November 10, 2005, Introduced by Senator HARDIMAN and referred to the Committee on Families and Human Services.
A bill to amend 1939 PA 280, entitled
"The social welfare act,"
by amending sections 57e and 57f (MCL 400.57e and 400.57f), as
amended by 2001 PA 280.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 57e. (1) Each family receiving family independence
assistance
shall execute a social contract family independence
plan outlining the responsibilities of members of the family
independence
assistance group. The social contract family
independence
plan shall be developed jointly by the family
independence
agency department and the adult family members and
shall identify compliance goals that are to be met by members of
the
family independence assistance group. The social contract
family independence plan shall reflect the individual needs and
abilities
of the particular family , and by outlining the goals,
responsibilities, expectations, and sanctions that the recipient
shall be under the contractual obligation to follow and meet and a
list of the family's current barriers to employment and self-
sufficiency. The family independence plan shall include at least
all of the following:
(a) The obligation of each adult and each child aged 16 or
older who is not attending elementary or secondary school full-time
to participate in work first unless exempt under section 57f.
(b) The obligation of each minor parent who has not completed
secondary school to attend school.
(c) Except as provided in section 57f(3), the obligation of
each adult to engage in employment, work first activities,
education or training, community service activities, or self-
improvement activities, as determined appropriate by the family
independence agency, up to 40 hours per week.
(d) The obligation to cooperate in the establishment of
paternity and the procurement of child support, if applicable.
(e) The obligation of a recipient who fails to comply with
compliance goals due to substance abuse to participate in substance
abuse treatment and submit to any periodic drug testing required by
the treatment program.
(f)
Any other obligation the family independence agency
department determines is necessary to enable the family to achieve
independence.
(2)
The family independence agency department shall monitor
each
family's compliance with the social contract family
independence plan. The department of labor and economic growth
shall monitor the family's compliance with the family independence
plan for all recipients who are referred to participate in the work
first program. Each time a recipient meets with a caseworker from
the department or the department of labor and economic growth, the
recipient shall review, sign, and date the family independence
plan, including when the recipient has an instance of noncompliance
or fails to meet an expectation of the family independence plan.
(3) If a recipient is unable to find employment or be placed
by the work first program into a job and therefore is not
fulfilling his or her obligation to participate in work first, that
recipient shall participate in training or counseling for not less
than 10 hours per week in any of the following areas considered
relevant and appropriate by the work first caseworker: marriage,
fatherhood, parenting, self-improvement, substance abuse, or
volunteer activities.
Sec.
57f. (1) The family independence agency department
shall
enter into an agreement with the department of career
development
labor and economic growth in order to facilitate the
administration
of work first. The family independence agency shall
make
information on the program available to the legislature. The
department shall track all family independence program recipients
by social security number so that tracking information is traceable
for a recipient's lifetime. The department of labor and economic
growth shall track work first participants by social security
number and the recipient's job status for a period of not less than
1 year after job placement. This information shall be shared
between the department and the department of labor and economic
growth. Information tracked under this subsection shall be provided
to the legislature, standing committees, and appropriations
committees during the annual budget review. The department and the
department of labor and economic growth shall develop individual
program goals and measurable performance indicators to be reviewed
for success or failure annually. The annual success or failure
rates shall be reported to the legislature. One individual program
goal developed under this subsection shall be a state goal for the
percentage of the family independence program caseload involved in
employment activities to be developed jointly by the department and
the department of labor and economic growth. The state goal for the
percentage of the family independence program caseload involved in
employment activities developed under this subsection shall not be
less than 50% of the family independence program caseload. On a
quarterly basis, the department shall report to the appropriations
subcommittees on the department of human services in the senate and
house, the senate and house fiscal agencies, and the senate and
house policy staffs the current percentage of the family
independence program caseload involved in employment activities. If
the family independence program caseload percentage is below the
goal for more than 2 consecutive quarters, the department shall
develop a plan for increasing the family independence program
caseload percentage involved in employment-related activities. The
department shall deliver the plan during the following annual
budget presentations to the appropriations subcommittees on the
department of human services in the senate and house.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), every
member of a family independence assistance group shall be referred
to and shall participate in work first. The particular activities
in which the recipient is required or authorized to participate,
the number of hours of work required, and other details of work
first
shall be developed by the department of
career development
labor
and economic growth and the family
independence agency
department
and shall be set forth in the
recipient's social
contract
family independence plan. If a recipient has cooperated
with work first, the recipient may enroll in a program approved by
the local workforce development board. Any and all training or
education with the exception of high school completion and GED
preparation must be occupationally relevant and in demand in the
labor market as determined by the local workforce development
board. and
may be no more than 2 years in duration. Participants
must
make satisfactory progress while in training or education. If
a recipient does not have a high school diploma or GED and is
unable to sustain employment, the recipient must enroll in a course
to obtain a high school diploma or GED.
