REPORT TITLE:
Welfare to Work


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes a transitional welfare-to-work benefits program for
public assistance recipients.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.629        
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO WELFARE-TO-WORK TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The federal Personal Responsibility and Work
 
 2 Opportunity Act of 1996 abolished the sixty-one-year-old Aid to
 
 3 Families with Dependent Children entitlement program and replaced
 
 4 it with a transitional aid program called the Temporary
 
 5 Assistance for Needy Families program that requires recipients
 
 6 who are able to work to secure employment at the earliest
 
 7 opportunity.  The new law places a heavy burden on the states to
 
 8 meet strict work participation requirements.
 
 9      The federal requirements have set a laudable goal.  Work is
 
10 the cornerstone of the community's shared values of personal
 
11 responsibility and self-sufficiency.  In addition, work promotes
 
12 self-discipline and self-esteem, and may be the best hope for
 
13 reducing poverty and dependence and thereby safeguard the future
 
14 of Hawaii's disadvantaged children.
 
15      The vast majority of public assistance recipients share the
 
16 community values of parental responsibility and work ethic, and
 
17 will accept financial responsibility for themselves and their
 
18 children when given a real opportunity to achieve self-
 

 
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 1 sufficiency.  Many barriers to work, however, frustrate the best
 
 2 efforts of public assistance recipients to join the work force on
 
 3 a permanent basis.  Moreover, sharp competition for scarce jobs
 
 4 often leaves those with little experience or education behind.
 
 5      In addition, single-parent families face demands on their
 
 6 family resources for child care, education, and housing,
 
 7 especially if child support is not provided.  Studies show that a
 
 8 greater percentage of a single parent's financial resources is
 
 9 used for child care while the parent is working or the child or
 
10 children are forced to stay at home unsupervised.
 
11      The legislature finds that transitional benefits are needed
 
12 to provide the necessary support to allow recipients to pursue
 
13 education and training beyond high school in order to assure
 
14 successful and long-term employment for recipients, and to enable
 
15 them to adequately meet the needs and care of their children.
 
16      The purpose of this Act is to support the successful
 
17 transition from public assistance to self-sufficiency through:
 
18      (1)  A comprehensive effort to facilitate the pursuit of
 
19           higher education and advanced degrees; and
 
20      (2)  To establish a transitional benefits program for public
 
21           assistance recipients to allow recipients to attend
 
22           school full-time.
 

 
 
 
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 1      It is the intent of this Act to establish policies that
 
 2 encourage pursuit of higher education, enhance work readiness,
 
 3 and a stable future for single parents and their children.
 
 4      SECTION 2.  Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 5 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 6 read as follows:
 
 7      "§346-    Bridge to hope program; transitional benefits.
 
 8 (a)  There is created within the department a welfare-to-work
 
 9 transitional benefits program, to be known as the "bridge to
 
10 hope" program, for recipients of public assistance who are single
 
11 parents of young children.
 
12      (b)  The department may provide assistance to recipients of
 
13 public assistance, who are single parents with a child or
 
14 children under age fourteen, beyond any time limits for the
 
15 receipt of public assistance established by the temporary
 
16 assistance to needy families program.  To receive assistance
 
17 under this program, the single parent shall:
 
18      (1)  Be working or a student in a college, university,
 
19           vocational school, or other educational institution;
 
20      (2)  Be enrolled in a course of study approved by the
 
21           department at an accredited post-secondary academic or
 
22           vocational school or other instruction;
 

 
 
 
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 1      (3)  Be enrolled in a minimum of       credit hours each
 
 2           semester while enrolled; provided that the number of
 
 3           credit hours shall be calculated in the same manner
 
 4           followed by the University of Hawaii system campuses;
 
 5           and
 
 6      (4)  Have an income below the federal poverty level for the
 
 7           appropriate household size applicable in the state.
 
