NOTICES
Publication and Availability of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families State Plan
[29 Pa.B. 5658] The Department of Public Welfare is publishing, in its entirety, an updated Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) State Plan. The State Plan was developed in accordance with the requirements of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P. L. 104-193). The Act provides each state with a TANF Block Grant and the opportunity, with broad Federal guidelines, to design and operate its own programs. The original State Plan was published at 27 Pa.B. 342 (January 18, 1997), and is effective for 2 years. A new TANF plan for subsequent 2-year periods must be submitted to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for completeness.
The updated State Plan incorporates changes identified through suggestions and recommendations from the public and through an ongoing review of the TANF program. The updated State Plan will be submitted to the DHHS on November 1, 1999, to begin the official 45-day comment period required by law.
Future amendments to the Plan will incorporate suggestions and recommendations received during the comment period.
Copies of the State Plan are available for all interested individuals and groups upon written request to Edward J. Zogby, Attention: TANF State Plan, Director, Bureau of Policy, Office of Income Maintenance, Room 431 Health and Welfare Building, P. O. Box 2675, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2675. Persons may also request copies by facsimile machine at (717) 787-6765, using the above address on your cover document, or by means of the Department of Public Welfare's Web Site at http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/.
Persons with a disability may use the AT&T Relay Service by calling (800) 654-5984 (TDD users) or (800) 654-5988 (voice users).
FEATHER O. HOUSTOUN,
Secretary
PENNSYLVANIA TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES STATE PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. PURPOSE II. INTRODUCTION III. PROGRAM GOALS IV. MEASURING RESULTS V. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT A. Public Availability and Review B. Additional Outreach C. Public Comments VI. OUTLINE OF PENNSYLVANIA'S TEMPORARY
ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES
(TANF) PROGRAMA. General Provisions 1. Program Administration 2. Access to Benefits 3. Defining Assistance/Non-Assistance 4. Defining Needy Families 5. Personal Responsibility--The Agreement of Mutual Responsibility 6. Time Limits on Receipt of TANF 7. Determining Eligibility 8. Child Support Requirements 9. Work and Self-sufficiency 10. Education in the Work First Environment 11. Noncompliance with the RESET Program 12. Supporting Employment with Day Care 13. Coordination with Child Welfare 14. Safeguarding Information 15. Transfers of TANF Block Grant Funds 16. Reductions of Out-of-Wedlock Births 17. Education and Training to Reduce Statutory Rape 18. Identifying Domestic Violence 19. Link with Medicaid 20. Food Stamp Outreach B. Special Provisions 1. Families Entering Pennsylvania from Another State 2. Treatment of Noncitizens 3. Delivery of Benefits 4. Right to Appeal 5. Community Service Option CERTIFICATIONS FUNDING I PURPOSE
This document outlines and updates the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's plan for providing assistance to families with children from funds provided under Title I of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P. L. 104-193), and the TANF Final Rules published in the Federal Register on April 12, 1999. The Act amends Section 402 of the Social Security Act to require that states submit a plan to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that outlines how the state will provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. Implementation was effective March 3, 1997. Submission of this State Plan renewal commits Pennsylvania to continue operation of its TANF State Program.
II INTRODUCTION
On May 16, 1996, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge signed into law Act 1996-35--a dramatic welfare reform plan designed to move families off the welfare rolls and into the work force. The provisions of the Act encourage personal and parental responsibility, emphasize self-sufficiency through employment, strengthen child support requirements, and increase penalties for welfare fraud. It is a common-sense approach that provides Pennsylvania with the core components for reform of our welfare system. The TANF provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 provided the opportunity to make that reform a reality.
When signed into law on August 22, 1996, the Act ended the 60-year Federal welfare entitlement program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the federal JOBS employment and training program. In its place, each state was provided with a block grant for designing and operating its own welfare program within broad TANF requirements. These requirements include stringent work activity participation rates and a lifetime limit of five years for the receipt of benefits. The TANF Block Grant and the Final Rules published in the Federal Register on April 12, 1999, provide Pennsylvania with the opportunity to build on the core components of Act 35 to create a welfare system that makes the best use of welfare dollars.
From March 1997 to the present, 195,194 fewer people in Pennsylvania are receiving TANF benefits. That is a 41 percent decrease in the number of persons receiving benefits since the implementation of TANF Program. The majority of those who left the rolls were employed. Of those families whose TANF case closed during a given year, at least 73 percent had been employed during that year.
