CSHB 78(HES): "An Act relating to the payment of aid to families with dependent children in the case of pregnant minors and minors who are parents; relating to the maximum amount of assistance that may be granted under the program of aid to families with dependent children; proposing special demonstration projects within the program of aid to families with dependent children and directing the Department of Health and Social Services to seek waivers from the federal government to implement the projects; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(HES) 01 "An Act relating to the payment of aid to families with dependent children in 02 the case of pregnant minors and minors who are parents; relating to the 03 maximum amount of assistance that may be granted under the program of aid 04 to families with dependent children; proposing special demonstration projects within 05 the program of aid to families with dependent children and directing the 06 Department of Health and Social Services to seek waivers from the federal 07 government to implement the projects; and providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 47.25.360 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 47.25.360. GRANTING OF ASSISTANCE. Upon the completion of the 11 investigation, the department shall decide whether the child is eligible for assistance 12 under AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.420, the amount of assistance, and the date on which it 13 starts. The department shall notify the person having custody of the child of its 14 decision. Except as provided in AS 47.25.362(b), the [THE] assistance shall be paid
01 monthly to the person having custody of the child upon order of the department. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 47.25 is amended by adding a new section to read: 03 Sec. 47.25.362. ASSISTANCE TO MINORS WITH CHILDREN. (a) Except 04 as provided in (c) of this section, the department shall require, as a condition of 05 eligibility for assistance, that a minor parent must reside in a 06 (1) place of residence maintained by the minor's parent, legal guardian, 07 or other adult relative of the minor as the parent's, guardian's, or other relative's own 08 home; or 09 (2) foster home, maternity home, or other adult-supervised supportive 10 living arrangement. 11 (b) Notwithstanding AS 47.25.360, the department shall, where possible, pay 12 assistance on behalf of a minor parent who is subject to the requirements of (a) of this 13 section to the minor's parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative, or, as applicable, 14 to the head of the adult-supervised supportive living arrangement where the minor 15 parent resides. 16 (c) The provisions of (a) and (b) of this section do not apply if 17 (1) the minor parent does not have a parent or legal guardian who is 18 living and whose whereabouts is known; 19 (2) a living parent or legal guardian of the minor parent will not allow 20 the minor to live in the home of the parent or guardian; 21 (3) the department determines that the physical or emotional health or 22 safety of the minor parent or the minor's child would be jeopardized if the minor and 23 the minor's child lived in the same residence with the minor's parent or guardian; 24 (4) the minor parent lived apart from the minor's parent or legal 25 guardian for either one year before the birth of the dependent child or one year before 26 the minor parent submitted the application for assistance; or 27 (5) the department otherwise determines under regulations that are 28 consistent with corresponding federal regulations that there is good cause for waiving 29 the requirements of (a) of this section in the case of a particular minor parent. 30 (d) In this section, "minor parent" means a person who is under the age of 18, 31 who has never married, and is either
01 (1) the natural parent of a dependent child living in the same 02 household; or 03 (2) eligible for assistance as a pregnant woman. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 47.25.310(c) is repealed. 05 * Sec. 4. WAIVER APPLICATION. (a) The Department of Health and Social Services 06 shall, by December 31, 1995, seek appropriate waivers from the federal government to 07 implement the AFDC demonstration projects described in secs. 5 - 9 of this Act. To the 08 extent that the federal government approves the necessary waivers, the department shall 09 implement the projects. The purposes of the projects are to promote personal responsibility 10 and self-sufficiency. 11 (b) At a minimum, the department shall implement secs. 6 - 9 of this Act as four 12 separate projects in four different areas of the state, with at least one project in a municipality 13 with a population over 25,000, one in a municipality with a population between 5,000 and 14 25,000, and one in a municipality or community with a population under 5,000. If the 15 department determines that more than one project can be efficiently and usefully operated in 16 the same area at the same time the department may operate more than one project in the same 17 area as a fifth project, subject to federal approval of the appropriate waivers. 