CS/HB 1301

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to workforce services; amending s.
3	445.024, F.S.; revising definitions of work activities to
4	conform to federal law and regulations governing work
5	requirements for participants in the temporary cash
6	assistance program; revising work activity requirements
7	and exemptions from such requirements; revising certain
8	requirements for and duties of regional workforce boards
9	with respect to work requirements for program
10	participants; amending s. 445.032, F.S.; clarifying
11	circumstances under which transitional child care is
12	available to former participants in the welfare transition
13	program and certain other individuals; amending s.
14	402.305, F.S.; correcting cross-references; providing an
15	effective date.
16
17	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19	Section 1.  Subsections (1) through (4) of section 445.024,
20	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
21	445.024  Work requirements.--
22	(1)  WORK ACTIVITIES.--The Agency for Workforce Innovation
23	may develop activities under each of the following categories of
24	work activities. The following categories of work activities,
25	based on federal law and regulations, may be used individually
26	or in combination to satisfy the work requirements for a
27	participant in the temporary cash assistance program:
28	(a)  Unsubsidized employment.
29	(b)  Subsidized private sector employment.
30	(c)  Subsidized public sector employment.
31	(d)  On-the-job training.
32	(e)  Community service programs.
33	(f)  Work experience.
34	(g)  Job search and job readiness assistance.
35	(h)  Vocational educational training.
36	(i)  Job skills training directly related to employment.
37	(j)  Education directly related to employment.
38	(k)  Satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in a
39	course of study leading to a graduate equivalency diploma.
40	(l)  Providing child care services.
41	(a)  Unsubsidized employment.--Unsubsidized employment is
42	full-time employment or part-time employment that is not
43	directly supplemented by federal or state funds. Paid
44	apprenticeship and cooperative education activities are included
45	in this activity.
46	(b)  Subsidized private sector employment.--Subsidized
47	private sector employment is employment in a private for-profit
48	enterprise or a private not-for-profit enterprise which is
49	directly supplemented by federal or state funds. A subsidy may
50	be provided in one or more of the forms listed in this
51	paragraph.
52	1.  Work supplementation.--A work supplementation subsidy
53	diverts a participant's temporary cash assistance under the
54	program to the employer. The employer must pay the participant
55	wages that equal or exceed the applicable federal minimum wage.
56	Work supplementation may not exceed 6 months. At the end of the
57	supplementation period, the employer is expected to retain the
58	participant as a regular employee without receiving a subsidy. A
59	work supplementation agreement may not be continued with any
60	employer who exhibits a pattern of failing to provide
61	participants with continued employment after the period of work
62	supplementation ends.
63	2.  On-the-job training.--On-the-job training is full-time,
64	paid employment in which the employer or an educational
65	institution, in cooperation with the employer, provides training
66	needed for the participant to perform the skills required for
67	the position. The employer or the educational institution on
68	behalf of the employer receives a subsidy to offset the cost of
69	the training provided to the participant. Upon satisfactory
70	completion of the training, the employer is expected to retain
71	the participant as a regular employee without receiving a
72	subsidy. An on-the-job training agreement may not be continued
73	with any employer who exhibits a pattern of failing to provide
74	participants with continued employment after the on-the-job
75	training subsidy ends.
76	3.  Incentive payments.--Regional workforce boards may
77	provide additional incentive payments to encourage employers to
78	employ program participants. Incentive payments may include
79	payments to encourage the employment of hard-to-place
80	participants, in which case the amount of the payment shall be
81	weighted proportionally to the extent to which the participant
82	has limitations associated with the long-term receipt of welfare
83	and difficulty in sustaining employment. Incentive payments may
84	also include payments to encourage employers to provide health
85	care insurance benefits to current or former program
86	participants. In establishing incentive payments, regional
87	workforce boards shall consider the extent of prior receipt of
88	welfare, lack of employment experience, lack of education, lack
89	of job skills, and other appropriate factors. A participant who
90	has complied with program requirements and who is approaching
91	the time limit for receiving temporary cash assistance may be
92	defined as "hard to place." Incentive payments may include
93	payments in which an initial payment is made to the employer
94	upon the employment of a participant, and the majority of the
95	incentive payment is made after the employer retains the
96	participant as a full-time employee for at least 12 months. An
97	incentive agreement may not be continued with any employer who
98	exhibits a pattern of failing to provide participants with
99	continued employment after the incentive payments cease.
100	4.  Tax credits.--An employer who employs a program
101	participant may qualify for enterprise zone property tax credits
102	under s. 220.182, the tax refund program for qualified target
103	industry businesses under s. 288.106, or other federal or state
104	tax benefits. The regional workforce board shall provide
105	information and assistance, as appropriate, to use such credits
106	to accomplish program goals.
