To amend chapter 208, RSMo, relating to the administration of public assistance programs, by adding eleven new sections relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Chapter 208, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto eleven new sections, to be known as sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to read as follows:

     Section 1. 1. For the purpose of complying with The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193, and to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants, the state of Missouri shall satisfy all applicable federal conditions, including, but not limited to:

     (1) Ensuring that adults, persons who are not minors, in families receiving assistance under the TANF block grant participate in work activities after receiving assistance for twenty-four or more months; and

     (2) Ensuring that TANF block grant moneys shall not be used to provide assistance to a family that includes an adult who has received assistance for sixty months, whether or not those months are consecutive.

     2. Sections 1 to 11 of this act shall be known as the "Missouri Work-First Program".

     Section 2. 1. The department of social services, division of family services shall establish eligibility requirements for the Missouri temporary assistance for needy families program. These eligibility requirements shall determine income and asset limits, and include, but not be limited to requiring:

     (1) Successful participation in the Missouri temporary assistance for needy families program work activities as defined in statute and by the department;

     (2) Any recipient or applicant for benefits to apply for enrollment in the self-sufficiency program created in section 208.325, RSMo;

     (3) United States citizenship or alienage as defined in The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193;

     (4) Proof of residency in the state of Missouri;

     (5) Any applicant or recipient of benefits to provide to the division his or her social security number or numbers, if the individual has more than one such number;

     (6) Assistance to be paid only to families that include at least one minor child who resides with his or her father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece or other adult caretaker relative of the minor child;

     (7) An applicant for benefits to state in writing, during the application process, whether that individual or any member of his or her household has been convicted under federal or state law of a felony offense which has as an element of the offense the possession, use or distribution of a controlled substance as defined in Section 102(6) of the Controlled Substance Act, 21 U.S.C. 802(6). This subdivision shall only apply to convictions occurring after August 22, 1996, the date of the enactment of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996;

     (8) Any recipient of or applicant for benefits shall comply with all requirements regarding the assignments of right to support; and

     (9) Any recipient or applicant for TANF benefits to participate in procedures to establish paternity and to identify the father of a child born outside of marriage.

     2. The department of social services, division of family services shall deny benefits through the Missouri temporary assistance for needy families program to or on behalf of:

     (1) Any member of a family that includes an adult who has received benefits for sixty months or more, whether or not consecutive, through this program or any other state program that has been created and funded through the provisions of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 after the date such state program has commenced unless:

     (a) In any month during which benefits were provided to that individual he or she was a child and was not the head of a household or was not married to the head of a household;

     (b) Benefits were provided to the individual during a month in which he or she lived on an Indian reservation or in an Alaskan native village as defined in The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996;

     (2) An individual who has been convicted in federal or state court of having made a fraudulent statement or representation with respect to his or her place of residence in order to receive benefits simultaneously from two or more states under programs that have been created and funded through The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Title XIX, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, the Supplemental Security Income Program under Title XVI, or any program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. The period of ineligibility shall begin on the date the individual was convicted of the offense and shall continue for ten years;

     (3) An individual who:

     (a) Is fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or confinement after he or she has been convicted under any federal or state law of a crime which is a felony or, in the state of New Jersey, is a high misdemeanor; or

     (b) Is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under any federal or state law;

     (4) An individual or on behalf of a minor child who has been or is expected by a parent or other caretaker relative of the minor child to be absent from the home for such period of time as is designated by the department in Missouri's state plan filed pursuant to The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996;

     (5) The parent or other relative caretaker of a minor child who fails to notify the division of family services of the absence of a minor child from the home by the end of the fifth day after it becomes apparent to the parent or relative caretaker that the child will be absent from the home for the period of time established by the department of social services and referred to in subdivision (4) of this subsection;

     (6) An individual who is a recipient of assistance through other specific state programs designated to provide supplemental aid;

     (7) Any other individual who is precluded from receiving benefits in accordance with the provisions of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996; and

     (8) Any individual who does not comply with the conditions of his or her self-sufficiency pact pursuant to section 208.335, RSMo.