18 (c) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, if changes in federal statutes or regulations 19 occur after the effective date of this section and would have a major effect on the design, 20 implementation, or operation of the project, the department shall 21 (1) apply for and implement only the waivers that relate to the parts of the 22 project that are not substantially affected by the changes in federal statutes or regulations; if 23 the department determines that the parts of the project that are not substantially affected by 24 the federal changes do not comprise a fiscally responsible project, the department is not 25 required to apply for or implement waivers under this Act and may discontinue operation of 26 the project under waivers that were implemented before the federal changes occurred; 27 (2) report to the legislature its recommendations for changes in its statutory 28 authority that may be needed in order to implement a fiscally responsible project in light of 29 conflicting or permissive changes in federal statutes or regulations. 30 * Sec. 5. EARNED INCOME DISREGARD; WAIVER OF "100-HOUR" RULE; AUTO 31 ALLOWANCE. When determining the AFDC eligibility of a family that is participating in
01 a project under secs. 6 - 8 of this Act and when determining the amount of assistance to 02 which the family is entitled, the department shall 03 (1) disregard, for 24 months, $200 plus one-third of the remainder of the 04 earned income of each person in the family unless federal regulations require that more earned 05 income of a person must be disregarded; for a family that applies for AFDC after this 06 paragraph has been implemented, this 24 months begins with the month for which the family 07 is first granted AFDC; for a family that is already receiving assistance when this paragraph 08 is implemented, this 24 months begins with the first month during which this paragraph is 09 implemented; 10 (2) waive the requirement that, for purposes of assistance for a dependent child 11 of unemployed parents, the principal wage-earning parent must be employed less than 100 12 hours a month; and 13 (3) allow the exclusion of $5,000 of the combined equity of motor vehicles 14 used by the family for basic family transportation, transportation of a disabled child in the 15 household, or transportation of a member of the family to or from employment, training, or 16 participation in an activity required under secs. 6 - 7 of this Act; if the combined equity of 17 vehicles described in this paragraph exceeds $5,000, the department shall apply the excess 18 equity amount toward the asset limit otherwise applicable to the family. 19 * Sec. 6. WORKFARE. (a) The department shall operate a workfare project. Each 20 member of a family in the workfare project area who is 18 years of age or older shall 21 participate for 21 hours a week in an uncompensated activity if assigned to the activity by the 22 department. The department shall assess the availability of activities that satisfy the purposes 23 of this subsection in the project area and attempt to develop additional activities where 24 necessary. When assessing the availability of activities that are suitable as uncompensated 25 activities under this section and in assigning persons to those activities, the department shall 26 consider activities recommended by governmental representatives of boroughs, cities, and 27 communities and others in the project area. The activities may include provision of child care 28 for other project participants, community work experience, work-related training programs, 29 high school completion, GED programs, or culturally relevant subsistence activities. The 30 department shall penalize the family for failure of a person to comply with this subsection by 31 disregarding that person as a member of the family for purposes of determining the amount
01 of AFDC assistance given to the family. 02 (b) If organizations exist in the project area that have had successful experience in 03 conducting employment placement services, community services, and job training programs, 04 the department shall offer on a competitive basis contracts to those organizations to administer 05 (a) of this section. A contract under this subsection must provide that the department shall 06 make the determinations required under (c) and (d) of this section and the contractor shall 07 perform the duties assigned to the department under (a) of this section with respect to 08 uncompensated activities, including assessment of their availability, development of additional 09 activities, consideration of activities recommended by governmental representatives, and 10 assignment of persons to specific activities after referral of those persons to the contractor by 11 the department. The department may authorize a contractor under this subsection to 12 (1) provide AFDC benefits to participant families in amounts and forms the 13 contractor determines are appropriate to the circumstances of the family and appropriate under 14 the terms of the contract with the department; 15 (2) use AFDC benefits to subsidize payments or provide services to 16 participants in community work projects or work training projects; an amount distributed as 17 a subsidy under this paragraph is not considered to be wages; and 18 (3) deny AFDC benefits to a family that fails to cooperate with services 19 offered and activities required under the pilot project administered by the contractor; a family 20 denied benefits under this paragraph may appeal that determination to the department under 21 AS 47.25.370 for review of whether the denial was appropriate under department regulations 22 governing administration of the project. 