GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION

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a section numbered 63.1-25.3 and by adding

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§ 63.1-25.3. Virginia Targeted Jobs Grant Program.

A. The State Board of Social Services shall implement a grant program to provide assistance to employers who hire "qualified employees," as hereinafter defined, in taxable years 1994, 1995, and 1996, subject to the terms and conditions of this section and the regulations of the State Board.

B. For purposes of this section, a "qualified employee" is a Virginia resident who at the time of hiring is a recipient of "aid to families with dependent children" and has been a recipient of AFDC for nine consecutive months and has been placed with the employer as a result of the Department of Social Services' Employment Services Program as is evidenced by a certification and voucher furnished by the Department. In order to receive a grant hereunder, the employer shall document and keep records that the employee satisfied the above conditions at the time of hiring.

C. Any person who is hired under this program (i) shall not have been an employee of the employer claiming the grant for at least one year prior to the date of hiring; (ii) shall not be a relative of any owner of the employer claiming the grant ("relative" shall be defined as a spouse, child, grandchild, parent or sibling of an owner or employer, and "owner" shall be defined, in the case of a corporation, as any person who owns five percent or more of the corporation's stock); (iii) shall not own, directly or indirectly, more than fifty percent in value of the outstanding stock of a corporation claiming the grant; and (iv) shall have worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours of the taxable year for which the employer is claiming the grant at a rate of pay which is at least the minimum wage. All employees of employers that are members of a controlled group shall be treated as employees of a single employer for purposes of this grant program.

D. 1. Employers who hire such qualified employees shall be entitled to receive an annual Virginia targeted jobs grant in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each qualified employee hired in the taxable year for which the grant is claimed. The grants shall be paid from a fund to be entitled the "Virginia Targeted Jobs Grant Fund," to the extent the general appropriation act makes provision for such Fund, and shall be administered by the Commissioner of Social Services.

2. Employers entitled to claim or apply for a grant pursuant to this section shall provide evidence, satisfactory to the Commissioner, of hiring such qualified employees in the taxable year for which the grant is claimed. No grant shall be paid prior to July 1, 1996. Applications claiming such grants shall be filed no later than the last day of the third month following the close of the taxable year for which the grants are claimed. Failure to meet the filing deadline shall render the applicant ineligible to receive a grant. The postmark cancellation shall govern the date of the filing determination unless the Commissioner has approved an alternative means of filing.

E. The Commissioner shall certify to the Comptroller the amount of grant an employer is eligible to receive, and payments shall be paid by check issued by the Treasurer of Virginia on warrant of the Comptroller.

F. The Commissioner, upon presenting appropriate credentials, may examine the records, books, and other applicable documents to determine whether the employer has satisfied the requirements for grants as set forth in this section.

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who meet the eligibility criteria for the Job Opportunity and Basic Skills Program (JOBS)

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all of subdivision 4 and 5. on the next line

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4.

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Virginia's AFDC need standard shall be revised, and readjusted annually thereafter, to reflect current living costs; however, the percentage of such need standard paid to Program participants receiving AFDC financial assistance shall be adjusted so that current benefit levels are continued.

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the standard of need

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such percentage of the federal poverty level as is established by the Commissioner

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the standard of need

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such percentage of the federal poverty level as is established by the Commissioner

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A.

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or up to twelve months after

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section

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subsection

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B. Single-parent families in which the mother is in her third trimesterof pregnancy, or where, upon a physician's written statement, participation would be deleterious to the health of the pregnant woman or to her child after birth, or in which the parent has a child under the age of eighteen months, shall be granted a waiver from the two-year time limit on Program participation and shall not be required to participate in VIEW. The waiver period shall not extend beyond the third trimester of pregnancy through the child's eighteen month birthday. Waivers granted for reasons of medical necessity as documented by a physician's written statement shall not extend beyond the period of medical necessity. Such recipients shall receive intensive case management throughout the waiver period. If a recipient who has been granted a waiver gives birth to an additional child during the waiver period or during subsequent Program participation, there shall be no additional waiver.