AN ACT CONCERNING THE WORKFORCE READINESS OF THE JOBS FIRST PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Labor Department shall implement a pilot program to enhance the employability of participants in the Jobs First program administered by the Commissioner of Social Services and the temporary family assistance programs. The Labor Commissioner shall implement a competitive grant program with input from the design team for the Jobs First program. For purposes of sections 1 to 3, inclusive, of this act, the "Jobs First program" shall mean the demonstration program entitled "Reach For Jobs First" pursuant to Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. Funds appropriated pursuant to section 4 of this act shall be used for:

(1) Supplemental assessments of Jobs First program participants who will be deemed eligible for the pilot programs created by this act if they lack a high school diploma, or the equivalent, or who are identified as having mathematics or reading skills which are a barrier to employment at wages which enable the participant and the participant's family to be self-sufficient. These assessments shall be designed to determine effective education, training or other action to mitigate identified barriers to employment;

(2) Pilot programs to provide education in basic skills necessary for employment, including, but not limited to, English as a second language, literacy and numeracy programs, and high school completion and General Equivalency Degree programs, for the Jobs First program participants and other temporary family assistance recipients identified as needing such education to obtain employment at wages which enable the participant and the participant's family to be self-sufficient. Such basic skills programs shall combine education, training and work-related experience. Priority for funding shall be given to innovative models of adult learning in the context of employment; or

(3) Pilot vocational education programs that integrate basic skills education for the Jobs First program participants and other temporary family assistance recipients identified as needing such education to obtain employment at wages that enable the participant and the participant's family to be self-sufficient.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Programs to develop basic skills, as described in subdivision (2) of section 1 of this act, and vocational education programs funded pursuant to section 4 of this act shall report every six months to the regional workforce development boards established pursuant to section 31-3k of the general statutes, on the number of participants who participated in basic skills training and vocational education programs and attained employment during or after completing the training or programs, the kind of employment and pay level of the employment and the length of time that the participant retained employment.

(b) Each regional workforce development board shall report annually to the Labor Department and the local temporary assistance for needy families council on the number of participants in its region who participated in basic skills training and vocational education programs and the number who attained employment during or after completing the training or programs, the kind of employment and pay level of the employment and the number of participants who retained employment for three months and for six months.

(c) Basic skills programs shall (1) provide a minimum of ten hours of education or training per week; and (2) be available throughout the year and at times of the day when Jobs First program participants are available to participate.

Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 17b-112 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(c) A family who is subject to time-limited benefits may petition the Commissioner of Social Services for six-month extensions of such benefits. The commissioner shall grant not more than two extensions to such family who has made a good faith effort to comply with the requirements of the program and despite such effort has a total family income at a level below the payment standard, or has encountered circumstances preventing employment including, but not limited to: (1) Domestic violence or physical harm to such family's children; or (2) other circumstances beyond such family's control. The commissioner shall disregard ninety dollars of earned income in determining applicable family income. The commissioner may grant a subsequent six-month extension if each adult in the family meets one or more of the following criteria: (A) The adult is precluded from engaging in employment activities due to domestic violence or another reason beyond the adult's control; (B) the adult has two or more substantiated barriers to employment including, but not limited to, the lack of available child care, substance abuse or addiction, severe mental or physical health problems, one or more severe learning disabilities, domestic violence or a child who has a serious physical or behavioral health problem; (C) the adult is working thirty-five or more hours per week, is earning at least the minimum wage and continues to earn less than the family's temporary family assistance payment standard; [or] (D) the adult is employed and works less than thirty-five hours per week due to (i) a documented medical impairment that limits the adult's hours of employment, provided the adult works the maximum number of hours that the medical condition permits, or (ii) the need to care for a disabled member of the adult's household, provided the adult works the maximum number of hours the adult's caregiving responsibilities permit; or (E) the adult is actively engaged in adult basic education or skills training included in an approved employment plan for the Jobs First program. Families receiving temporary family assistance shall be notified by the department of the right to petition for such extensions. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the commissioner shall not provide benefits under the state's temporary family assistance program to a family that is subject to the twenty-one month benefit limit and has received benefits beginning on or after October 1, 1996, if such benefits result in that family's receiving more than sixty months of time-limited benefits unless that family experiences domestic violence, as defined in Section 402(a)(7)(B), P.L. 104-193. For the purpose of calculating said sixty-month limit: [(I)] (i) A month shall count toward the limit if the family receives assistance for any day of the month, and [(II)] (ii) a month in which a family receives temporary assistance for needy families benefits that are issued from a jurisdiction other than Connecticut shall count toward the limit.

Sec. 4. (Effective July 1, 2006) The sum of three million dollars is appropriated to the Labor Department, from the General Fund, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2006, and June 30, 2007, for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this act.

Statement of Purpose:

To provide skills training to participants in Jobs First Employment Services and recipients of temporary family assistance.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]