107	5.  Training bonus.--An employer who hires a participant in
108	the welfare transition program and pays the participant a wage
109	that precludes the participant's eligibility for temporary cash
110	assistance may receive $250 for each full month of employment
111	for a period that may not exceed 3 months. An employer who
112	receives a training bonus for an employee may not receive a work
113	supplementation subsidy for the same employee. "Employment" is
114	defined as 35 hours per week at a wage of no less than minimum
115	wage.
116	(c)  Subsidized public sector employment.--Subsidized
117	public sector employment is employment by an agency of the
118	federal, state, or local government which is directly
119	supplemented by federal or state funds. The applicable subsidies
120	provided under paragraph (b) may be used to subsidize employment
121	in the public sector, except that priority for subsidized
122	employment shall be employment in the private sector. Public
123	sector employment is distinguished from work experience in that
124	the participant is paid wages and receives the same benefits as
125	a nonsubsidized employee who performs similar work. Work-study
126	activities administered by educational institutions are included
127	in this activity.
128	(d)  Community service work experience.--Community service
129	work experience is job training experience at a supervised
130	public or private not-for-profit agency. A participant shall
131	receive temporary cash assistance in the form of wages, which,
132	when combined with the value of food stamps awarded to the
133	participant, is proportional to the amount of time worked. A
134	participant in the welfare transition program or the Food Stamp
135	Employment and Training program assigned to community service
136	work experience shall be deemed an employee of the state for
137	purposes of workers' compensation coverage and is subject to the
138	requirements of the drug-free workplace program. Community
139	service work experience may be selected as an activity for a
140	participant who needs to increase employability by improving his
141	or her interpersonal skills, job-retention skills, stress
142	management, and job problem solving, and by learning to attain a
143	balance between job and personal responsibilities. Community
144	service is intended to:
145	1.  Assess compliance with requirements of the welfare
146	transition program before referral of the participant to costly
147	services such as career education;
148	2.  Maintain work activity status while the participant
149	awaits placement into paid employment or training;
150	3.  Fulfill a clinical practicum or internship requirement
151	related to employment; or
152	4.  Provide work-based mentoring.
153
154	As used in this paragraph, the terms "community service
155	experience," "community work," and "workfare" are synonymous.
156	(e)  Work experience.--Work experience is an appropriate
157	work activity for participants who lack preparation for or
158	experience in the workforce. It must combine a job training
159	activity in a public or private not-for-profit agency with
160	education and training related to an employment goal. To qualify
161	as a work activity, work experience must include education and
162	training in addition to the time required by the work activity,
163	and the work activity must be intensively supervised and
164	structured. Regional workforce boards shall contract for any
165	services provided for clients who are assigned to this activity
166	and shall require performance benchmarks, goals, outcomes, and
167	time limits designed to assure that the participant moves toward
168	full-time paid employment. A participant shall receive temporary
169	cash assistance proportional to the time worked. A participant
170	assigned to work experience is an employee of the state for
171	purposes of workers' compensation coverage and is subject to the
172	requirements of the drug-free workplace program.
173	(f)  Job search and job readiness assistance.--Job search
174	assistance may include supervised or unsupervised job-seeking
175	activities. Job readiness assistance provides support for job-
176	seeking activities, which may include:
177	1.  Orientation to the world of work and basic job-seeking
178	and job retention skills.
179	2.  Instruction in completing an application for employment
180	and writing a resume.
181	3.  Instruction in conducting oneself during a job
182	interview, including appropriate dress.
183	4.  Instruction in how to retain a job, plan a career, and
184	perform successfully in the workplace.
185
186	Job readiness assistance may also include providing a
187	participant with access to an employment resource center that
188	contains job listings, telephones, facsimile machines,
189	typewriters, and word processors. Job search and job readiness
190	activities may be used in conjunction with other program
191	activities, such as work experience, but may not be the primary
192	work activity for longer than the length of time permitted under
193	federal law.
194	(g)  Career education or training.--Career education or
195	training is education or training designed to provide
196	participants with the skills and certification necessary for
197	employment in an occupational area. Career education or training
198	may be used as a primary program activity for participants when
199	it has been determined that the individual has demonstrated
200	compliance with other phases of program participation and
201	successful completion of the career education or training is
202	likely to result in employment entry at a higher wage than the
203	participant would have been likely to attain without completion
204	of the career education or training. Career education or
205	training may be combined with other program activities and also
206	may be used to upgrade skills or prepare for a higher paying
207	occupational area for a participant who is employed.
