomes exceed two hundred twenty-five

16

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

17

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

18

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

19

eligibility standards.

20

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

21

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

22

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

23

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

24

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

25

subdivisions 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3), and income for other families shall mean gross

26

earned and unearned income as determined by departmental regulations.

27

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

28

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

29

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

30

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

31

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

32

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

33

discharged from active duty.

 

LC000482 - Page 12 of 14

1

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

========

LC000482

========

 

LC000482 - Page 13 of 14

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM

***

1

     This act would include Rhode Island Works Program participants who are full-time

2

students in a post-secondary program for eligibility for child care assistance.

3

     This act would take effect upon passage.

========

LC000482

========

 

LC000482 - Page 14 of 14