The TANF Program is designed to provide short-term assistance to families when the support of one or both parents is interrupted. It also provides supplemental support when family income from employment and other sources is not sufficient to meet basic needs. It is not intended to provide long-term support or become a way of life. The provisions of the TANF Program are intended to meet one or more of the following basic purposes of this program as articulated in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and the final Federal TANF Rules:
Provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;
End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and
Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
III PROGRAM GOALS
The primary goal of Pennsylvania's TANF Program is to provide support to families as they make the transition from dependence on welfare to self-sufficiency and, finally, to long-term self-support. The following goals provide the framework on which the Program is designed:
1. Promote Personal Responsibility
Pennsylvania's TANF Program is based on the principle that welfare should provide temporary cash assistance to families and individuals, providing basic support that enables them to move to self-sufficiency. Inherent in this belief is the notion that the welfare recipient must be personally responsible for taking the necessary steps to end his or her dependence on a welfare ''check.''
2. Move Recipients into Jobs
For most recipients, the way to self-sufficiency and economic independence is through a job. Pennsylvania's approach provides the client with the opportunity to build work skills and a work history.
3. Provide Work Incentives and Supports
If we are to encourage employment, families must be better off if they work than if they depend on welfare. By allowing families to keep more of their earnings, Pennsylvania's TANF plan rewards work and helps them establish a financial base that will support self-sufficiency. The Program also supports family efforts to work by providing allowances for work-related expenses, such as child care and transportation.
4. Break the Cycle of Dependency Through Education
A high school diploma is critical to both short-term and long-term prospects for independence through employment. It opens the door to meaningful, productive employment. Training in a skill or trade, on-the-job training, job-search and job-readiness preparation classes and workshops, among other activities, provide a menu of opportunity for long-term self-sufficiency. Pennsylvania's RESET Program encourages people to pursue education and training as a means of and in addition to meeting work requirements.
5. Strengthen Families and Support Children
Both parents play a role in achieving self-sufficiency. The TANF Program requires parents to fulfill their fundamental responsibilities to their children through a strengthened child support enforcement system.
6. Simplify Program Administration
Pennsylvania must be able to use resources productively--to assist the client in developing and successfully implementing his or her own plan for self-sufficiency. As administrators of the public welfare system, we must have two goals: to help recipients of public assistance become self-sufficient and to ensure that tax dollars spent on welfare programs are spent wisely.
IV MEASURING RESULTS
Monitoring implementation progress and evaluating attainment of program goals is an integral component of Pennsylvania's TANF plan. The primary focus of monitoring and evaluation activities is to gather data about a comprehensive set of performance indicators and performance measures which are used to document clear, specific program outcomes.
The detailing of a definitive set of performance indicators and measures is evolving as program planning decisions are made and modified. The ongoing program evaluation information system will include such performance indicators and measures as:
* The proportion of the active TANF caseload working * The proportion of TANF applicants diverted from ongoing caseload status to employment * The average length of stay in active TANF status * The average number of stays in active TANF status * The work experiences and quality of life indicators of former TANF recipients * The relationships among provision of work incentives and family support allowances and successful, long-term employment * The relationships among program components which focus on clients assuming personal responsibility, implemented primarily through the use of an Agreement of Mutual Responsibility, and successful long-term employment * The relationships among a variety of program components designed to provide education and training and successful, long-term employment * The relationships of program components designed to strengthen and support families and appropriate indicators of success * The relationship between program simplification changes and timely and accurate benefits * The relationship between TANF program changes and indicators of fraud, waste and abuse * The use (and continued use after cash benefits end) of other subsidized or social service support programs A primary focus of program evaluation efforts associated with implementing the TANF Program is to develop, maintain and refine, where necessary, an integrated and comprehensive evaluation information system which will provide data and information on outcome and performance measures related to key components of TANF. These data will be used to provide ongoing monitoring assessments of program implementation and to provide summary statements describing attainment of program goals. In order to ensure the appropriate degree of program accountability, the measures used will be defined by data and information which are timely, accurate, valid, reliable, credible, and easily communicated.
