Section 682 · Establishment and operation of State programs

(1)(A) As a condition of its participation in the program of aid to families with dependent children under part A of this subchapter, each State shall establish and operate a job opportunities and basic skills training program (in this part referred to as the “program”) under a plan approved by the Secretary as meeting all of the requirements of this part and section 602(a)(19) of this title, and shall, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, periodically (but not less frequently than every 2 years) review and update its plan and submit the updated plan for approval by the Secretary.

(B) A State plan for establishing and operating the program must describe how the State intends to implement the program during the period covered by the plan, and must indicate, through cross-references to the appropriate provisions of this part and part A of this subchapter, that the program will be operated in accordance with such provisions of law. In addition, such plan must contain (i) an estimate of the number of persons to be served by the program, (ii) a description of the services to be provided within the State and the political subdivisions thereof, the needs to be addressed through the provision of such services, the extent to which such services are expected to be made available by other agencies on a nonreimbursable basis, and the extent to which such services are to be provided or funded by the program, and (iii) such additional information as the Secretary may require by regulation to enable the Secretary to determine that the State program will meet all of the requirements of this part and part A of this subchapter.

(C) The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Labor on general plan requirements and on criteria to be used in approving State plans under this section.

(D)(i) Not later than October 1, 1992, each State shall make the program available in each political subdivision of such State where it is feasible to do so, after taking into account the number of prospective participants, the local economy, and other relevant factors.

(ii) If a State determines that it is not feasible to make the program available in each such subdivision, the State plan must provide appropriate justification to the Secretary.

(2) The State agency that administers or supervises the administration of the State's plan approved under section 602 of this title shall be responsible for the administration or supervision of the administration of the State's program.

(3) Federal funds made available to a State for purposes of the program shall not be used to supplant non-Federal funds for existing services and activities which promote the purpose of this part. State or local funds expended for such purpose shall be maintained at least at the level of such expenditures for the fiscal year 1986.

(1)(A) The State agency must make an initial assessment of the educational, child care, and other supportive services needs as well as the skills, prior work experience, and employability of each participant in the program under this part, including a review of the family circumstances. The agency may also review the needs of any child of the participant.

(B) On the basis of such assessment, the State agency, in consultation with the participant, shall develop an employability plan for the participant. The employability plan shall explain the services that will be provided by the State agency and the activities in which the participant will take part under the program, including child care and other supportive services, shall set forth an employment goal for the participant, and shall, to the maximum extent possible and consistent with this section, reflect the respective preferences of such participant. The plan must take into account the participant's supportive services needs, available program resources, and local employment opportunities. The employability plan shall not be considered a contract.

(2) Following the initial assessment and review and the development of the employability plan with respect to any participant in the program, the State agency may require the participant (or the adult caretaker in the family of which the participant is a member) to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the State agency that specifies such matters as the participant's obligations under the program, the duration of participation in the program, and the activities to be conducted and the services to be provided in the course of such participation. If the State agency exercises the option under the preceding sentence, the State agency must give the participant such assistance as he or she may require in reviewing and understanding the agreement.

(3) The State agency may assign a case manager to each participant and the participant's family. The case manager so assigned must be responsible for assisting the family to obtain any services which may be needed to assure effective participation in the program.

(1) The State agency must ensure that all applicants for and recipients of aid to families with dependent children are encouraged, assisted, and required to fulfill their responsibilities to support their children by preparing for, accepting, and retaining such employment as they are capable of performing.

(2) The State agency must inform all applicants for and recipients of aid to families with dependent children of the education, employment, and training opportunities, and the support services (including child care and health coverage transition options), for which they are eligible, the obligations of the State agency, and the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of participants in the program.

(3) The State agency must—

(4) The State agency must inform applicants for and recipients of aid to families with dependent children of the grounds for exemption from participation in the program and the consequences of refusal to participate if not exempt, and provide other appropriate information with respect to such participation.

(5) Within one month after the State agency gives a recipient of aid to families with dependent children the information described in the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the State agency must notify such recipient of the opportunity to indicate his or her desire to participate in the program, including a clear description of how to enter the program.

(1)(A) In carrying out the program, each State shall make available a broad range of services and activities to aid in carrying out the purpose of this part. Such services and activities—

(B) The State may also offer to participants under the program (i) postsecondary education in appropriate cases, and (ii) such other education, training, and employment activities as may be determined by the State and allowed by regulations of the Secretary.

