2017 -- H 5276

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM AND

THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ACT

     Introduced By: Representative Anastasia P. Williams

     Date Introduced: January 27, 2017

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 40-5.2-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-5.2 entitled "The

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

     40-5.2-10. Necessary requirements and conditions.

     The following requirements and conditions shall be necessary to establish eligibility for

the program.

     (a) Citizenship, alienage and residency requirements.

     (1) A person shall be a resident of the State of Rhode Island.

     (2) Effective October 1, 2008 a person shall be a United States citizen, or shall meet the

alienage requirements established in § 402(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, PRWORA, Public Laws No. 104-193 and as that section

may hereafter be amended [8 U.S.C. § 1612] a person who is not a United States citizen and does

not meet the alienage requirements established in PRWORA, as amended, is not eligible for cash

assistance in accordance with this chapter.

     (b) The family/assistance unit must meet any other requirements established by the

department of human services by rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Administrative

Procedures Act, as necessary to promote the purpose and goals of this chapter.

     (c) Receipt of cash assistance is conditional upon compliance with all program

requirements including, but not limited to, attendance at a seminar relating to financial literacy,

developed and conducted by the department of human services.

     (d) All individuals domiciled in this state shall be exempt from the application of

subdivision 115(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, PRWORA [21 U.S.C. § 862a] which makes any

individual ineligible for certain state and federal assistance if that individual has been convicted

under federal or state law of any offense which is classified as a felony by the law of the

jurisdiction and which has as an element the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled

substance as defined in § 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802(6)).

     (e) Individual employment plan as a condition of eligibility.

     (1) Following receipt of an application, the department of human services shall assess the

financial conditions of the family, including the non-parent caretaker relative who is applying for

cash assistance for himself or herself as well as for the minor child(ren),in the context of an

eligibility determination. If a parent or non parent caretaker relative is unemployed or under-

employed, the department shall conduct an initial assessment, taking into account: (A) the

physical capacity, skills, education, work experience, health, safety, family responsibilities and

place of residence of the individual; and (B) the child care and supportive services required by the

applicant to avail himself or herself of employment opportunities and/or work readiness

programs.

     (2) On the basis of such assessment, the department of human services and the

department of labor and training, as appropriate, in consultation with the applicant, shall develop

an individual employment plan for the family which requires the individual to participate in the

intensive employment services. Intensive employment services shall be defined as the work

requirement activities in subsections 40-5.2-12(g) and (i).

     (3) The director, or his/her designee, may assign a case manager to an

applicant/participant, as appropriate.

     (4) The department of labor and training and the department of human services in

conjunction with the participant shall develop a revised individual employment plan which shall

identify employment objectives, taking into consideration factors above, and shall include a

strategy for immediate employment and for preparing for, finding, and retaining employment

consistent, to the extent practicable, with the individual's career objectives.

     (5) The individual employment plan must include the provision for the participant to

engage in work requirements as outlined in § 40-5.2-12 of this chapter.

     (6) (A) The participant shall attend and participate immediately in intensive assessment

and employment services as the first step in the individual employment plan, unless temporarily

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exempt from this requirement in accordance with this chapter. Intensive assessment and

employment services shall be defined as the work requirement activities in subsections 40-5.2-

12(g) and (i).

     (B) Parents under age twenty (20) without a high school diploma or General Equivalency

Diploma (GED) shall be referred to special teen parent programs which will provide intensive

services designed to assist teen parent to complete high school education or GED, and to continue

approved work plan activities in accord with Works program requirements.

     (7) The applicant shall become a participant in accordance with this chapter at the time

the individual employment plan is signed and entered into.

     (8) Applicants and participants of the Rhode Island Work Program shall agree to comply

with the terms of the individual employment plan, and shall cooperate fully with the steps

established in the individual employment plan, including the work requirements.

     (9) The department of human services has the authority under the chapter to require

attendance by the applicant/participant, either at the department of human services or at the

department of labor and training, at appointments deemed necessary for the purpose of having the

applicant enter into and become eligible for assistance through the Rhode Island Work Program.

Said appointments include, but are not limited to, the initial interview, orientation and

assessment; job readiness and job search. Attendance is required as a condition of eligibility for

cash assistance in accordance with rules and regulations established by the department.

     (10) As a condition of eligibility for assistance pursuant to this chapter, the

applicant/participant shall be obligated to keep appointments, attend orientation meetings at the

department of human services and/or the Rhode Island department of labor and training,

participate in any initial assessments or appraisals and comply with all the terms of the individual

employment plan in accordance with department of human service rules and regulations

including, but not limited to, the seminar relating to financial literacy, as set forth in subsection

(c) of this section.

     (11) A participant, including a parent or non-parent caretaker relative included in the cash

assistance payment, shall not voluntarily quit a job or refuse a job unless there is good cause as

defined in this chapter or the department's rules and regulations.