This information system will be composed of existing, currently-available data for pre-TANF welfare programs, but will be supplemented by those data and information necessary to track the provisions of the TANF legislation and satisfy mandated reporting requirements. This collection of data about TANF participants, combined with data detailing critical program components, will provide documentation of specific outcome and performance measures established for the TANF goals. Additionally, analyses of the data available in this information system combined with data from other sources will provide important information about the configurations of participant and program characteristics which produce the most favorable long-term outcomes. Comparisons of these sorts of relationships between participant and program characteristics and their effects on outcome measures across time will permit systematic, evolutionary, incremental shaping of TANF programs to effectively meet the TANF goals.
V PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
A. Public Availability and Review
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's TANF State Plan was made available for public review on October 30, 1999 in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Copies of the TANF State Plan were made available at the 67 County Assistance Offices around the State and on DPW's Website (http:\\www.dpw.state.pa.us).
The State Plan was also submitted to key stakeholder groups for review and comment. These groups include members of the legislature and the Governor's Cabinet, as well as associations representing county government, client advocacy groups, business interests and community agencies providing a variety of services to recipients of public assistance.
B. Additional Outreach
The TANF State Plan will be published in its entirety in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on October 30, 1999. The Pennsylvania Bulletin is the official gazette of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the temporary supplement to the Pennsylvania Code, the official codification of agency rules and regulations. The Bulletin also serves as the vehicle whereby agencies publish proposed programmatic and regulatory changes. The Notice published in the Bulletin will indicate that comments on the TANF State Plan are to be directed to the Department of Public Welfare, Office of Income Maintenance.
The Income Maintenance Advisory Committee (IMAC) is scheduled to receive a briefing on the TANF State Plan on November 22, 1999. IMAC is composed of current and former welfare recipients, representatives of welfare rights organizations, employment and training specialists and other client advocates. IMAC advises the Department of Public Welfare on policies, procedures, and other activities related to the programs administered by the Office of Income Maintenance.
C. Public Comments
During the 45-day public review period, the Department of Public Welfare will hold public forums in the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg areas. During this time period, the Department also will be accepting comments on the TANF State Plan from the general public.
Pennsylvania intends to facilitate community discussion of the implications of the revisions made to the TANF State Plan. It is anticipated that, during the 45-day comment period, additional community meetings will occur in other areas of the State.
The Department's ongoing review of the TANF program will include review and consideration of public comments along with the tracking of outcomes of the TANF Program. The Department intends to submit any needed amendments to the State Plan on an as-needed basis from the date of the submission of the TANF Program.
VI OUTLINE OF PENNSYLVANIA'S TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) PROGRAM
Although the TANF Program replaced the former Federal cash benefits program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), most of the rules and procedures under which the Department administered AFDC remain in effect as part of the TANF Program. These rules and procedures are contained in Chapter 55 of the Public Welfare Code of regulations (55 Pa. Code), Notices of Rule Change to the Code published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, Office of Income Maintenance (OIM) Bulletins, OIM Operations Memoranda, and Departmental Handbooks.
New or revised rules and procedures are set forth in the State Plan. These changes and revisions are adopted pursuant to the authority of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pennsylvania's Act 35, sections 201(2) and 403(b) of the Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. §§ 201(a) and 403(b)) and Act 58.
The Final Federal TANF Rules published in the Federal Register on April 12, 1999 provide for the possibility of Separate and Segregated State Programs. Stakeholders will be consulted and input will be solicited during a review of the proposed State Plan. Any decision to create such programs will be incorporated in a future State Plan Amendment.
A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Program Administration
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is responsible for administering the TANF Program in 67 County Assistance Offices. Program requirements are applied consistently Statewide; however, the maximum TANF benefit will vary from county to county based on the four benefit schedules currently in effect.
The Department intends to continue the use of private contractors to supplement the work of the County Assistance Offices to provide services, such as job search, job-readiness preparation, education and training services, and to assist clients to enter the work force, retain jobs and advance in employment.
Persons who receive TANF benefits on or after March 3, 1997 are subject to all requirements of the TANF Program. Recipients are subject to the 60-month lifetime limit and the work requirements of Act 35 beginning March 3, 1997.
2. Access to Benefits
Pennsylvania continues to provide access to TANF benefits and related services in each of the Commonwealth's 67 counties based on the policies and procedures in effect.