(2) If the State requires an individual who has attained the age of 20 years and has not earned a high school diploma (or equivalent) to participate in the program, the State agency shall include educational activities consistent with his or her employment goals as a component of the individual's participation in the program, unless the individual demonstrates a basic literacy level, or the employability plan for the individual identifies a long-term employment goal that does not require a high school diploma (or equivalent). Any other services or activities to which such a participant is assigned may not be permitted to interfere with his or her participation in an appropriate educational activity under this subparagraph.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary shall permit up to 5 States to provide services under the program, on a voluntary or mandatory basis, to non-custodial parents who are unemployed and unable to meet their child support obligations. Any State providing services to non-custodial parents pursuant to this paragraph shall evaluate the provision of such services, giving particular attention to the extent to which the provision of such services to those parents is contributing to the achievement of the purpose of this part, and shall report the results of such evaluation to the Secretary.

(1) Any State may institute a work supplementation program under which such State, to the extent it considers appropriate, may reserve the sums that would otherwise be payable to participants in the program as aid to families with dependent children and use such sums instead for the purpose of providing and subsidizing jobs for such participants (as described in paragraph (3)(C)(i) and (ii)), as an alternative to the aid to families with dependent children that would otherwise be so payable to them.

(2)(A) Notwithstanding section 606 of this title or any other provision of law, Federal funds may be paid to a State under part A of this subchapter, subject to this subsection, with respect to expenditures incurred in operating a work supplementation program under this subsection.

(B) Nothing in this part, or in any State plan approved under part A of this subchapter, shall be construed to prevent a State from operating (on such terms and conditions and in such cases as the State may find to be necessary or appropriate) a work supplementation program in accordance with this subsection and section 684 of this title.

(C) Notwithstanding section 602(a)(23) of this title or any other provision of law, a State may adjust the levels of the standards of need under the State plan as the State determines to be necessary and appropriate for carrying out a work supplementation program under this subsection.

(D) Notwithstanding section 602(a)(1) of this title or any other provision of law, a State operating a work supplementation program under this subsection may provide that the need standards in effect in those areas of the State in which such program is in operation may be different from the need standards in effect in the areas in which such program is not in operation, and such State may provide that the need standards for categories of recipients may vary among such categories to the extent the State determines to be appropriate on the basis of ability to participate in the work supplementation program.

(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a State may make such further adjustments in the amounts of the aid to families with dependent children paid under the plan to different categories of recipients (as determined under subparagraph (D)) in order to offset increases in benefits from needs-related programs (other than the State plan approved under part A of this subchapter) as the State determines to be necessary and appropriate to further the purposes of the work supplementation program.

(F) In determining the amounts to be reserved and used for providing and subsidizing jobs under this subsection as described in paragraph (1), the State may use a sampling methodology.

(G) Notwithstanding section 602(a)(8) of this title or any other provision of law, a State operating a work supplementation program under this subsection (i) may reduce or eliminate the amount of earned income to be disregarded under the State plan as the State determines to be necessary and appropriate to further the purposes of the work supplementation program, and (ii) during one or more of the first 9 months of an individual's employment pursuant to a program under this section, may apply to the wages of the individual the provisions of subparagraph (A)(iv) of section 602(a)(8) of this title without regard to the provisions of subparagraph (B)(ii)(II) of such section.

(3)(A) A work supplementation program operated by a State under this subsection may provide that any individual who is an eligible individual (as determined under subparagraph (B)) shall take a supplemented job (as defined in subparagraph (C)) to the extent that supplemented jobs are available under the program. Payments by the State to individuals or to employers under the work supplementation program shall be treated as expenditures incurred by the State for aid to families with dependent children except as limited by paragraph (4).

(B) For purposes of this subsection, an eligible individual is an individual who is in a category which the State determines should be eligible to participate in the work supplementation program, and who would, at the time of placement in the job involved, be eligible for aid to families with dependent children under an approved State plan if such State did not have a work supplementation program in effect.

(C) For purposes of this section, a supplemented job is—

A State may provide or subsidize under the program any job which such State determines to be appropriate.

(D) At the option of the State, individuals who hold supplemented jobs under a State's work supplementation program shall be exempt from the retrospective budgeting requirements imposed pursuant to section 602(a)(13)(A)(ii) of this title (and the amount of the aid which is payable to the family of any such individual for any month, or which would be so payable but for the individual's participation in the work supplementation program, shall be determined on the basis of the income and other relevant circumstances in that month).