     (12) A participant who voluntarily quits or refuses a job without good cause, as defined in

subsection 40-5.2-12(l), while receiving cash assistance in accordance with this chapter, shall be

sanctioned in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department.

     (f) Resources.

     (1) The Family or assistance unit's countable resources shall be less than the allowable

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resource limit established by the department in accordance with this chapter.

     (2) No family or assistance unit shall be eligible for assistance payments if the combined

value of its available resources (reduced by any obligations or debts with respect to such

resources) exceeds one thousand dollars ($1,000).

     (3) For purposes of this subsection, the following shall not be counted as resources of the

family/assistance unit in the determination of eligibility for the works program:

     (A) The home owned and occupied by a child, parent, relative or other individual;

     (B) Real property owned by a husband and wife as tenants by the entirety, if the property

is not the home of the family and if the spouse of the applicant refuses to sell his or her interest in

the property;

     (C) Real property which the family is making a good faith effort to dispose of, however,

any cash assistance payable to the family for any such period shall be conditioned upon such

disposal of the real property within six (6) months of the date of application and any payments of

assistance for that period shall (at the time of disposal) be considered overpayments to the extent

that they would not have occurred at the beginning of the period for which the payments were

made. All overpayments are debts subject to recovery in accordance with the provisions of the

chapter;

     (D) Income producing property other than real estate including, but not limited to,

equipment such as farm tools, carpenter's tools and vehicles used in the production of goods or

Services which the department determines are necessary for the family to earn a living;

     (E) One vehicle for each adult household member, but not to exceed two (2) vehicles per

household, and in addition, a vehicle used primarily for income producing purposes such as, but

not limited to, a taxi, truck or fishing boat; a vehicle used as a family's home; a vehicle which

annually produces income consistent with its fair market value, even if only used on a seasonal

basis; a vehicle necessary to transport a family member with a disability where the vehicle is

specially equipped to meet the specific needs of the person with a disability or if the vehicle is a

special type of vehicle that makes it possible to transport the person with a disability;

     (F) Household furnishings and appliances, clothing, personal effects and keepsakes of

limited value;

     (G) Burial plots (one for each child, relative, and other individual in the assistance unit),

and funeral arrangements;

     (H) For the month of receipt and the following month, any refund of federal income taxes

made to the family by reason of § 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 32

(relating to earned income tax credit), and any payment made to the family by an employer under

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§ 3507 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 3507 (relating to advance payment of

such earned income credit);

     (I) The resources of any family member receiving supplementary security income

assistance under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.

     (g) Income.

     (1) Except as otherwise provided for herein, in determining eligibility for and the amount

of cash assistance to which a family is entitled under this chapter, the income of a family includes

all of the money, goods, and services received or actually available to any member of the family.

     (2) In determining the eligibility for and the amount of cash assistance to which a

family/assistance unit is entitled under this chapter, income in any month shall not include the

first one hundred seventy dollars ($170) of gross earnings plus fifty percent (50%) of the gross

earnings of the family in excess of one hundred seventy dollars ($170) earned during the month.

     (3) The income of a family shall not include:

     (A) The first fifty dollars ($50.00) in child support received in any month from each non-

custodial parent of a child plus any arrearages in child support (to the extent of the first fifty

dollars ($50.00) per month multiplied by the number of months in which the support has been in

arrears) which are paid in any month by a non-custodial parent of a child;

     (B) Earned income of any child;

     (C) Income received by a family member who is receiving supplemental security income

(SSI) assistance under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.;

     (D) The value of assistance provided by state or federal government or private agencies

to meet nutritional needs, including: value of USDA donated foods; value of supplemental food

assistance received under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended and the special food

service program for children under Title VII, nutrition program for the elderly, of the Older

Americans Act of 1965 as amended, and the value of food stamps;

     (E) Value of certain assistance provided to undergraduate students, including any grant or

loan for an undergraduate student for educational purposes made or insured under any loan

program administered by the U.S. Commissioner of Education (or the Rhode Island board of

governors for higher education or the Rhode Island higher educational assistance authority);

     (F) Foster Care Payments;

     (G) Home energy assistance funded by state or federal government or by a nonprofit

organization;

     (H) Payments for supportive services or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made

to foster grandparents, senior health aides or senior companions and to persons serving in SCORE

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and ACE and any other program under Title II and Title III of the Domestic Volunteer Service

Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. § 5000 et seq.;

     (I) Payments to volunteers under AmeriCorps VISTA as defined in the department's rules

and regulations;

     (J) Certain payments to native Americans; payments distributed per capita to, or held in

trust for, members of any Indian Tribe under P.L. 92-254, 25 U.S.C. § 1261 et seq., P.L. 93-134,

25 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq., or P.L. 94-540; receipts distributed to members of certain Indian tribes

which are referred to in § 5 of P.L. 94-114, 25 U.S.C. § 459d, that became effective October 17,

1975;

     (K) Refund from the federal and state earned income tax credit;

     (L) The value of any state, local, or federal government rent or housing subsidy, provided

that this exclusion shall not limit the reduction in benefits provided for in the payment standard

section of this chapter.