208	1.  Unless otherwise provided in this section, career
209	education shall not be used as the primary program activity for
210	a period which exceeds 12 months. The 12-month restriction
211	applies to instruction in a career education program and does
212	not include remediation of basic skills, including English
213	language proficiency, if remediation is necessary to enable a
214	participant to benefit from a career education program. Any
215	necessary remediation must be completed before a participant is
216	referred to career education as the primary work activity. In
217	addition, use of career education or training shall be
218	restricted to the limitation established in federal law. Career
219	education included in a program leading to a high school diploma
220	shall not be considered career education for purposes of this
221	section.
222	2.  When possible, a provider of career education or
223	training shall use funds provided by funding sources other than
224	the regional workforce board. The regional workforce board may
225	provide additional funds to a career education or training
226	provider only if payment is made pursuant to a performance-based
227	contract. Under a performance-based contract, the provider may
228	be partially paid when a participant completes education or
229	training, but the majority of payment shall be made following
230	the participant's employment at a specific wage or job retention
231	for a specific duration. Performance-based payments made under
232	this subparagraph are limited to education or training for
233	targeted occupations identified by the Workforce Estimating
234	Conference under s. 216.136, or other programs identified by
235	Workforce Florida, Inc., as beneficial to meet the needs of
236	designated groups who are hard to place. If the contract pays
237	the full cost of training, the community college or school
238	district may not report the participants for other state
239	funding.
240	(h)  Job skills training.--Job skills training includes
241	customized training designed to meet the needs of a specific
242	employer or a specific industry. Job skills training shall
243	include literacy instruction, and may include English
244	proficiency instruction or Spanish language or other language
245	instruction if necessary to enable a participant to perform in a
246	specific job or job training program or if the training enhances
247	employment opportunities in the local community. A participant
248	may be required to complete an entrance assessment or test
249	before entering into job skills training.
250	(i)  Education services related to employment for
251	participants 19 years of age or younger.--Education services
252	provided under this paragraph are designed to prepare a
253	participant for employment in an occupation. The agency shall
254	coordinate education services with the school-to-work activities
255	provided under s. 1006.02. Activities provided under this
256	paragraph are restricted to participants 19 years of age or
257	younger who have not completed high school or obtained a high
258	school equivalency diploma.
259	(j)  School attendance.--Attendance at a high school or
260	attendance at a program designed to prepare the participant to
261	receive a high school equivalency diploma is a required program
262	activity for each participant 19 years of age or younger who:
263	1.  Has not completed high school or obtained a high school
264	equivalency diploma;
265	2.  Is a dependent child or a head of household; and
266	3.  For whom it has not been determined that another
267	program activity is more appropriate.
268	(k)  Teen parent services.--Participation in medical,
269	educational, counseling, and other services that are part of a
270	comprehensive program is a required activity for each teen
271	parent who participates in the welfare transition program.
272	(l)  Extended education and training.--Notwithstanding any
273	other provisions of this section to the contrary, the board of
274	directors of Workforce Florida, Inc., may approve a plan by a
275	regional workforce board for assigning, as work requirements,
276	educational activities that exceed or are not included in those
277	provided elsewhere in this section and that do not comply with
278	federal work participation requirement limitations. In order to
279	be eligible to implement this provision, a regional workforce
280	board must continue to exceed the overall federal work
281	participation rate requirements. For purposes of this paragraph,
282	the board of directors of Workforce Florida, Inc., may adjust
283	the regional participation requirement based on regional
284	caseload decline. However, this adjustment is limited to no more
285	than the adjustment produced by the calculation used to generate
286	federal adjustments to the participation requirement due to
287	caseload decline.
288	(m)  GED preparation and literacy education.--Satisfactory
289	attendance at secondary school or in a course of study leading
290	to a graduate equivalency diploma, if a participant has not
291	completed secondary school or received such a diploma. English
292	language proficiency training may be included as a part of the
293	education if it is deemed the individual requires such training
294	to complete secondary school or to attain a graduate equivalency
295	diploma. To calculate countable hours attributable to education,
296	a participant may earn study credits equal to the number of
297	actual hours spent in formal training per week, but the total
298	number of hours earned for actual hours spent in formal training
299	and studying may not exceed a one to one and one-half ratio for
300	the week. Countable hours are subject to the restrictions
301	contained in 45 C.F.R. s. 261.31.
302	(n)  Providing child care services.--Providing child care
303	services to an individual who is participating in a community
304	service program pursuant to this section.