23 (c) The requirement to participate in an uncompensated activity under (a) of this 24 section does not apply to a person who 25 (1) has paid employment of at least 15 hours a week; a person who has paid 26 employment of less than 15 hours a week shall participate in an uncompensated activity 27 assigned under (a) of this section for the number of hours that, when added to the hours of 28 paid employment, equals 21; 29 (2) is exempt from participating in an activity under AS 47.25.421 - 47.25.429 30 (JOBS program); 31 (3) is the parent or other relative of a child under six years of age living in the
01 same household who personally provides care for the child; 02 (4) is determined, according to regulations of the department, to be physically 03 or mentally unable to perform any reasonable activity that may be assigned under this section; 04 or 05 (5) is a parent who is providing care for a child with a developmental disability 06 as defined by AS 47.80.900. 07 (d) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the department may not require a person to 08 participate in an uncompensated activity under (a) of this section unless the department agrees 09 to pay for 10 (1) costs of child care determined by the department to be necessary for the 11 person's participation; and 12 (2) transportation expenses determined by the department to be necessary for 13 the person's participation in the activity. 14 (e) In this section, "project area" means the area chosen by the department in which 15 to operate the workfare project described in this section. 16 * Sec. 7. AFDC UNEMPLOYED PARENT PROJECT. (a) The Department of Health and 17 Social Services shall operate a transition-to-work project that is designed to assist two-parent 18 families receiving assistance under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) 19 program to achieve economic self-sufficiency within three years after the date of entry into 20 the project. To this end, the department shall develop, with each participating family, an 21 individual family plan for achieving self-support and shall enter into a contract with that 22 family that identifies 23 (1) the services that the department will provide to enable the family to achieve 24 self-support; 25 (2) the activities that the family will participate in to prepare for self-sufficiency; 26 (3) specific benchmarks to indicate the steps toward successful completion of 27 the family plan; 28 (4) an agreement that cash assistance benefits under the AFDC program will 29 be available to the family for no more than 36 months during the period from the effective 30 date of this section to June 30, 2001; 31 (5) an acknowledgment that medical assistance benefits under AS 47.07 may
01 be available as long as the family is otherwise eligible under the AFDC program; and 02 (6) an acknowledgement that failure to comply with the terms of a family plan 03 developed under this section or failure to meet a benchmark of the plan may result in a 04 finding of noncooperation and a modification or denial of AFDC benefits to the family. 05 (b) The services and referrals to be provided by the department and the activities to 06 be included in a family plan may include 07 (1) child care services; 08 (2) uncompensated community work experience; 09 (3) work-related training programs; 10 (4) high school completion or GED programs; 11 (5) provision of child care for other project participants; 12 (6) culturally relevant subsistence activities; 13 (7) placement in paid employment; and 14 (8) referral to other services and programs that may improve the family's 15 employability or self-sufficiency. 16 (c) The department shall deny AFDC benefits to a family that is assigned to 17 participate in the project under this section if the family fails to cooperate in the development 18 of a family plan or fails to sign a family contract as required by (a) of this section. A family 19 assigned to participate in the project under this section that is denied AFDC benefits under 20 this subsection shall be provided the opportunity for a fair hearing under AS 47.25.370 to 21 determine whether benefits were properly denied under the statutes and regulations governing 22 the project. 23 (d) To the extent that a provision of this section is inconsistent with a provision of 24 AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.429, the provision of this section governs. 25 * Sec. 8. SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROJECT. (a) The Department of Health and Social 26 Services shall operate a self-employment demonstration project for the purpose of allowing 27 individual recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) assistance under 28 AS 47.25.310 - AS 47.25.429 to reduce their need for public assistance by establishing and 29 operating a microenterprise. Under the self-employment demonstration project, a recipient 30 may accumulate certain resources needed to acquire business skills or to establish and operate 31 a microenterprise without becoming ineligible for AFDC assistance.