     Section 3. 1. To receive the entire Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants and to be eligible for contingency funds in case of economic downturn, the state of Missouri shall meet the maintenance of effort conditional requirement set forth in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

     2. The qualified state expenditures that will count toward the maintenance of effort requirement for the TANF block grant are:

     (1) State spending in any program created by the block grant on eligible families for:

     (a) Cash assistance;

     (b) Child care;

     (c) Educational activities designed to increase self-sufficiency, job training and work, excluding any expenditure for public education except expenditures which involve the provision of services or assistance to a member of an eligible family which is not generally available to persons who are not members of an eligible family;

     (d) Administrative costs, not to exceed fifteen percent of the total amount of the block grant; and

     (e) Any other use of funds allowed under the grant;

     (2) State expenditures in excess of the amount spent in fiscal year 1995 for other state or local programs on eligible families for the activities listed in subdivision (1) of this section;

     (3) State spending on families who would otherwise be eligible for assistance if not for the application of the five year lifetime limit on federal benefits; and

     (4) State expenditures that would have received federal match funds under former programs.

     3. The Department of Social Services shall administer a fund to be known as the "Missouri Maintenance of Effort for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Fund", which is hereby created in the state treasury. Moneys deposited in the fund shall equal one hundred percent of state funds expended in fiscal year 1994 on the aids to families with dependent children program, aid to families with dependent children related child care programs, the job opportunities and basic skills training program and emergency assistance programs.

     4. The unexpended balance existing in the fund at the end of any biennium year shall be exempt from the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, relating to the transfer of unexpended balances to the general revenue fund.

     5. The Missouri maintenance of effort for temporary assistance for needy families fund may be used to provide assistance to those persons who satisfy all the eligibility requirements listed in section 2 of this act, except lack the capacity to participate in or to perform the work requirements.

     6. To reduce the number of applicants for public assistance, the department of social services may also use the Missouri maintenance of effort for temporary assistance for needy families fund to eliminate barriers to accepting employment and to assist individuals in remaining in the work place. Such funds may be used for, but not limited to, assisting families in making a child care payment, transportation allowance payment, work-related expense payment or medical expense payment. Such payment shall be limited to a one time use per adult recipient and shall be made directly to vendors or to reimburse individuals for the purchase of receipted necessary materials.

     Section 4. 1. The department of social services shall develop and implement a program that provides incentives for recipients of public assistance to seek and retain employment. Such program shall be formulated in the following model:

     (1) A determination of the cash value of each recipient's families total benefit package currently being provided through the TANF program, food stamp program, medicaid insurance program and child care assistance program. This cash value shall be used as the base amount a recipient would have to earn to be provided with an economic incentive to remain out of public assistance programs; and

     (2) From this base the department shall formulate a payment system for public assistance benefits which will continually offer an economic incentive for qualified individuals to earn an income, keep a percentage of this income and eventually end the need for public assistance. The payment system shall allow qualified individuals to keep a percentage of their job-related income with the remainder going to the state through a reduction in benefits.

     2. The department may disregard a recipient's gross job-related earned income for the first month of participation in the program. Upon the completion of the first month employment, the department shall begin to charge the recipient a percentage, to be set by rule, of his or her job-related income in exchange for the entire benefit package. The total benefits would remain the same until the point at which a recipient earns an amount equal to the cash value of the entire benefit package, however, as the recipient's income increases he or she would pay a greater percentage of the cost for the total benefit package.

     3. Voluntarily leaving the program, within the first three months, shall result in a recalculation of the benefits for the household without considering the needs of the caretaker recipient. The suspension of caretaker benefits shall continue until the amount suspended equals the extra benefits received.

     Section 5. As used in sections 1 to 11 of this act, the following terms shall mean:

     (1) "Administering state agency", the department of social services;

     (2) "Commission", the Missouri work-first commission comprised of the directors of the departments of elementary and secondary education, health, labor and industrial relations, mental health and social services or their designee;

     (3) "Community development councils", the local work-first councils;

     (4) "Consortium of counties", an organization of counties within an area in which all the county commissions jointly comply in working with the director or designee of the administering state agency; and

     (5) "Cooperative state agencies", the departments of elementary and secondary education, health, labor and industrial relations and mental health.

     Section 6. 1. The commission shall oversee the development of a streamlined and integrated system of quality training, employment and support services. The commission shall develop a state work-first service plan to provide the services necessary for the TANF recipient to meet the work or work activity requirements of P.L. 104-193, and to identify the employers and community service agencies willing to participate in the plan.