3. Defining Assistance/Non-Assistance Benefits
For purposes of applying TANF time limits, work and participation requirements and child support assignment requirements, the term ''assistance'' is defined as cash payments, vouchers and other forms of benefits designed to meet a family's ongoing basic needs (i.e., for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care items, and general incidental expenses). ''Assistance'' also includes:
* Stipends and allowances for participation in education and training by non-employed cash assistance recipients. * Needs-based payments to individuals in any work activity whose purpose is to supplement the money they receive for participating in the activity. * Supportive services such as transportation and TANF-funded child care provided to non-employed cash assistance recipients. If a benefit falls within the definition of assistance, the benefit counts as assistance even when receipt of the benefit is conditioned on participation in work experience, community service, or other work activities.
The recent Final TANF regulations include the potential for funding a class of benefits known as ''Non-Assistance.'' Pennsylvania will exclude from the definition of ''assistance'' activities that support employed former TANF recipients or those who are eligible for, but not receiving ''assistance.'' For example, case management services, job retention programs, child care and wage subsidies will be provided as on-going supports to employed former cash assistance recipients. These services and benefits being received by the family are considered ''non-assistance,'' and the family receiving them after leaving cash assistance is no longer using months of time-limited TANF benefits.
4. Defining Needy Families
A family is defined as a minor child and his parent(s) or other adult specified relative with whom he lives. Eligibility for TANF is also extended to pregnant women who have no other children living with them.
[ ] Minor Child
A minor child is under age 18 or is age 18 and is a full-time student in a secondary or in the equivalent level of vocational or technical training.
[ ] Specified Relative
A specified relative is defined as an adult who:
* Is exercising responsibility for the care and control of the child by making and carrying out plans for the support, education and maintenance of the child and applying for assistance on behalf of the child. The finding that a relative is exercising care and control of the child is made whether the relative is the parent or other relative of the child. * Is maintaining a home in which the child lives with him or her, or is in the process of setting up a home where the child will go to live with him or her within 30 days after receiving the first TANF payment. * Is related to the child as follows: -- A blood relative who is within the fifth degree of kinship to the dependent child, including a first cousin once removed. Second cousins and more remote cousins are not within the fifth degree of kinship. A first cousin once removed is the child of one's first cousin or the first cousin of one's parent. The fifth degree of kinship includes great-great grandparents and great-great-great grandparents. The fifth degree of kinship also includes other relationships prefixed by great, great-great, grand or great-grand. Blood relatives include those of half-blood. -- A parent by legal adoption and any of the adopting parent's blood or adoptive relatives as described above. -- Stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother and stepsister. -- A spouse of any of the relatives described above even though the marriage is terminated by death, separation or divorce. [ ] Minor Parent
An individual who is under 18 years of age, is not married, and has a minor child in his or her care, or is pregnant, must reside in a place of residence maintained by a parent, legal guardian, other adult relative or other appropriate adult-supervised supportive arrangement unless one of several exemptions is met.
If the minor parent cannot return to the home of a parent, legal guardian, or other relative, the Department, in consultation with county children and youth agencies, will provide assistance to the minor parent and dependent child in locating a second-chance home, maternity home, or other appropriate adult-supervised supportive arrangement unless the agency determined that the minor parent's living situation is appropriate.
When both parents are living with a child, the family may qualify for TANF only if one or both parents are incapacitated or unemployed according to the deprivation requirements in effect prior to TANF implementation. (with the exception of the plan to eliminate the 100-hour rule for two-parent households, see section 7)
Certain persons who live with the minor child must be included in the application for assistance. These members of the mandatory TANF budget group include the TANF child, the biological or adoptive parents of the TANF child and blood-related or adoptive siblings of the TANF child as long as they also meet TANF eligibility requirements.
A family, for purposes of the 60-month time limit, is defined as a minor child and his parent(s) or other adult specified relative with whom he lives and who is applying on the child's behalf. A specified relative who is not required to be part of the TANF budget group is considered a member of the family regardless of whether he is included in the child's application for TANF benefits or is applying only on behalf of the minor child.
[ ] Absence of a Minor Child
Under TANF, a specified relative may continue to receive benefits for an otherwise eligible minor child who is absent, or expected to be absent, from the home. The State may choose between several periods of temporary absence: not less than 30 days, up to 45 days, up to 180 days, or more than 180 days if good cause is established.
