ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 455
(By Senators Walker, Craigo, Jackson, Hunter, Helmick,
Bailey, Snyder, Mitchell, McCabe, Plymale, Prezioso, Edgell, Sharpe,
Bowman, Kessler, Redd, Unger, Ball, Ross, Oliverio, McKenzie, Schoonover,
Love and Dittmar)
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[Passed March 13, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections three, six and seven,
article nine, chapter nine of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to the West Virginia works act; excluding certain
supplemental security income benefits from the definition of
income; excluding adult recipients of supplemental security
income from benefit groups for purposes of determining
financial eligibility for temporary assistance for needy
families; requiring the department of health and human
resources and all college and university systems to develop
a plan utilizing available college programs for participants
of the works program; and requiring the submission of the
plan and other recommendations to the legislative oversight
commission on health and human resources.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, six and seven, article nine, chapter nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 9. WEST VIRGINIA WORKS PROGRAM.
§9-9-3. Definitions.
In addition to the rules for the construction of statutes in
section ten, article two, chapter two of this code and the words
and terms defined in section two, article one of this chapter,
unless a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "At-risk family" means a group of persons living in the
same household, living below the federally-designated poverty
level, lacking the resources to become self-supporting, and
consisting of a dependent minor child or children living with a
parent, stepparent or caretaker-relative; an "at-risk family" may
include an unmarried minor parent and his or her dependent child
or children who live in an adult-supervised setting;
(b) "Beneficiary" or "participant" means any parent or
caretaker-relative in an at-risk family who receives cash
assistance for himself or herself and family members;
(c) "Cash assistance" means temporary assistance for needy
families or diversionary assistance;
(d) "Challenge" means any fact, circumstance or situation
that prevents a person from becoming self-sufficient or from
seeking, obtaining or maintaining employment of any kind,
including physical or mental disabilities, lack of education, testing, training, counseling, child care arrangements,
transportation, medical treatment or substance abuse treatment;
(e) "Community or personal development" means activities
designed or intended to eliminate challenges to participation in
self-sufficiency activities. These activities are to provide
community benefit and enhance personal responsibility, including,
but not limited to, classes or counseling for learning life
skills or parenting, dependent care, job readiness, volunteer
work, participation in sheltered workshops or substance abuse
treatment;
(f) "Department" means the state department of health and
human resources;
(g) "Division" means the division of human services;
(h) "Income" means money received by any member of an at- risk family which can be used at the discretion of the household
to meet its basic needs:
Provided, That "income" does not
include:
(1) Supplemental security income paid to any member or
members of the at-risk family;
(2) Earnings of minor children; or
(3) Payments received from earned income tax credit or tax
refunds;
(i) "Personal responsibility contract" means a written
agreement entered into by the division and a beneficiary which
establishes the responsibilities and obligations of the beneficiary;
(j) "Secretary" means the secretary of the state department
of health and human resources;
(k) "Subsidized employment" means employment with earnings
provided by an employer who receives a subsidy from the division
for the creation and maintenance of the employment position;
(l) "Support services" includes, but is not limited to, the
following services: Child care; medicaid; transportation
assistance; information and referral; resource development
services which includes assisting families to receive child
support enforcement and supplemental security income; family
support services which includes parenting, budgeting and family
planning; relocation assistance; and mentoring services;
(m) "Unsubsidized employment" means employment with earnings
provided by an employer who does not receive a subsidy from the
division for the creation and maintenance of the employment
position;
(n) "Work" means unsubsidized employment, subsidized
employment, work experience or community or personal development;
and
(o) "Work experience" means unpaid structured work
activities that are provided in an environment where performance
expectations are similar to those existing in unsubsidized
employment and which provide training in occupational areas that
can realistically be expected to lead to unsubsidized employment.
§9-9-6. Program participation.
(a) Unless otherwise noted in this article, all adult
recipients of cash assistance shall be required to participate in
the West Virginia works program in accordance with the provisions
of this article. The level of participation, services to be
delivered and work requirements shall be defined within the terms
of the personal responsibility contract and through rules
established by the secretary.
(b) To the extent funding permits, any individual exempt
under the provisions of section eight of this article may
participate in the activities and programs offered through the
West Virginia works program.
(c) Support services other than cash assistance through the
works program may be provided to at-risk families to eliminate
the need for cash assistance.
(d) Cash assistance through the works program may be
provided to an at-risk family if the combined family income, as
defined in subsection (h), section three of this article, is
below the income and asset test levels established by the
division:
Provided, That any adult member of an at-risk family
who receives supplemental security income shall be excluded from
the benefit group:
Provided, however, That an at-risk family
that includes a married man and woman and dependent children of
either one or both may receive an additional cash assistance
benefit in an amount ten percent greater than the cash assistance benefit provided to the same size household in which there are no
married adults:
Provided further, That an at-risk family shall
receive an additional cash assistance benefit in an amount equal
to the amount of child support collected in a month on behalf of
a child or children of the at-risk family, not to exceed fifty
dollars.
§9-9-7. Work requirements
.
(a) Unless otherwise exempted by the provisions of section
eight of this article, the West Virginia works program shall
require that anyone who possesses a high school diploma, or its
equivalent, or anyone who is of the age of twenty years or more,
to work or attend an educational or training program for a
minimum of twenty hours per week to receive any form of cash
assistance. In accordance with federal law or regulation, the
work, education and training requirements of this section are
waived for any qualifying participant with a child under six
years of age if the participant is unable to obtain appropriate
and available child care services. In order for any participant
to receive cash assistance, he or she shall enter into personal
responsibility contracts pursuant to the provisions of section
nine of this article.
(b) The department of health and human resources and
representatives of all college and university systems of West
Virginia shall develop a plan to utilize the programs available
at the colleges and universities to assist beneficiaries or participants who are enrolled in two and four year programs to
meet the work activity requirements of the federal government or
the provisions of this article.
(c) On or before the first day of December, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine, the department shall submit the plan
and any findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with
drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its
recommendations, to the legislative oversight commission on
health and human resources for consideration pursuant to the
provisions of section nineteen of this article.
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