     (4) The receipt of a lump sum of income shall affect participants for cash assistance in

accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department.

     (h) Time limit on the receipt of cash assistance.

     (1) No cash assistance shall be provided, pursuant to this chapter, to a family or

assistance unit which includes an adult member who has received cash assistance, either for

him/herself or on behalf of his/her children, for a total of twenty-four (24) months, (whether or

not consecutive) within any sixty (60) continuous months after July 1, 2008 to include any time

receiving any type of cash assistance in any other state or territory of the United States of

America as defined herein. Provided further, in no circumstances other than provided for in

section (3) below with respect to certain minor children, shall cash assistance be provided

pursuant to this chapter to a family or assistance unit which includes an adult member who has

received cash assistance for a total of a lifetime limit of forty-eight (48) months.

     (2) Cash benefits received by a minor dependent child shall not be counted toward their

lifetime time limit for receiving benefits under this chapter should that minor child apply for cash

benefits as an adult.

     (3) Certain minor children not subject to time limit. This section regarding the lifetime

time limit for the receipt of cash assistance, shall not apply only in the instances of a minor

child(ren) living with a parent who receives SSI benefits and a minor child(ren) living with a

responsible adult non-parent caretaker relative who is not in the case assistance payment.

     (4) Receipt of family cash assistance in any other state or territory of the United States of

America shall be determined by the department of human services and shall include family cash

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assistance funded in whole or in part by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds

[Title IV-A of the Federal Social Security Act 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.] and/or family cash

assistance provided under a program similar to the Rhode Island Families Work and Opportunity

Program or the federal TANF program.

     (5) (A) The department of human service shall mail a notice to each assistance unit when

the assistance unit has six (6) months of cash assistance remaining and each month thereafter

until the time limit has expired. The notice must be developed by the department of human

services and must contain information about the lifetime time limit. the number of months the

participant has remaining, the hardship extension policy, the availability of a post-employment-

and-closure bonus, and any other information pertinent to a family or an assistance unit nearing

either the twenty-four (24) month or forty-eight (48) month lifetime time limit.

     (B) For applicants who have less than six (6) months remaining in either the twenty-four

(24) month or forty-eight (48) month lifetime time limit because the family or assistance unit

previously received cash assistance in Rhode Island or in another state, the department shall

notify the applicant of the number of months remaining when the application is approved and

begin the process required in paragraph (A) above.

     (6) If a cash assistance recipient family closed pursuant to Rhode Island's Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families Program, (federal TANF described in Title IV A of the Federal

Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) formerly entitled the Rhode Island Family

Independence Program, more specifically under subdivision 40-5.1-9(2)(c), due to sanction

because of failure to comply with the cash assistance program requirements; and that recipients

family received forty-eight (48) months of cash benefits in accordance with the Family

Independence Program, than that recipient family is not able to receive further cash assistance for

his/her family, under this chapter, except under hardship exceptions.

     (7) The months of state or federally funded cash assistance received by a recipient family

since May 1, 1997 under Rhode Island's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program,

(federal TANF described in Title IV A of the Federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et

seq.) formerly entitled the Rhode Island Family Independence Program, shall be countable toward

the time limited cash assistance described in this chapter.

     (i) Time limit on the receipt of cash assistance.

     (1) (A) No cash assistance shall be provided, pursuant to this chapter, to a family

assistance unit in which an adult member has received cash assistance for a total of sixty (60)

months (whether or not consecutive) to include any time receiving any type of cash assistance in

any other state or territory of the United States as defined herein effective August 1, 2008.

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Provided further, that no cash assistance shall be provided to a family in which an adult member

has received assistance for twenty-four (24) consecutive months unless the adult member has a

rehabilitation employment plan as provided in subsection 40-5.2-12(g)(5).

     (B) Effective August 1, 2008 no cash assistance shall be provided pursuant to this chapter

to a family in which a child has received cash assistance for a total of sixty (60) months (whether

or not consecutive) if the parent is ineligible for assistance under this chapter pursuant to

subdivision 40-5.2(a) (2) to include any time received any type of cash assistance in any other

state or territory of the United States as defined herein.

     (j) Hardship Exceptions.