Pennsylvania elects to define temporary absence as one that does not exceed 180 consecutive days.
A caretaker relative of a minor child who fails to notify the County Assistance Office of the minor child's absence by the end of the five-day period that begins with the date it becomes clear that the child will be absent for more than 180 consecutive days is ineligible for TANF for a period of 30 days.
5. Personal Responsibility--The Agreement of Mutual Responsibility
Pennsylvania is exercising the TANF option to establish an individual responsibility plan. The following persons are required to enter into a written agreement, known as the Agreement of Mutual Responsibility, that establishes the obligations to be undertaken by the recipient to develop a path toward self-sufficiency and the activities of the Commonwealth to support those efforts:
* Adult applicants and recipients who are required to sign the Application for Benefits, whether or not exempt from the work requirements. * Pregnant teens or minor parents who sign the Application for Benefits on their own behalf. The Agreement stresses the temporary nature of cash assistance and focuses on the steps the recipient must take to establish a path toward self-sufficiency. The Agreement also specifies the penalties for failure to comply and the actions to be taken by the Department to support the efforts of the recipient. Beginning March 3, 1997, refusal to sign the Agreement will result in ineligibility of the person required to enter into the Agreement.
As part of completion of the Agreement, the County Assistance Office determines whether the client is exempt from participation in work activities. For all nonexempt clients, the Agreement includes a requirement to begin a job search for a minimum of eight weeks. The job search will serve as the initial assessment of the skills, work experience and employability of each adult recipient. In addition to the initial job search, the Agreement is also used to outline other work participation activities and obligations for nonexempt clients. Penalties for noncompliance, without good cause, with work-related requirements set forth on the Agreement were applied beginning March 3, 1997.
Pursuant to Act 35, the Agreement will include the following obligations, when appropriate to the individual or family situation. The Department of Public Welfare will establish penalties and good cause criteria for noncompliance before implementing sanctions associated with these obligations. These penalties will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
* Receive prenatal care as recommended by the doctor or clinic and/or ensure that children are immunized, receive periodic health screening and appropriate medical treatment. * Take steps, if needed, which will improve a child's school attendance and improve his or her chances for earning a high school diploma. * Submit to a substance-abuse assessment by the local county authority if the county assistance office determines that a person may have a substance-abuse problem that presents a barrier to employment. If the assessment indicates that a drug or alcohol problem exists, the client will be required to participate in and complete an approved treatment program. If a person fails to enter or complete a program, he or she can comply by providing proof of substance-free status by submitting to periodic drug testing. * Make appropriate payments to service providers from allowances given for child care and other special needs provided to enable the client to fulfill his or her commitment to engage in work or a work-related activity. * Meet other obligations specified in the Agreement of Mutual Responsibility related to self-sufficiency and parenting responsibilities. These obligations are basic personal and parental responsibilities which are important to the physical and mental well-being of the family. If not addressed, they not only represent potential barriers to employment, but could increase the likelihood that welfare dependency will be passed from one generation to the next.
6. Time Limit and work requirements for Receipt of TANF
Receipt of TANF assistance is limited to a total of 60 months (five years) in an adult's lifetime. Assistance received as an adult (over age 18), as a minor child who is head of household, or as a minor child married to the head of household, will count toward the limit. Periods of receipt need not be consecutive to count toward the 60 months. Assistance may not be provided to a family that includes an adult who has received his or her lifetime limit of 60 months of assistance. If the TANF budget group includes only a child(ren), the 60-month limit does not apply.
The State reserves the right to exclude up to 20 percent of its average monthly caseload from the 60-month time limit due to situations determined to constitute a hardship.
After receiving a total of 24 months of assistance, an individual who is required to meet the work requirements must be working or participating in an allowable work activity other than job search or education or training for at least an average of 20 hours per week.
The first day of both the 60 time limit and 24-month hourly work requirement began on March 3, 1997 for current recipients and on the date of authorization for applicants authorized on or after that date. The 60 months is counted as 1,830 days. The 24 months is counted as 732 days.
