The Welfare Transition Program

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The Welfare Transition Program

• Work Activity Definitions
• 2008

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Brief History

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
  Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996
• Changed welfare from an entitlement into a work
  program
• 12 work activity categories were named
• The work activity categories provided by the
  federal government under this Act did not have
  definitions
• states determined what services and activities
  would be allowed under each category

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Brief History

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
  Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996
• States were required to engage a certain
  percentage of families receiving cash assistance
  in work activities to continue receiving full
  benefits
• States were also required to stop or reduce cash
  assistance benefits if the head of household
  refused to comply with the work program

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Brief History

• In 2006, the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA)
  reauthorized Temporary Assistance for Needy
  Families (TANF) block grant and legislative
  provisions
• Directed Secretary of Health and Human Services
  (HHS) to publish regulations
• HHS was instructed to define work activities to
  ensure equal measurement of participation across
  states
• The states were not being compared equally based
  on the differences in the work activity
  definitions

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The Deficit Reduction Act

• Interim Final Rule
• Required each state to develop work activities
  consistent with definitions based on the federal
  definitions of the work activity categories
• Required each state to submit a work verification
  plan
• Required the states interim plan to be approved
  and implemented by September 30, 2007

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The Deficit Reduction Act

• Final Rule
• Took comments submitted by different states after
  the Interim Final Rule was published and
• Clarified elements of the Interim Final Rule
• Changed elements of the Interim Final Rule
• Required states to update their plans by
  September 1, 2008
• Floridas updated work verification plan has been
  submitted to HHS

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Work Activities
FAIRPAY!
Need Work!
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Work Activity Categories

• There are 12 work activity categories
• They are broken up into
• Core work activity categories
• Core plus work activity categories
• Core activities may stand alone and do not
  require another activity to count towards
  participation
• Core plus activities must be accompanied by a
  minimum number of hours of participation in a
  core activity to count towards participation

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Work Activity Categories

• Twelve work activity categories
• Unsubsidized Employment
• Subsidized Private Sector Employment
• Subsidized Public Sector Employment
• Work Experience
• Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance
• Community Service Programs
• Vocational Educational Training
• On-the-Job Training
• Providing Childcare
• Education Directly Related to Employment
• Job Skills Training Directly Related to
  Employment
• Satisfactory Attendance in a Secondary Education
  Program

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Work Activity Categories

• Core Activities
• Unsubsidized Employment
• Subsidized Private Sector Employment
• Subsidized Public Sector Employment
• Work Experience
• Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance
• Community Service Programs
• Vocational Educational Training
• On-the-Job Training
• Providing Childcare

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Work Activity Categories

• Core plus activities
• Job Skills Training Directly Related to
  Employment
• Education Directly Related to Employment
• The participant cannot receive credit for hours
  in this activity if (s)he has a high school
  diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
• Satisfactory Attendance at a Secondary School or
  in a Course of Study Leading to a GED
• The participant cannot receive credit for hours
  in this activity if they have a high school
  diploma or a GED

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Work Activity Categories-Cheat Sheet

• Core activities
• Unsubsidized Employment
• Subsidized Private Sector Employment
• Subsidized Public Sector Employment
• Work Experience
• Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance
• Community Service Programs
• Vocational Educational Training
• On-the-Job Training
• Providing Childcare

• Core plus activities
• Job Skills Training Directly Related to
  Employment
• Education Directly Related to Employment
• Satisfactory Attendance at a Secondary School or
  in a Course of Study Leading to a GED

• Core activities for a teen 19 and younger that
  does not have a high school diploma or an
  equivalency
• Job Skills Training Directly Related to
  Employment
• Education Directly Related to Employment
• Satisfactory Attendance at a Secondary School or
  in a Course of Study Leading to a GED

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What Counts?

• To be included in the numerator of the all-family
  participation rate,
• Single parent families with a child under six
  must complete at least 86.6 (87) hours in a core
  activity or combination of core activities
• Single parent families with a child six or older
  must complete at least 129.9 (130) hours in
  countable work activities, and 87 hours must be
  in a core activity or combination of core
  activities
• At least one of the parents in a two-parent
  family with two work-eligible parents must
  complete at least 130 hours in countable work
  activities, and 87 hours must be in a core
  activity or combination of core activities

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What Counts?

