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2000 SESSION

003623908
HOUSE BILL NO. 986
Offered January 24, 2000
A BILL to amend and reenact § 63.1-133.46 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 63.1-105.3:1, relating to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.
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Patrons-- Rhodes, Bloxom and Hamilton
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Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 63.1-133.46 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted, and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section number 63.1-105.3:1 as follows:

§ 63.1-105.3:1. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)-related benefits and services.

The State Board shall promulgate regulations permitting local departments of social services to provide TANF-related benefits and services, in addition to those otherwise permitted or required by this chapter, to needy families in Virginia, with such funds as are appropriated therefor. TANF-related benefits and services may be provided to needy families for any purpose permitted by federal or state TANF law. Such benefits and services shall be limited to those benefits and services that do not count toward the federal time limit on receipt of TANF assistance, including:

1. Nonrecurrent, short-term benefits that:

(a) Are designed to deal with a specific crisis situation or episode of need;

(b) Are not intended to meet recurrent or ongoing needs; and

(c) Will not extend beyond four months;

2. Work subsidies in the form of payments to employers or third parties to help cover costs of employee wages, benefits, supervision, and training;

3. Supportive services such as child care and transportation provided to families who are employed;

4. Contributions to, and distributions from, individual development accounts; and

5. Services such as counseling, case management, peer support, child care information and referral, transitional services, job retention, job advancement, and other employment related services that do not provide basic income support.

§ 63.1-133.46. Case management; support services; transitional support services.

A. The Commissioner of Social Services, through the local departments of social services, with such funds as appropriated, shall offer services under the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program to all families participating in the Program.

B. The Commissioner of Social Services, through the local departments of social services, with such funds as appropriated, shall offer families participating in the Program intensive case management services throughout the family's participation in the Program. Case management services shall include initial assessment of the full range of services that will be needed by each family including testing and evaluation, development of the individualized agreement of personal responsibility, and periodic reassessment of service needs and the agreement of personal responsibility. It shall be the goal of the Department to have a statewide intensive case management ratio not higher than the prevailing statewide average ratio in the JOBS Program in Virginia as the ratio exists in the JOBS Program on the date of enactment of this act. The Department shall seek to achieve this goal during the first year of implementation. By December 1, 1996, the Commissioner shall develop and submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly concerning the establishment of a classification system for caseload management in the Program. The Department shall include in its annual report to the Governor and General Assembly an evaluation of program effectiveness statewide and by locality, including an evaluation of case management services.

C. Local departments of social services are authorized to provide services to VIEW families throughout the family's participation in VIEW subject to regulations promulgated by the State Board, including:

1. Day care for the children of participants if:

a. The participant is employed and day-care services are essential to the continued employment of the participant;

b. Day-care services are required to enable a participant to receive job placement, job training or education services; or

c. The participant is otherwise eligible for day care pursuant to State Board regulations.

2. Transportation which will enable parental employment or participation in services required by the agreement of personal responsibility.

3. Job counseling, education and training, and job search assistance consistent with the purposes of VIEW.

4. Medical assistance.

D. A participant whose AFDC TANF financial assistance is terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily, shall receive the following services for up to twelve twenty-four months after termination, if needed:

1. Assistance with child day care if such assistance enables the individual to work;

2. Assistance with transportation, if such transportation enables the individual to work; and

3. Medical assistance, including transitional medical assistance for families with a working parent who becomes ineligible for AFDC TANF financial assistance because of increased earnings, unless (i) medical insurance is available through the parent's employer or (ii) family income exceeds 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

E. The State Department of Social Services or local departments of social services may purchase or otherwise acquire motor vehicles from the centralized fleet of motor vehicles controlled by the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner under Chapter 12 (§ 33.1-400 et seq.) of Title 33.1 and sell or otherwise transfer such vehicles to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients or former recipients. Purchases, sales, and other transfers of vehicles under this subsection shall not be subject to the provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 11-35 et seq.), or the provisions of §§ 2.1-457.2, 2.1-505, 2.1-512, and 33.1-404 relating to the sale, purchase, and transfer of surplus motor vehicles and other surplus state property.

F. Nothing in this section shall be construed or interpreted to create a cause of action or administrative claim based upon a right or entitlement to any specific services or an exemption or waiver from any provision of this Program.

2. The State Board of Social Services shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act to be effective within 280 days of its enactment.