     (1) The department may extend an assistance unit's or family's cash assistance beyond the

time limit, by reason of hardship; provided, however, that the number of such families to be

exempted by the department with respect to their time limit under this subsection shall not exceed

twenty percent (20%) of the average monthly number of families to which assistance is provided

for under this chapter in a fiscal year; provided, however, that to the extent now or hereafter

permitted by federal law, any waiver granted under § 40-5.2-35, for domestic violence, shall not

be counted in determining the twenty percent (20%) maximum under this section.

     (2) Parents who receive extensions to the time limit due to hardship must have and

comply with employment plans designed to remove or ameliorate the conditions that warranted

the extension.

     (k) Parents under eighteen (18) years of age.

     (1) A family consisting of a parent who is under the age of eighteen (18), and who has

never been married, and who has a child; or a family which consists of a woman under the age of

eighteen (18) who is at least six (6) months pregnant, shall be eligible for cash assistance only if

such family resides in the home of an adult parent, legal guardian or other adult relative. Such

assistance shall be provided to the adult parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative on behalf of

the individual and child unless otherwise authorized by the department.

     (2) This subsection shall not apply if the minor parent or pregnant minor has no parent,

legal guardian or other adult relative who is living and/or whose whereabouts are unknown; or the

department determines that the physical or emotional health or safety of the minor parent, or his

or her child, or the pregnant minor, would be jeopardized if he or she was required to live in the

same residence as his or her parent, legal guardian or other adult relative (refusal of a parent,

legal guardian or other adult relative to allow the minor parent or his or her child, or a pregnant

minor, to live in his or her home shall constitute a presumption that the health or safety would be

so jeopardized); or the minor parent or pregnant minor has lived apart from his or her own parent

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or legal guardian for a period of at least one year before either the birth of any child to a minor

parent or the onset of the pregnant minor's pregnancy; or there is good cause, under departmental

regulations, for waiving the subsection; and the individual resides in supervised supportive living

arrangement to the extent available.

     (3) For purposes of this section "supervised supportive living arrangement" means an

arrangement which requires minor parents to enroll and make satisfactory progress in a program

leading to a high school diploma or a general education development certificate, and requires

minor parents to participate in the adolescent parenting program designated by the department, to

the extent the program is available; and provides rules and regulations which ensure regular adult

supervision.

     (l) Assignment and Cooperation. As a condition of eligibility for cash and medical

assistance under this chapter, each adult member, parent or caretaker relative of the

family/assistance unit must:

     (1) Assign to the state any rights to support for children within the family from any

person which the family member has at the time the assignment is executed or may have while

receiving assistance under this chapter;

     (2) Consent to and cooperate with the state in establishing the paternity and in

establishing and/or enforcing child support and medical support orders for all children in the

family or assistance unit in accordance with Title 15 of the general laws, as amended, unless the

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

requirements of this subsection.

     (3) Absent good cause, as defined by the department of human services through the rule

making process, for refusing to comply with the requirements of (1) and (2) above, cash

assistance to the family shall be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%) until the adult member of

the family who has refused to comply with the requirements of this subsection consents to and

cooperates with the state in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.

     (4) As a condition of eligibility for cash and medical assistance under this chapter, each

adult member, parent or caretaker relative of the family/assistance unit must consent to and

cooperate with the state in identifying and providing information to assist the state in pursuing

any third-party who may be liable to pay for care and services under Title XIX of the Social

Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq.

     SECTION 2. Section 40-6-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-6 entitled "Public

Assistance Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     40-6-6. Authorization to pay assistance.

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     (a) Authorization to pay all forms of assistance specified in this chapter shall be made by

representatives of the department, and the state controller is hereby authorized and directed to

draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer for payments upon receipt by him or her of

proper vouchers approved by the department.

     (b) Within forty-five (45) days of the date of receipt of assistance benefits, the recipient

shall attend a seminar relating to financial literacy developed and conducted by the department to

educate the recipient in financial management.

     (c) All persons currently receiving assistance/benefits shall, as a requirement of any

request for extension, hardship or recertification, attend a seminar relating to financial literacy

developed and conducted by the department to educate the recipient in financial management

within forty-five (45) days of the date of any such request. In the event the recipient does not

attend and complete this seminar, the recipient shall have any assistance/benefits awarded as a

result of any extension, hardship and/or recertification reduced at the rate of ten percent (10%)

after the forty-five (45) days until the completion of the seminar.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2018, and shall apply to those

individuals seeking financial assistance on or after January 1, 2018.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM AND

THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ACT

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     This act would require that individuals receiving or seeking financial assistance under the

"Rhode Island Works Program" and/or the "Public Assistance Act" attend and complete a seminar

relating to financial literacy developed and conducted by the department of human services

within forty-five (45) days of receipt of said assistance and/or any extension, hardship or

recertification.

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2018, and would apply to those individuals

receiving or seeking financial assistance on or after January 1, 2018.

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