01 (b) An AFDC recipient who wishes to participate in the self-employment 02 demonstration project under this section shall request from the department a referral to a 03 nonprofit business development organization for an assessment of the recipient's capacity for 04 self-employment and the economic viability of the microenterprise contemplated by the 05 recipient. After review of the request, the department may provide the referral. 06 (c) An AFDC recipient who wishes to participate in the self-employment 07 demonstration project and has been referred for an assessment under (b) of this section shall 08 formulate a business plan for the microenterprise. The recipient shall submit the business plan 09 to the nonprofit business development organization for review and then submit the reviewed 10 business plan to the department for approval. 11 (d) For purposes of determining a recipient's eligibility for AFDC assistance, for the 12 first 36 months after the initial approval by the department of the recipient's business plan for 13 a microenterprise, the department shall 14 (1) disregard up to $10,000 in microenterprise assets set aside for the 15 development or operation of the microenterprise in accordance with the approved plan; 16 (2) disregard up to $500 each month in nonbusiness income set aside for the 17 development or operation of the microenterprise; and 18 (3) determine the recipient's income based on the net business income received 19 from the recipient's microenterprise. 20 (e) At 12-month intervals, a recipient whose business plan for a microenterprise has 21 been approved shall submit to the department a review of the financial records of the 22 microenterprise, signed by an accountant or bookkeeper, and verified by the nonprofit business 23 development organization that conducted the recipient's assessment under (b) of this section. 24 The cost of record review shall be considered a business expense of the recipient's 25 microenterprise. 26 (f) To the extent that a provision of this section is inconsistent with a provision of 27 AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.429, the provision of this section governs. 28 (g) In this section, 29 (1) "business income" means all income derived from the use of 30 microenterprise assets in a microenterprise; 31 (2) "employees" means the operator of a microenterprise and any persons
01 employed in the operation of the business; 02 (3) "microenterprise" means a business enterprise that has fewer than five 03 employees; 04 (4) "microenterprise assets" means all of the following: 05 (A) business loans; 06 (B) capital equipment; 07 (C) inventory; and 08 (D) all other assets required for the operation of the microenterprise; 09 (5) "net business income" means all business income minus all of the 10 following: 11 (A) business loan payments; 12 (B) business taxes; 13 (C) expenditures for vehicles vital to the business operations; 14 (D) cash retained in the microenterprise; 15 (E) insurance expenditures; 16 (F) inventory raw material expense; 17 (G) transportation expenditures; 18 (H) office supplies; 19 (I) professional services, including accounting, legal, or other consulting 20 services; 21 (J) delivery charges and supplies; 22 (K) commissions, salaries, wages, and other employment benefits, 23 including dental and vision care; 24 (L) postage; 25 (M) rent; 26 (N) utilities; 27 (O) telephone expenses; 28 (P) advertising and other marketing and promotional costs; and 29 (Q) training and professional development expenses. 30 * Sec. 9. DIVERSION PROJECT. (a) The Department of Health and Social Services 31 shall operate a diversion project that is designed to increase family income through
01 employment and child support payments by offering lump-sum diversion payments in place 02 of ongoing financial assistance under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) 03 program. A diversion payment may be offered to an applicant for AFDC who is job-ready 04 and who needs short-term financial assistance to meet critical needs in order to secure 05 employment and support for the applicant's family. 06 (b) Diversion project benefits may be paid only to an applicant's family that appears, 07 based on the information provided to the department on an AFDC application, to be eligible 08 for AFDC benefits and to include a job-ready individual. The department may offer, to an 09 AFDC applicant with the potential to participate in the diversion project, a choice between 10 (1) having the AFDC application processed under AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.429; 11 or 12 (2) having the AFDC application denied and applying for diversion project 13 benefits under this section. 14 (c) The amount of the diversion payment must be sufficient to meet the family's 15 immediate needs as determined by the department and the participant. A diversion payment 16 may not exceed 17 (1) $1,000 for a family that includes one AFDC-eligible individual; 18 (2) $1,500 for a family that includes two AFDC-eligible individuals; 19 (3) $2,000 for a family that includes three AFDC-eligible individuals; 20 (4) $2,500 for a family that includes four or more AFDC-eligible individuals. 