(3) The following individuals are exempt from participation in
work first:
(a) A child under the age of 16.
(b) A child aged 16 or older, or a minor parent, who is
attending elementary or secondary school full-time.
(c) The parent of a child under the age of 3 months. The
family
independence agency may department
shall require a parent
exempted from participation in work first under this subdivision to
participate in family services, including, but not limited to,
marriage and fatherhood classes or counseling, instruction in
parenting, nutrition, and child development beginning 6 weeks after
the birth of his or her child until the child is 3 months old as
fulfillment
of that parent's social contract family independence
plan obligation under section 57e(1)(c).
(d) An individual aged 65 or older.
(e) A recipient of supplemental security income.
(f) An individual who meets 1 or more of the following
criteria to the extent that the individual, based on medical
evidence
and an assessment of need by the family independence
agency
department, is severely restricted in his or her ability to
participate in employment or training activities:
(i) A recipient of social security disability, or medical
assistance due to disability or blindness.
(ii) An individual suffering from a physical or mental
impairment that meets federal supplemental security income
disability standards, except that no minimum duration is required.
(iii) The spouse of an individual described in subparagraph (i)
or (ii) who is the full-time caregiver of that individual.
(iv) A parent or caretaker of a child who is suffering from a
physical or mental impairment that meets the federal supplemental
security income disability standards, except that no minimum
duration is required.
(4) In
addition to those individuals exempt under subsection
(3),
the family independence agency may grant a temporary exemption
from
participation in work first, not to exceed 90 days, to an
individual
who is suffering from a documented short-term mental or
physical
illness, limitation, or disability that severely restricts
his
or her ability to participate in employment or training
activities.
An individual with a documented mental or physical
illness,
limitation, or disability that does not severely restrict
his
or her ability to participate in employment or training
activities
shall be required to participate in work first at a
medically
permissible level. The
department shall not exempt an
individual from participation in work first if he or she has
received an initial determination from the social security
administration denying supplemental security income benefits. The
department may exempt an individual from participation in work
first if he or she has applied for supplemental security income
benefits but has not yet received an initial determination, only if
the individual is able to document a mental or physical illness,
limitation, or disability that results in inability to engage in
any substantial gainful activity and can be expected to result in
death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous
period of not less than 12 months.
(5) At the discretion of the work first caseworker, either of
the following may occur:
(a) The recipient may request to enroll in education or
training and count up to 20 hours per week of that education or
training toward his or her 40-hour-per-week work requirement. The
20 hours per week of education and training allowed in this
subsection shall continue for not longer than a cumulative total of
24 months in the recipient's lifetime. The education or training
course requirements and responsibilities, including, but not
limited to, attendance, performance, and minimum grade point
average, shall be outlined in the recipient's family independence
plan's expectations section.
(b) The work first caseworker may allow a recipient to be
exempt from work first work requirements for a maximum of 6 months
in the client's lifetime if the recipient is able to demonstrate
the current demand for workers with the education or training the
recipient is seeking. If a 6-month exemption is granted under this
subdivision, the recipient shall not count any education or
training toward the recipient's work requirement. The education or
training course requirements and responsibilities, including, but
not limited to, attendance, performance, and grade point average,
shall be outlined in the recipient's family independence plan's
expectations section. The recipient shall meet with his or her work
first caseworker not less than 1 time every 45 days. If he or she
is not in compliance or meeting the expectations outlined in his or
her family independence plan, the recipient is prohibited from
using education or training toward his or her 40-hour-per-week work
requirement.
(6) A recipient participating in education or training to meet
the 40-hour-per-week work requirement shall meet with his or her
work first caseworker not less than 1 time every 90 days. If the
recipient is not in compliance with or meeting the expectations
outlined in his or her family independence plan, the recipient is
prohibited from using education or training toward his or her 40-
hour-per-week work requirement.
(7) (5)
An individual is not disabled for purposes of this
section if substance abuse is a contributing factor material to the
determination of disability.