     2. The commission shall annually update the state work-first service plan and submit the plan to the general assembly with recommendations for improvement.

     Section 7. 1. The director of the administering state agency or designee and the commission shall appoint community development councils and work with caring community organizations in each county of the state and the city of St. Louis. Each community development council shall act as the facilitator between local and regional employers, both private and public, and volunteer organizations and applicants for and recipients of public assistance.

     2. The community development councils should be comprised of:

     (1) Local members from the coordinating state agencies;

     (2) Members of the private sector;

     (3) Owners of business concerns;

     (4) Organized labor and community-based organizations;

     (5) Elementary and higher educational agencies, including vocational education;

     (6) Local literacy councils; and

     (7) Adult basic and continuing education organizations.

     3. The community development councils shall:

     (1) Develop a local plan to address the work-first development needs of the work-first development area that:

     (a) Are responsive to the goals, objectives and performance standards established by the commission; and

     (b) Targets services to meet local needs, including the identification of industries and employers who are willing to employ workers who complete the eligibility interview and employee assessment programs;

     (2) Elect officers to be responsible and accountable for the management of all work-first development funds available to the community development councils;

     (3) Promote cooperation and coordination among public organizations, community organizations and private businesses providing work-first development; and

     (4) Make an annual report to the commission on the progress of the local employment assistance center.

     Section 8. 1. An applicant for public assistance shall report to the local division of family services office for an assessment of eligibility interview. Upon completion of the eligibility interview, the applicant shall be referred to the department of labor, division of employment security for an employee assessment.

     2. The department of labor shall design, implement and evaluate the compliance of those persons applying for or receiving public assistance to the work requirements set forth in the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996 P.L. 104-193.

     3. The department of labor shall notify the department of social services, on a monthly basis, of those applicants or recipients of public assistance who are in noncompliance of eligibility requirements. The department of social services shall begin sanction procedures for the reduction or the denial of public assistance benefits for those applicants or recipients who have been found to be in noncompliance of eligibility requirements.

     4. The department of social services shall provide public assistance recipients who are actively working toward self-sufficiency preference for child care, training and other program resources.

     Section 9. 1. A person who is required to work under the federal conditions established under the TANF program may receive assistance for the first eighteen months he or she is in the TANF program.

     2. To be eligible for benefits for the nineteenth month such person must have an employer or volunteer organization for which he or she is performing work and shall submit to the employment assistance center the name, address, telephone number and business identification number of such employer or volunteer group. The benefits for the nineteenth month shall be submitted to the employer or volunteer organization for distribution to the TANF program recipient. If an employer or volunteer organization is not found, the benefits for the nineteenth month shall be retained in the TANF account.

     3. A person who is required to work under the conditions established under the TANF program may receive assistance for the months twenty through twenty-four either through an employer or volunteer organization or directly from the department of social services.

     4. To be eligible for benefits for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth month such person must have found an employer or volunteer organization and shall submit to the employment assistance center the name, address, telephone number and business identification number of such employer or volunteer organization. The benefits for these months shall be submitted to the employer or volunteer organization for distribution to the TANF program recipient. If an employer is not found the benefits for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth months shall be retained in the TANF account.

     Section 10. 1. The departments of labor and social services and any other agency which directly administers applicants for and recipients of public assistance into compliance with the work eligibility requirements specified in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193, shall develop and implement a plan which will provide a payment or bonus to specified case workers, case managers or placement workers, who further the state's goal in meeting the work requirements and self-sufficiency requirements so specified.

     2. Each department, specified in subsection 1 of this section, shall by regulation establish a payment or bonus program or may pay contract agents based on the number of recipients of public assistance that are placed in full-time employment positions and who retain such employment for at least six months and who meet any other requirements set by the department through rules and regulations.

     3. When determining additional requirements for eligibility for the payment or bonus, each department director or designee shall request and accept suggestions from, but not limited to, the case workers, case managers or placement workers, county directors and county supervisors, appropriate union associations, if applicable, and other appropriate associations such as the National Eligibility Association and the County Directors Association.

     Section 11. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of this act shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024, RSMo.