21 (d) As a condition of a family receiving a diversion payment under this section, the 22 participant must sign a binding contract between the participant and the department that 23 (1) specifies the amount of the diversion payment and the needs it is intended 24 to cover; 25 (2) provides that, during the three-month period beginning with the month in 26 which the diversion payment was received, child support collected on behalf of a child whose 27 needs were considered in determining the diversion payment shall be paid to the family; and 28 (3) provides that if the family reapplies for AFDC assistance under 29 AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.429 during the three months beginning with the month in which the 30 family received a diversion payment the diversion payment shall be treated as unearned 31 income, prorated over the three-month period, and deducted from any AFDC benefit the
01 family may be eligible for under the new application. 02 (e) A family that receives a diversion payment may not receive another diversion 03 payment before the 12th month following the month in which it last received a diversion 04 payment. 05 (f) To the extent that a provision of this section is inconsistent with AS 25.27.120 or 06 25.27.130, or with a provision of AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.429, the provision of this section 07 governs. 08 * Sec. 10. COOPERATION. State agencies shall cooperate with the department to the 09 extent necessary to implement secs. 4 - 11 of this Act. 10 * Sec. 11. DEFINITIONS. In secs. 4 - 11 of this Act, 11 (1) "AFDC" means the program of aid to families with dependent children 12 under AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.420; 13 (2) "department" means the Department of Health and Social Services. 14 * Sec. 12. IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. (a) The Department of Health and Social 15 Services, and its employees, agents, and grantees, are not liable for civil damages as a result 16 of an act or omission in the implementation, operation, or administration of an authorized 17 project under secs. 4 - 11 of this Act. 18 (b) The provisions of (a) of this section do not preclude liability for civil damages as 19 a result of recklessness or intentional misconduct. 20 (c) The provisions of (b) of this section do not constitute a waiver or limitation of 21 sovereign or other immunity. 22 * Sec. 13. AFDC PAYMENT LEVELS. Notwithstanding AS 47.25.320(a)(1) - (3), the 23 maximum amounts of assistance under AS 47.25.320(a) may not exceed the following, subject 24 to adjustments under other laws: 25 (1) dependent child living with nonneedy relative: $451 a month, plus $100 26 a month for each additional child; 27 (2) dependent child living with parent: 28 (A) for a parent and one dependent child, a maximum of $806 a month; 29 (B) for each additional child, or for a second parent, $100 a month per 30 individual; 31 (3) pregnant woman who is otherwise eligible for assistance under
01 AS 47.25.320: $505 a month. 02 * Sec. 14. REGULATIONS. (a) The Department of Health and Social Services shall 03 adopt regulations necessary to implement secs. 4 - 13 of this Act. The regulations adopted by 04 the department may include 05 (1) eligibility criteria for the projects described in secs. 5 - 9 of this Act that 06 differ from eligibility requirements in AS 47.25.310 - AS 47.25.429 and the regulations 07 adopted under those statutes; 08 (2) a maximum number of participants to be included in each project, if 09 necessary; 10 (3) exemptions from requiring participation in the projects because of 11 exceptional circumstances; and 12 (4) provisions for financial or non-financial sanctions for applicants who fail 13 to cooperate with project requirements or a provision of a plan. 14 (b) The Department of Revenue, child support enforcement agency, may adopt 15 regulations necessary to implement sec. 9 of this Act. 16 * Sec. 15. TRANSITION. The Department of Health and Social Services and the 17 Department of Revenue, child support enforcement agency, may proceed to adopt regulations 18 necessary to implement this Act. The regulations to implement a section of this Act take 19 effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the 20 relevant section of this Act. 21 * Sec. 16. Sections 1 - 4 and 10 - 15 of this Act take effect immediately under 22 AS 01.10.070(c). 23 * Sec. 17. (a) Sections 5 - 9 of this Act take effect on the effective date of the federal 24 government's approval of the relevant waiver application made under sec. 4 of this Act. 25 (b) If the Department of Health and Social Services determines that federal statutes 26 do not require waivers for one or more of the projects outlined in secs. 5 - 9 of this Act, the 27 effective date of the relevant section is January 1, 1996, or the effective date of the federal 28 law, whichever is later. 29 (c) The commissioner of health and social services shall notify the revisor of statutes 30 and the lieutenant governor of the effective date of each of secs. 5 - 9 of this Act and of 31 whether the effective date was determined by a waiver approval or a determination that a
01 waiver is not necessary. 02 * Sec. 18. Sections 4 - 17 of this Act are repealed July 1, 2001.