 8      (c)  Any eligible participant who receives an exemption
 
 9 under this section shall be eligible for or shall continue to
 
10 receive child care, housing assistance, transportation
 
11 assistance, and all other support services as may be necessary to
 
12 allow the participant to attend post-secondary school; provided
 
13 that the participant shall submit satisfactory evidence to the
 
14 department that the participant:
 
15      (1)  Is currently enrolled in an approved course of study
 
16           and taking the number of credit hours required under
 
17           subsection (b);
 
18      (2)  Has maintained passing grades or better throughout the
 
19           course of study; and
 
20      (3)  Completes the course of study by the end of two years
 
21           beyond the recipient's time limit.
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1      (d)  The participant shall submit a copy of a diploma,
 
 2 certificate, or other satisfactory proof of completion of the
 
 3 educational or vocational program upon the participant's
 
 4 graduation from the program.  The exemption provided by this
 
 5 section shall not exceed       semesters at any one or more
 
 6 schools or other institutions in the state in any five-year
 
 7 period.
 
 8      (e)  Assistance to be provided under this section shall
 
 9 include:
 
10      (1)  Child care;
 
11      (2)  Housing subsidies;
 
12      (3)  Health coverage; and
 
13      (4)  Educational subsidies.
 
14      (f)  The number of credits carried by the recipient shall
 
15 count towards work requirements under the Temporary Assistance to
 
16 Needy Families program.
 
17      (g)  The department shall adopt rules in accordance with
 
18 chapter 91 to carry out the purposes of this section."
 
19      SECTION 3.  In order to eliminate barriers to work and to
 
20 facilitate the transition of families from welfare to work, the
 
21 department of human services, with the assistance of the
 
22 department of labor and industrial relations, may develop the
 
23 following initiatives for implementation:
 

 
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 1      (1)  Child care:
 
 2           (A)  To the fullest extent possible, the department of
 
 3                human services may develop a pay-as-you-go system
 
 4                of prospectively reimbursing child care expenses
 
 5                authorized by this Act.  Prospective
 
 6                reimbursements in this system should be
 
 7                implemented in a manner that best assures equal
 
 8                access to day care for public assistance
 
 9                recipients:
 
10                (i)  For the purpose of minimizing child care
 
11                     overpayments, the department may make
 
12                     prospective payments directly to the child
 
13                     care provider, or jointly to the recipient
 
14                     and the child care provider; and
 
15               (ii)  All child care payees, whether a recipient or
 
16                     child care provider, shall be liable for
 
17                     overpayments resulting from the payee's
 
18                     material misrepresentation of fraud; 
 
19                and
 
20           (B)  The department of human services may develop a
 
21                system to authorize child care payments for
 
22                activities collateral to work and work training or
 

 
 
 
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 1                preparation activities, including but not limited
 
 2                to time required to commute to a job or the work
 
 3                training site (to include time for child care
 
 4                pick-up and drop-off), reasonable study time for
 
 5                students, and sick-leave trips for medical
 
 6                treatment for the public assistance recipient or
 
 7                the recipient's children;
 
 8      (2)  Long-term learning.  The department of human services
 
 9           may develop a process to facilitate student enrollment
 
10           in associate's or bachelor's degree programs by giving
 
11           work credit for hours in class as well as for hours
 
12           reasonably required for study or laboratory or
 
13           practical work; and
 
14      (3)  Work preparation.  The department of human services may
 
15           develop a program to make skills-building and other
 
16           job-readiness training opportunities available to all
 
17           public assistance recipients likely to benefit from the
 
18           program.  For the purposes of this paragraph, the
 
19           benefit to the recipient may include improved job
 
20           retention capability, enhanced earnings capacity, or
 
21           better job acquisition potential.
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 4.  The department shall ensure that the
 
 2 department's activities taken under this section shall be
 
 3 consistent with the principles and goals of promoting self-
 
 4 sufficiency, eliminating poverty, and safeguarding the health,
 
 5 safety, and welfare of Hawaii's poor children.  The department
 
 6 shall provide a yearly evaluation which utilizes graduation rates
 
 7 and employability as benchmarks to determine success.  
 
 8      SECTION 5.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
10 
 
11                         INTRODUCED BY:___________________________