7. Determining Eligibility
Pennsylvania is following rules, regulations and procedures in effect prior to the TANF implementation date, except for the following revised provisions that are authorized or required by State law (Act 35 and Act 58) or by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996:
[ ] Earned Income Disregard
The gross earned income of recipients is subject to a continuous 50 percent disregard. The increased disregard will encourage recipient families to work and will provide additional financial support as they make the transition from welfare to self-sufficiency. Applicants may qualify for the 50 percent disregard if they have received TANF in one of the four months prior to application or if their income is equal to or less than the standard of need. The deduction for the cost of dependent care for an incapacitated adult will be made following application of the 50 percent disregard.
[ ] Earned Income: Sanctioned, Disqualified or Otherwise Ineligible Individuals
The earned income of sanctioned, disqualified or otherwise ineligible budget group members is treated uniformly by computing their income as if these persons were included in the budget group. This method will ensure equitable treatment of all TANF households.
This provision will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
[ ] Income Exclusions
Income excluded under current State regulations remains the same under TANF except for the following:
* Educational assistance in the form of loans, grants and scholarships is excluded as income. * Income-in-kind for services rendered is excluded from consideration in the determination of eligibility. * The first $50 per budget month of court-ordered or voluntary support payments received by the budget group, excluding arrearages, is excluded as income. All support received, less the support pass-through, is counted when determining eligibility. [ ] Resources
Resources that are excluded from determining eligibility under current regulation remain the same except for the following:
* The cash value of life insurance is excluded as a resource. * An educational savings account established to pay for post-secondary educational expenses directly to an approved educational institution is excluded as a resource. Pennsylvania is exercising the TANF option to exclude this account under the TANF individual development account provision. * Educational assistance in the form of loans, grants and scholarships is excluded as a resource. * One motor vehicle, regardless of value, is excluded as a resource. * The nine-month time period for disposing of nonresident real property, during which time a family may receive TANF, is extended as long as the family is continuing to make a good faith effort to sell the property. * A Family Savings Account established pursuant to 73 P. S. §§ 400.2101--2103, Act 1997-23 is excluded as a resource. This exemption will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
[ ] Lump Sum Income
Lump sum income is counted as income only in the month that it is received. Any funds that remain from the lump sum in months following the month of receipt will be counted as a resource.
The lump sum provision will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
[ ] Budgeting Method: Timely Income Processing
The income of applicants and recipients affects the TANF benefit as follows:
* For the first two months in which income is received, the income adjustment is based on the best estimate of the expected income (prospective budgeting). The estimate is based upon information provided by the client. * Income that is prospectively budgeted will not be reconciled with actual income received in the first two months. Overpayments (underestimates) will not be processed and underpayments (overestimates) will not be corrected. * An income adjustment that decreases the grant is made for the first TANF payment date for which the deadline can be met following advance notification to the client. * After the first two months, the income received in the first month is adjusted in the third month, the second month is adjusted in the fourth month and so on (retrospective budgeting). * The Income adjustment is removed from the grant as soon as possible after the income stops. This revised budgeting method will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
[ ] Penalty for Noncooperation with Child Support Requirements
If a parent or other caretaker relative fails to cooperate in establishing paternity or in establishing, modifying or enforcing a child support order, without good cause in accordance with Act 58, the cash assistance grant will be reduced by 25 percent. The grant remains reduced until the parent or caretaker relative demonstrates cooperation.
This penalty will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
[ ] Penalty for Conviction of Welfare Fraud
An individual who is disqualified on or after the date of TANF implementation for either the Food Stamp Program, the General Assistance Program or the Medical Assistance Program because of fraud is ineligible for TANF during the period of disqualification.
[ ] Satisfaction of Criminal Penalties
An individual who has been sentenced for a felony or misdemeanor offense and who has not satisfied the penalty imposed by the court is ineligible for TANF. An individual who is required to pay fines, cost and restitution, and who is in compliance with an approved payment plan, may be eligible for TANF.
[ ] Fraudulent Misrepresentation of Residence
An individual is ineligible for TANF for a period of ten years if he is convicted in a Federal or state court of fraudulent misrepresentation of residence for the purpose of receiving TANF, Medical Assistance, Food Stamps or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in two or more states.
[ ] Penalty for Conviction of a Felony for Possession, Use or Distribution of a Controlled Substance.
In accordance with Federal TANF requirements, an individual who is convicted under Federal or state law of a felony offense that was committed after August 22, 1996, related to the possession, use or distribution of a controlled substance is permanently ineligible for TANF.