• To be included in the numerator of the two-parent
  family participation rate, the hours are based on
  the receipt of federally funded subsidized
  childcare
• If the family receives federally funded
  subsidized childcare, the family must participate
  at least 238.15 (238) hours per month combined in
  countable work activities, and 216.5 (217) of
  those hours must be in a core or combination of
  core activities
• If the family does not receive federally funded
  subsidized childcare, the family must participate
  at least 151.55 (152) hours per month combined in
  countable work activities, and 130 of those hours
  must be in a core or combination of core
  activities

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Frequently Asked Question

• What if one of the parents in a two-parent family
  is disabled or has a medical limitation that
  lasts longer than 30 days?

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Answer

• If one of the parents in a two-parent family is
  unable to participate in a work activity for the
  minimum required hours due to a medical
  limitation, the two-parent family will be removed
  from the denominator of the two-parent
  participation rate
• The limitation has to be documented by a
  physician licensed under Florida Statutes Chapter
  458 or 459
• An equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary
  aids and services are available upon request to
  individuals with disabilities. All voice
  telephone numbers on this document may be reached
  by persons using TTY/TDD equipment via the
  Florida Relay Service at 711.

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Answer

• The information must be recorded in the One-Stop
  Service Tracking (OSST) systems Alternative Plan
  screen
• Medical deferral
• Alcohol, drug, mental health deferral
• Or the information must be recorded on the
  Department of Children and Families data entry
  system

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What Counts for Teens?

• Teens without a diploma or GED and under 20 are
  included in the numerator of the participation
  rate if they are a
• Single parent family and
• Satisfactorily attend a GED or diploma program
  each week
• Participate in 20 hours a week in Education
  Directly Related to Employment
• Two-parent family and
• Both satisfactorily attend a GED or diploma
  program each week
• Both participate in 20 hours a week in Education
  Directly Related to Employment

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Work Activity Definitions
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Unsubsidized Employment

• Is a full or part-time job in the public or
  private sector
• Wages are paid by the employer and are not
  subsidized by any public program
• Included in this definition are
• Employers who receive tax subsidies for hiring
  lower income individuals
• Individuals who are self-employed
• Labor in exchange for services (in-kind work)

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Unsubsidized Employment

• Hours spent in unsubsidized employment are
  assumed to be supervised based on wages
• Documentation verifying employment must include
• wages at hire
• hours at hire
• start date
• employers name

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Unsubsidized Employment-Self Employment

• The individual is both the employee and employer
• May include in-kind (work for services
  rendered, rent, etc.) work
• Countable hours are determined by
• Dividing the individuals documented income
  (gross income less business expenses) by the
  higher of the Florida or federal minimum wage
• Program staff cannot take a participants
  statement regarding hours and pay when recording
  self-employment

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Unsubsidized Employment-Self Employment

• Self-Employment
• Documentation of income and expenses from may
  include
• Receipts for services
• Copy of a check or money order

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Subsidized Employment

• The employer receives a subsidy to offset wages
  and/or costs of employing an individual
• Public or private funds
• Private subsidized employment means the subsidy
  comes from a private entity or program
• Public subsidized employment means the subsidy
  comes from a public entity or program
• Such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy
  Families (TANF) block grant

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Subsidized Employment

• Types of subsidized employment include
• Work supplementation
• Incentive payments
• Supported work for individuals with disabilities
• Work study (public only)

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Subsidized Employment

• Rule change
• Interim Final Rule
• The employer would be required to keep the
  participant as a regular employee without the
  subsidy
• Final Rule
• Retaining the participant is no longer a federal
  requirement
• It is the Floridas preference that the
  individual be retained once the subsidy ends

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Subsidized Employment

• Supervision is assumed based on documentation of
  pay for all subsidized employment
• Acceptable forms of documentation may include
• Pay stub
• Time sheet
• TALX or the Work Number
• Copy of a check or money order

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On-the-Job Training (OJT)

• Is training provided to a paid employee while
  (s)he is working full-time
• The employer or an educational institution
  provides training to the participant to gain
  skills for job position
• Training hours and hours on the job are paid
• The employer or educational institution receives
  a subsidy