(4) The amount of the Federal payment to a State under section 603 of this title for expenditures incurred in making payments to individuals and employers under a work supplementation program under this subsection shall not exceed an amount equal to the amount which would otherwise be payable under such section if the family of each individual employed in the program established in such State under this subsection had received the maximum amount of aid to families with dependent children payable under the State plan to such a family with no income (without regard to adjustments under paragraph (2)) for the lesser of (A) 9 months, or (B) the number of months in which such individual was employed in such program.

(5)(A) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring the State or local agency administering the State plan to provide employee status to an eligible individual to whom it provides a job under the work supplementation program (or with respect to whom it provides all or part of the wages paid to the individual by another entity under such program), or as requiring any State or local agency to provide that an eligible individual filling a job position provided by another entity under such program be provided employee status by such entity during the first 13 weeks such individual fills that position.

(B) Wages paid under a work supplementation program shall be considered to be earned income for purposes of any provision of law.

(6) Any State that chooses to operate a work supplementation program under this subsection shall provide that any individual who participates in such program, and any child or relative of such individual (or other individual living in the same household as such individual) who would be eligible for aid to families with dependent children under the State plan approved under part A of this subchapter if such State did not have a work supplementation program, shall be considered individuals receiving aid to families with dependent children under the State plan approved under part A of this subchapter for purposes of eligibility for medical assistance under the State plan approved under subchapter XIX of this chapter.

(7) No individual receiving aid to families with dependent children under a State plan shall be excused by reason of the fact that such State has a work supplementation program from any requirement of this part relating to work requirements, except during periods in which such individual is employed under such work supplementation program.

(1)(A) Any State may establish a community work experience program in accordance with this subsection. The purpose of the community work experience program is to provide experience and training for individuals not otherwise able to obtain employment, in order to assist them to move into regular employment. Community work experience programs shall be designed to improve the employability of participants through actual work experience and training and to enable individuals employed under community work experience programs to move promptly into regular public or private employment. The facilities of the State public employment offices may be utilized to find employment opportunities for recipients under this program. Community work experience programs shall be limited to projects which serve a useful public purpose in fields such as health, social service, environmental protection, education, urban and rural development and redevelopment, welfare, recreation, public facilities, public safety, and day care. To the extent possible, the prior training, experience, and skills of a recipient shall be used in making appropriate work experience assignments.

(B)(i) A State that elects to establish a community work experience program under this subsection shall operate such program so that each participant (as determined by the State) either works or undergoes training (or both) with the maximum number of hours that any such individual may be required to work in any month being a number equal to the amount of the aid to families with dependent children payable with respect to the family of which such individual is a member under the State plan approved under this part, divided by the greater of the Federal minimum wage or the applicable State minimum wage (and the portion of a recipient's aid for which the State is reimbursed by a child support collection shall not be taken into account in determining the number of hours that such individual may be required to work).

(ii) After an individual has been assigned to a position in a community work experience program under this subsection for 9 months, such individual may not be required to continue in that assignment unless the maximum number of hours of participation is no greater than (I) the amount of the aid to families with dependent children payable with respect to the family of which such individual is a member under the State plan approved under this part (excluding any portion of such aid for which the State is reimbursed by a child support payment), divided by (II) the higher of (a) the Federal minimum wage or the applicable State minimum wage, whichever is greater, or (b) the rate of pay for individuals employed in the same or similar occupations by the same employer at the same site.

(C) Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed as authorizing the payment of aid to families with dependent children as compensation for work performed, nor shall a participant be entitled to a salary or to any other work or training expense provided under any other provision of law by reason of his participation in a program under this subsection.

(D) Nothing in this part or in any State plan approved under this part shall be construed to prevent a State from operating (on such terms and conditions and in such cases as the State may find to be necessary or appropriate) a community work experience program in accordance with this subsection and subsection (d) of this section.

(E) Participants in community work experience programs under this subsection may perform work in the public interest (which otherwise meets the requirements of this subsection) for a Federal office or agency with its consent, and, notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31 or any other provision of law, such agency may accept such services, but such participants shall not be considered to be Federal employees for any purpose.

(2) After each 6 months of an individual's participation in a community work experience program under this subsection, and at the conclusion of each assignment of the individual under such program, the State agency must provide a reassessment and revision, as appropriate, of the individual's employability plan.