Pennsylvania's Act 35 specifies that a person convicted of a felony is ineligible for assistance until he has satisfied the penalty imposed by the court. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 allows states to opt out of the permanent ineligibility provision; however, to do so, a state must enact a law after enactment of the Federal Act. Pennsylvania reserves the right to opt out of the Federal requirement to impose a permanent bar.
[ ] Failure To Appear At Criminal Court Proceeding
An individual who, as a defendant, fails to appear at a criminal court proceeding when issued a summons or bench warrant is ineligible for TANF.
[ ] Fugitive Felon
An individual who is fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or confinement following a conviction for a felony or who is violating probation or parole is ineligible for TANF unless the individual is exempt on the basis of a Presidential pardon.
[ ] Violation of Probation or Parole
An individual who is in violation of the terms of probation or parole is ineligible for TANF.
[ ] Definition of Unemployed/100-Hour Rule
Eligibility for TANF in two-parent households where there is no incapacity is based on the unemployment of the principal wage-earner parent. Pennsylvania is eliminating the 100-hour rule from the definition of ''unemployment.'' Eligibility for TANF will not be affected by employment of the principal wage-earner parent that equals or exceeds 100 hours per month. Elimination of this rule strengthens two-parent families and promotes employment and self-sufficiency.
This provision will be implemented upon final rulemaking as published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
8. Child Support Requirements
Cooperation with the Department of Public Welfare or the court in identifying a non-custodial parent, establishing paternity, and establishing an order for support continue to be prerequisites to receiving benefits. Current State policies with respect to child support are revised as follows:
* Applicants must appear before, and obtain from, the Domestic Relations Section of the Court of Common Pleas a certification of cooperation with child support enforcement requirements prior to authorization of TANF benefits. The Secretary of the Department may waive the personal appearance requirement for a county court or Domestic Relations Section following review of a written request from the county which establishes that another procedure would be as efficient and effective. * The definition of cooperation is expanded by requiring an applicant or recipient to take the following actions: -- Identify the parent(s) of any child for whom assistance is sought or received. This includes an appearance by the applicant or recipient, with the child, for scheduled genetic testing. -- Keep scheduled appointments with the Department or Domestic Relations Section. -- Provide truthful and accurate information and documents requested by the Department or Domestic Relations Section. -- Sign and return any forms requested by the Department or Domestic Relations Section. -- Appear as a witness and provide testimony at judicial and other hearings as requested by the Domestic Relations Section. -- Pay to the Department any support payment received directly from the non-custodial parent after an assignment of support has been made. * The failure of the mother to identify by name the father of a child creates a presumption of noncooperation which may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence. * If an applicant or recipient provides the names of two putative fathers subsequently excluded from paternity by genetic testing, the second exclusion creates a presumption of noncooperation, which may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence. * Either the Title IV-A agency (County Assistance Office) or the local Title IV-D agency (Domestic Relations Section of the Court of Common Pleas) will be permitted to determine whether the applicant or recipient has failed to cooperate and lacked good cause for such failure. * In accordance with Act 58, the State may retain the support collected on behalf of a TANF family up to the amount of the cumulative assistance paid to the family. The State will distribute child support collected on behalf of families receiving TANF cash assistance as follows:
* First pay to the Federal government an amount equal to the Federal share of the amount collected. * Second, pass through to the TANF family the State share of remaining current support collected, up to $50 per month, without decreasing the amount of cash assistance provided. In no case will a TANF family be paid more than one support pass-through in a month. * Third, retain the remainder of the amount collected to reimburse the Commonwealth, capped at an amount equal to the total assistance paid to the TANF family. * Fourth, pay to the TANF family any remaining amounts of support collected in accordance with Federal law. 9. Work and Self-sufficiency
As established by Act 35, recipients of TANF in Pennsylvania are enrolled in an employment and training program known as The Road to Economic Self-Sufficiency through Employment and Training (RESET) to enable them to obtain employment and become self-sufficient. The primary means to achieve self-sufficiency is through work. This approach emphasizes a work-first approach as part of a continuum of services, which can establish a work history, with increasing wages, and benefits that lead, over time, to economic independence and self-sufficiency.