305	(2)  WORK ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS.--Each individual who is
306	not otherwise exempt from work activity requirements must
307	participate in a work activity, except for community service
308	work experience, for the maximum number of hours allowable under
309	federal law; however, a, provided that no participant may not be
310	required to work more than 40 hours per week or less than the
311	minimum number of hours required by federal law. The maximum
312	number of hours each month that a family participant may be
313	required to participate in community service or work experience
314	programs activities is the greater of: the number of hours that
315	would result from dividing the family's monthly amount for
316	temporary cash assistance and food stamps by the applicable
317	federal minimum wage and then dividing that result by the number
318	of participants in the family who participate in community
319	service activities, or the minimum required to meet federal
320	participation requirements. However, in no case shall the
321	maximum hours required per week for community service or work
322	experience may not exceed 40 hours. An applicant shall be
323	referred for employment at the time of application if the
324	applicant is eligible to participate in the welfare transition
325	program.
326	(a)  A participant in a work activity may also be required
327	to enroll in and attend a course of instruction designed to
328	increase literacy skills to a level necessary for obtaining or
329	retaining employment if, provided that the instruction plus the
330	work activity does not require more than 40 hours per week.
331	(b)  Program funds may be used, as available, to support
332	the efforts of a participant who meets the work activity
333	requirements and who wishes to enroll in or continue enrollment
334	in an adult general education program or other training programs
335	a career education program.
336	(3)  EXEMPTION FROM WORK ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS.--The
337	following individuals are exempt from work activity
338	requirements:
339	(a)  A minor child under 16 years of age.
340	(a)(b)  An individual who receives benefits under the
341	Supplemental Security Income program or the Social Security
342	Disability Insurance program.
343	(b)(c)  An adult Adults who is are not defined as a work-
344	eligible individual under federal law included in the
345	calculation of temporary cash assistance in child-only cases.
346	(c)(d)  A single One custodial parent of with a child under
347	3 months of age, except that the parent may be required to
348	attend parenting classes or other activities to better prepare
349	for the responsibilities of raising a child. If the custodial
350	parent is 19 years of age or younger and has not completed high
351	school or the equivalent, he or she may be required to attend
352	school or other appropriate educational activities.
353	(d)(e)  An individual who is exempt from the time period
354	pursuant to s. 414.105.
355	(4)  PRIORITIZATION OF WORK REQUIREMENTS.--Regional
356	workforce boards shall require participation in work activities
357	to the maximum extent possible, subject to federal and state
358	funding. If funds are projected to be insufficient to allow
359	full-time work activities by all program participants who are
360	required to participate in work activities, regional workforce
361	boards shall screen participants and assign priority based on
362	the following:
363	(a)  In accordance with federal requirements, at least one
364	adult in each two-parent family shall be assigned priority for
365	full-time work activities.
366	(b)  Among single-parent families, a family that has older
367	preschool children or school-age children shall be assigned
368	priority for work activities.
369	(c)  A participant who has access to subsidized or
370	unsubsidized nonsubsidized child care may be assigned priority
371	for work activities.
372	(d)  Priority may be assigned based on the amount of time
373	remaining until the participant reaches the applicable time
374	limit for program participation or may be based on requirements
375	of a case plan.
376
377	Regional workforce boards may limit a participant's weekly work
378	requirement to the minimum required to meet federal work
379	activity requirements in lieu of the level defined in subsection
380	(2). Regional workforce boards may develop screening and
381	prioritization procedures based on the allocation of resources,
382	the availability of community resources, the provision of
383	supportive services, or the work activity needs of the service
384	area district.
385	Section 2.  Section 445.032, Florida Statutes, is amended
386	to read:
387	445.032  Transitional child care.--In order to assist
388	former welfare transition program participants and individuals
389	who have been redirected through up-front diversion in obtaining
390	employment, continuing to be employed, and improving their
391	employment prospects, transitional child care is available for
392	up to 2 years:
393	(1)  To After a former program participant who is no longer
394	receiving temporary cash assistance and who is employed or is
395	actively seeking employment if his or her has left the program
396	due to employment and whose income does not exceed 200 percent
397	of the federal poverty level at any time during that 2-year
398	period.
399	(2)  To an individual who has been redirected through up-
400	front diversion and who is employed or is actively seeking
401	employment if his or her whose income does not exceed 200
402	percent of the federal poverty level at any time during that 2-
403	year period.
404	Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
405	402.305, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
406	402.305  Licensing standards; child care facilities.--
407	(4)  STAFF-TO-CHILDREN RATIO.--
408	(b)  This subsection does not apply to nonpublic schools
409	and their integral programs as defined in s. 402.3025(2)(d)1. In
410	addition, an individual participating in a community service
411	program work experience activity under s. 445.024(1)(e)(d), or a
412	work experience activity under s. 445.024(1)(f)(e), at a child
413	care facility may not be considered in calculating the staff-to-
414	children ratio.
415	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.