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On-the-Job Training

• Rule change
• Interim Final Rule
• The employer would be required to keep the
  participant as a regular employee without the
  subsidy
• Final Rule
• Retaining the participant once the subsidy has
  ended is no longer a federal requirement
• It is Floridas preference that the individual be
  retained once the subsidy ends, but there may be
  programs where the focus is paid training while
  preparing for work with another employer

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On-the-Job Training

• The difference between Subsidized Public and
  Subsidized Private Employment is the focus of the
  activity
• OJT is paid training while working full-time

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On-the-Job Training

• Contracts developed for TANF funded OJT programs
  must include
• Job title of the participant
• Goals of training and employment
• Skills required to learn for the job position
• Reasons for immediate termination
• OJT begin and end dates
• Parties responsible for supervising progress and
  documenting participation

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Work Experience

• Is defined as structured work in exchange for
  public benefits
• It is engagement with an employer for individuals
  who are not able to gain employment and lack work
  experience
• Must provide an opportunity to gain
• General employability skills
• Work habits necessary for obtaining employment
• Training
• Specific job knowledge

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Work Experience

• Prior to placement
• Work experience providers must be evaluated to
  match the participant
• With a position that is related to his/her goals
• With an employer who has related needs

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Work Experience

• Work Experience must be
• Intensely supervised
• Designated by a contract or agreement
• Work Experience may be performed with
• A public or private not-for-profit entity
• A public or private for-profit entity

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Work Experience

• Displacement
• Employers must notify their employees of their
  rights
• To report and dispute displacement from
  employment as a result of Work Experience or
  Community Service participant
• How to report acts of displacement
• An employer cannot fire a paid employee to fill
  the position with a Work Experience participant
• Cannot fail to fill an open position to use a
  Work Experience participant

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Work Experience

• The contract with the participants worksite
  employer must include
• Party(ies) responsible for supervising the
  participant on a daily basis
• Party(ies) responsible for signing time
  sheets/documentation of completed hours
• The contract with the participants worksite
  employer should include
• Job title
• Clear job description
• The connection between the worksite and the
  participants goals

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Work Experience

• Work experience contracts must also include
• Performance benchmarks
• What will the participant be required to achieve
  prior to completion?
• What skills the participant must gain during the
  Work Experience?
• What are the expectations of the employer?
• Goals
• Time limits
• Outcomes

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Work Experience

• Hours assigned for the month
• Cannot be greater than the calculation
• Cash assistance amount for the month Food Stamp
  allotment for the month/ the higher of the two
  minimum wages (Florida or federal)
• Hours the participant is required to complete
  each week must be included in the Individual
  Responsibility Plan (IRP)
• Must be agreed on by the participant and program
  staff
• Should be written in the steps-to-self-sufficiency

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Work Experience

• As of October 2, 2008, the Job Participation Rate
  (JPR) screen will require program staff to
  calculate the maximum number of hours the family
  may be assigned at a worksite during the month
  before entering actual hours of participation
• The hours actually assigned each week should be
  included on the IRP
• The participant and program staff are
  demonstrating that the number of hours that must
  be completed each week at the worksite are a part
  of the plan to move the family forward
• Hours assigned must be entered on the activity
  screen
• Hours assigned to a worksite must be reviewed and
  updated monthly
• Update the steps to self-sufficiency
• Update case notes
• Update the Skill Development screen

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Community Service Programs

• Are structured programs at not-for-profit
  organizations
• Projects must serve a useful community purpose in
  one of the following fields
• Health, social services, environmental
  protection, education, urban and rural
  redevelopment, welfare, recreation, public
  facilities, public safety and childcare
• Must be designed to improve employability and
  help the participant reach his/her employment
  goals

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Community Service

• Displacement
• Employers must notify their employees of their
  rights
• To report and dispute displacement from
  employment
• How to report acts of displacement
• Cannot fire a paid employee to fill the position
  with a Community Service participant
• Cannot fail to fill an open position to use a
  Community Service participant

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Community Service

• The contract regarding the participants worksite
  must include
• Party(ies) responsible for supervising the
  participant on a daily basis
• Party(ies) responsible for signing time
  sheets/documentation of completed hours
• The contract with the participants worksite
  employer should include
• Job title
• Clear job description
• The connection between the worksite and the
  participants goals