[ ] Exemptions
To be considered exempt from RESET, recipients must be:
* under the age of 18 and pursuing a high school diploma or GED; * verified as physically or mentally disabled and temporarily or permanently precluded from any form of employment or work-related activity; * the parent/caretaker relative of a child under the age of 6 with no available child care; or * the single, custodial parent of a child under the age of 12 months. Pennsylvania is exercising the option to allow this exemption; however, it may only be granted for a total of 12 months in the parent's lifetime. The 12 months do not need to be consecutive. An individual who is exempt because of a physical or mental disability is required to participate in work or a work-related activity when the condition ceases as follows:
* If the condition ceases in the first 22 months that the recipient receives cash assistance, the recipient is required to participate immediately. * If the condition ceases after the recipient has received cash assistance for 22 months or more, the recipient is required to participate within eight weeks. A specified relative who is exempt for providing care for a child under the age of six is required to participate in work or a work-related activity as soon as child care is available.
Determinations of good cause will be made using the criteria found in Title 55 Pa. Code, section 165.52.
An exempt individual under 18 years of age is required to participate upon:
* becoming 18 years of age; * attaining a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency; or * ceasing to pursue a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency. An exempt single, custodial parent of a child under the age of 12 months is required to participate when the child becomes 12 months old or when the client has exhausted the 12-month lifetime limit for this exemption.
A person who is exempt may volunteer to participate in RESET. Exempt volunteers may participate in the RESET activity of their choice, provided they meet theeligibility criteria for those activities or programs. Exempt persons who volunteer to participate in contracted programs must meet all of the requirements of those programs. Such requirements include, but are not limited to, attendance and participation. Exempt volunteers need not conduct an initial job search prior to beginning to participate and are not subject to sanction for noncompliance with the work requirements.
Note: The time a client spends in ''Exemption'' or ''Good Cause'' status counts toward the 60-month time limit.
[ ] Requirements During the First 24 Months
During the first 24 months, the individual must, as an initial activity, conduct a job search for a minimum of eight weeks or until employment is found, whichever occurs first. All nonexempt persons who are receiving cash assistance when TANF is implemented are required to conduct a job search within eight weeks of their next redetermination. If at the end of eight weeks the recipient has not found employment, the individual is required to participate in additional work-related activities specified in the Agreement of Mutual Responsibility, which may include additional job search.
EXCEPTION: Individuals with EDPs which were approved prior to the implementation of TANF will be allowed to continue in their activities until the approved EDPs are completed or until the recipients cease to participate, whichever occurs first. Recipients are allowed to continue in the activities if they are making satisfactory progress as defined by the standards of the provider or institution. After 24 months of receiving cash assistance, clients must meet the work requirements in addition to continuing in the approved activities.
If the recipient does not secure employment for an average of at least 20 hours per week during the job search, the work-related activity requirement can be met by participation in any one or combination of the following:
* job search; * job readiness/preparation activities; * subsidized employment; * work experience; * on-the-job training; * workfare; * community service; * any employment and training program funded or approved by the Department; * vocational education; * general education; * education in English-as-a-second-language; or * job skills training. After 12 months of participation in vocational education, general education, education in English-as-a-second-language, or job skills training, the recipient who wishes to continue education or training will be required to participate in another work-related activity in addition to the education or training.
EXCEPTION: Individuals between 18 and 22 years of age who have not earned a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency can fulfill the work-related activity requirement during the first 24 months by pursuing a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency.
[ ] Requirements After 24 Months
After 24 months of receiving cash assistance, the individual must, for an average of 20 hours per week, work in unsubsidized employment or participate in:
* subsidized employment; * work experience; * on-the-job training; * community service; or * workfare. Since implementation of RESET in 1997, Pennsylvania has decided to grant good cause for failure to meet the 20-hour weekly work requirement to certain clients who have received cash assistance for 24 or more months. Those clients include those pregnant or parenting recipients under the age of 22 who are attending high school or participating in a GED program for at least 20 hours per week and clients participating in an internship, student teaching or practicum as a part of an approved education or training program. Good cause for the latter group of clients is limited to 6 months.
[ ] Special Allowances for Supportive Services for Work-related Activities
TANF clients who participate in work-related activities specified in their Agreement of Mutual Responsibility may be eligible for supportive services provided by the Department, including costs for transportation and other work supports. Payments for work supports, when available, will be made by the County Assistance Office for actual costs up to the Department of Public Welfare's established maximums.
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