(3) The State agency shall provide coordination among a community work experience program operated pursuant to this subsection, any program of job search under subsection (g) of this section, and the other employment-related activities under the program established by this section so as to insure that job placement will have priority over participation in the community work experience program, and that individuals eligible to participate in more than one such program are not denied aid to families with dependent children on the grounds of failure to participate in one such program if they are actively and satisfactorily participating in another. The State agency may provide that part-time participation in more than one such program may be required where appropriate.

(4) In the case of any State that makes expenditures in the form described in paragraph (1) under its State plan approved under subsection (a)(1) of this section, expenditures for the operation and administration of the program under this section may not include, for purposes of section 603 of this title, the cost of making or acquiring materials or equipment in connection with the work performed under a program referred to in paragraph (1) or the cost of supervision of work under such program, and may include only such other costs attributable to such programs as are permitted by the Secretary.

(1) The State agency may establish and carry out a program of job search for individuals participating in the program under this part.

(2) Notwithstanding section 602(a)(19)(B)(i) of this title, the State agency may require job search by an individual applying for or receiving aid to families with dependent children (other than an individual described in section 602(a)(19)(C) of this title who is not an individual with respect to whom section 602(a)(19)(D) of this title applies)—

In no event may an individual be required to participate in job search for more than 3 weeks before the State agency conducts the assessment and review with respect to such individual under subsection (b)(1)(A) of this section. Job search activities in addition to those required under the preceding provisions of this paragraph may be required only in combination with some other education, training, or employment activity which is designed to improve the individual's prospects for employment.

(3) Job search by an individual under this subsection shall in no event be treated, for any purpose, as an activity under the program if the individual has participated in such job search for 4 months out of the preceding 12 months.

Each State shall establish a conciliation procedure for the resolution of disputes involving an individual's participation in the program and (if the dispute involved is not resolved through conciliation) shall provide an opportunity for a hearing with respect to the dispute, which hearing may be provided through a hearing process established for purposes of resolving disputes with respect to the program or through the provision of a hearing pursuant to section 602(a)(4) of this title; but in no event shall aid to families with dependent children be suspended, reduced, discontinued, or terminated as a result of a dispute involving an individual's participation in the program until such individual has an opportunity for a hearing that meets the standards set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970).

(1) Within 6 months after October 13, 1988, an Indian tribe or Alaska Native organization may apply to the Secretary to conduct a job opportunities and basic skills training program to carry out the purpose of this subsection. If the Secretary approves such tribe's or organization's application, the maximum amount that may be paid to the State under section 603(l) of this title in which such tribe or organization is located shall be reduced by the Secretary in accordance with paragraph (2) and an amount equal to the amount of such reduction shall be paid directly to such tribe or organization (without the requirement of any nonfederal share) for the operation of such program. In determining whether to approve an application from an Alaska Native organization, the Secretary shall consider whether approval of the application would promote the efficient and nonduplicative administration of job opportunities and basic skills training programs in the State.

(2) The amount of the reduction under paragraph (1) with respect to any State in which is located an Indian tribe or Alaska Native organization with an application approved under such paragraph shall be an amount equal to the amount that bears the same ratio to the maximum amount that could be paid under section 603(l) of this title to the State as—

(3) The job opportunities and basic skills training program set forth in the application of an Indian tribe or Alaska Native organization under paragraph (1) need not meet any requirement of the program under this part or under section 602(a)(19) of this title that the Secretary determines is inappropriate with respect to such job opportunities and basic skills training program.

(4) The job opportunities and basic skills training program of any Indian tribe or Alaska Native organization may be terminated voluntarily by such tribe or Alaska Native organization or may be terminated by the Secretary upon a finding that the tribe or Alaska Native organization is not conducting such program in substantial conformity with the terms of the application approved by the Secretary, and the maximum amount that may be paid under section 603(l) of this title to the State within which the tribe or Alaska Native organization is located (as reduced pursuant to paragraph (1)) shall be increased by any portion of the amount retained by the Secretary with respect to such program (and not payable to such tribe or Alaska Native organization for obligations already incurred). The reduction under paragraph (1) shall in no event apply to a State for any fiscal year beginning after such program is terminated if no other such program remains in operation in the State.

(5) For purposes of this subsection, an Indian tribe is any tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians that—

(6) For purposes of this subsection, a reservation includes Indian reservations, public domain Indian allotments, and former Indian reservations in Oklahoma.

(7) For purposes of this subsection—

(8) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to grant or defer any status or powers other than those expressly granted in this subsection or to validate or invalidate any claim by Alaska Natives of sovereign authority over lands or people.