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Community Service

• Community Service contracts should also include
• Performance benchmarks
• What will the participant be required to achieve
  prior to completion?
• What skills should the participant gain during
  the Community Service?
• What are the expectations of the employer?
• Goals
• Time limits
• Outcomes

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Community Service Programs

• Hours assigned
• Cannot be greater for the month than the
  calculation allows
• This applies to the whole family
• Cash assistance for the month Food Stamp
  allotment for the month/ the highest of the
  federal or State minimum wage

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Community Service

• Hours the participant is required to complete
  each week must be included in the Individual
  Responsibility Plan (IRP)
• Must be agreed on by the participant and program
  staff
• Should be written in the steps-to-self-sufficiency

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Frequently Asked Question

• What if more than one parent in the family is
  participating in a worksite activity? What are
  the maximum number of hours that can be assigned
  to each parent?

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Answer

• The calculation is based on the familys cash
  assistance amount and food stamp allotment
• Hours assigned during the month for the family
  cannot be greater than the calculation allows
• Cash assistance for the month food stamp
  allotment for the month/ the highest of the
  federal or State minimum wage
• The amount must be shared by the family members
  participating in a worksite activity

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• The act of seeking or obtaining employment, as
  well as learning how to find a job
• Orientation to the world of work
• Learning how to complete an application
• Applying for jobs
• Resume development
• Interviewing skills
• Learning about appropriate dress
• Career planning
• Soft skills (including job retention skills)

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• May include
• Workshops
• Classroom activities
• Working with job developers
• Job matching and receiving job referrals
• Access to resource centers
• Submitting applications and resumes
• Completing follow-up calls
• Attending interviews

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• May include
• Substance abuse treatment
• Mental health treatment
• Rehabilitative activities

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Question?

• Does the medical professional have to sign off on
  every hour in treatment?
• No
• Every hour must be verified by a responsible
  party
• Depends on the activity
• Meeting leader
• Group therapy counselor
• Other counselor

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• Hours in treatment are recorded as job search
  hours
• Remember, job search is a time-limited activity
• In the Interim Final Rule, weeks of job search
  were limited to four consecutive or six
  cumulative weeks in a FFY

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• In the Final Rule
• Weeks of job search are limited to four
  consecutive weeks in a rolling 12 months
• The total weeks that may be completed in a
  rolling 12 month period are being converted to
  hours
• For a single parent with a child under the age of
  six years old, 120 hours is equivalent to six
  cumulative weeks in job search
• For all other work eligible individuals, 180
  hours is equivalent to six cumulative weeks in
  job search

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• Clearly stated, participants may receive credit
  for participating in
• Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance are
  limited to four consecutive weeks in a rolling 12
  months
• -OR-
• 120 hours in a rolling 12 months if the parent is
  a single parent with a child under the age of 6
• 180 hours in a rolling 12 months for all other
  families

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• Supervision
• HHS has stressed that Job Search and Job
  Readiness Assistance must by supervised by a
  responsible party
• Career specialist
• Contracted provider
• Teacher or program administrator
• Job development staff

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• Credit for hoursInterim Final Rule
• HHS stated that the State may not enter hours for
  credit on the JPR screen unless the hours in Job
  Search and Job Readiness Assistance are
  supervised daily and are documented hour for hour

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Job Search and Job ReadinessAssistance

• Credit for hoursFinal Rule
• HHS has provided clarification of Job Search/Job
  Readiness and supervision/documentation of job
  search hours

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Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance

• Interim Final Rule
• No hours by proxy
• Rigid on what constituted a week
• Daily supervision and documentation unclear

• Final Rule
• No hours by proxy
• Allows travel time to and from interviews to
  count as actual time
• Not time from home to the first interview
• Not time from the last interview to home
• Allows weeks to be converted to hours (120 or
  180)
• Daily supervision not intended to be in person
  contact, but a person responsible for the
  oversight of an individuals participation

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Job Search and Job Readiness

• Other changes
• Transportation time may count as credit toward
  participation if participant is
• Going from a job site (interview) to another job
  site
• Going from the Career Center or providers site
  to a job site
• Going from job site back to the Career Center
• Travel time is not allowed from home to the first
  job site or from the last job site to the
  participants home

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Vocational Educational Training

• Prepares the participant for employment in
  current or emerging occupations through organized
  training
• Gives the participant knowledge and skills to
  perform a specific occupation
• Must be State approved training in Floridas
  vocational technical centers, community college,
  universities and proprietary schools

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Vocational Educational Training

• Interim Final Rule
• No baccalaureate or other advanced degrees
• Allows the participant to receive credit for
  supervised study time towards hours of
  participation

• Final Rule
• Allows credit for baccalaureate or other advanced
  degrees for a duration of 12 months
• Allows the participant to receive credit for one
  hour of unsupervised study time for every one
  hour of class time
• Allows the participant to receive credit for
  supervised study time
• Distance learning is allowed if hours of
  participation can be supervised and documented by
  a designated party

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Frequently Asked Question?

• So what does it include now?
• Programs established for
• Vocational institutions
• Trades
• Employers (customized training) organized by a
  vocational or educational institution
• Certifications
• Baccalaureate or other advanced degrees

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Frequently Asked Question?

• Participants take longer than one year or 12
  months to complete a baccalaureate. Can the
  participant receive credit (for participation
  rate purposes) if engaged longer than 12 months
  in an educational program that is coded as
  Vocational Educational Training?

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Answer

• The participant may be engaged in the educational
  training longer than 12 months, but the State
  will not receive credit if hours reported for
  participation purposes are coded as Vocational
  Educational Training for longer than 12 months
• Program staff should review engagement by the
  institution
• If the participant is in school activities for
  less than 30 hours a week, the participant may be
  engaged in a worksite activity, work study or
  employment in addition to hours at the institution

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Job Skills Training Directly Related to
Employment

• Education or training to obtain skills required
  by an employer so the participant can
• Advance
• Adapt to the changing demands of the workplace
• Obtain employment

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Job Skills Training Directly Related to
Employment

• May include
• Customized training for an employer
• Or
• General training that prepares an individual for
  employment with an employer

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Job Skills Training Directly Related to Employment

• This may include
• English proficiency instruction or other language
  instruction, if necessary, to enable the
  participant to perform a specific job by an
  employer
• Must be explicitly focused on skills needed for a
  job or combined in a training program

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Education Directly Related to Employment

• Limited to participants who do not have a high
  school diploma or GED
• Education directly related to a specific
  occupation, job or job offer
• May include adult basic education, language
  instruction, or education leading to a GED when
  required by an employer

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Education Directly Related to Employment

• On a case-by-case basis, RWBs may enroll
  individuals with high school credentials if the
  following are true
• The high school credentials are from another
  country
• Assessments indicate that the individual cannot
  function at high school levels according to
  United States standards

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Satisfactory Attendance at aSecondary School

• Regular attendance at a secondary school or in a
  course of study leading to a certificate of
  general equivalence
• Is limited to participants without a high school
  diploma or GED
• Participants must attend classes regularly
• Regular attendance is based on the educational
  institutions definition of satisfactory
  attendance

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Satisfactory Attendance at a Secondary School

• You may also enroll participants with high school
  credentials in this activity, if the following
  are true
• The high school credentials are from another
  country
• Assessments indicate that the individual cannot
  function at high school levels according to
  United States standards

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Satisfactory Attendance at aSecondary School

• May include other literacy education if required
  to secure a high school diploma or a GED
• May include adult basic education directly
  related to obtaining high school diploma or GED

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Providing Childcare Services

• Participant provides childcare for another WT
  program participant who is completing Community
  Service hours
• This activity must be supervised
• Evidence of supervision must be maintained by
  staff and retained in the case file

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Providing Childcare Services

• The participant engaged in Community Service must
  maintain his/her own time sheet to document
  completed hours at a worksite and the number of
  hours a childcare provider was needed
• The participant engaged in Community Service must
  sign off on the childcare providers time sheet,
  documenting the number of hours childcare was
  provided

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Providing Childcare Services

• The participant assigned to the activity
  Providing Childcare cannot receive more credit
  hours than the number of hours completed by the
  participant assigned to Community Service
• Does not include two-parent families watching
  their own children

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• If you have any questions, comments, or
  concerns, please contact the
• Welfare Transition team through the
• Agency for Workforce Innovations
• call center at 1-866-352-2345

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