SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2498 PRINTER'S NO. 4012
No. 1911 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY VANCE, MANDERINO, DAILEY, DiGIROLAMO, ARMSTRONG,
BEBKO-JONES, BUNT, CAPPELLI, COY, CRAHALLA, CREIGHTON, DALLY,
DeWEESE, FLEAGLE, FORCIER, FREEMAN, GEIST, HENNESSEY,
LAUGHLIN, McGEEHAN, MICOZZIE, MUNDY, NAILOR, PAYNE, REICHLEY,
ROSS, SANTONI, SAYLOR, SEMMEL, SOLOBAY, E. Z. TAYLOR,
TRAVAGLIO, TRUE, WALKO, WANSACZ, WATSON, WEBER, YOUNGBLOOD
AND THOMAS, AUGUST 5, 2003
SENATOR MOWERY, PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, IN SENATE, AS
AMENDED, JUNE 8, 2004
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
2 act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
3 welfare laws of the Commonwealth," authorizing certified
4 registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants to
5 verify a person's claim to have a disability which
6 temporarily or permanently precludes the person from any form
7 of employment or work-related activity; and providing for
8 establishment of RESET and eligibility.
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 Section 1. Sections 405.1 and 432 of the act of June 13,
12 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, amended
13 May 16, 1996 (P.L.175, No.35), are amended to read:
14 Section 405.1. Establishment of RESET.--(a.1) There is
15 established a program within the department, which shall be
16 known as the Road to Economic Self-sufficiency through
17 Employment and Training (RESET). RESET shall be designed to
1 enable recipients of cash assistance to secure permanent full-
2 time unsubsidized jobs, entry level jobs or part-time jobs which
3 can establish a work history, preferably in the private sector,
4 with wages and benefits that lead to economic independence and
5 self-sufficiency as soon as practicable, within the constraints
6 of available funds.
7 (a.2) In accordance with RESET, the following requirements
8 shall apply:
9 (1) As a condition of eligibility or continuing eligibility
10 for cash assistance, every individual who is not exempt under
11 subsection (a.3) shall seek employment, accept any offer of
12 employment and maintain employment.
13 (2) As a condition of eligibility or continuing eligibility
14 for cash assistance, a nonexempt applicant or recipient who is
15 not employed for an average of at least twenty hours per week
16 shall be required to participate in a work-related activity.
17 (3) A nonexempt applicant's initial work-related activity
18 shall be to conduct an independent job search for a period not
19 to exceed eight weeks. A person who is on the effective date of
20 this subsection a nonexempt recipient shall be required to
21 conduct an independent job search within eight weeks of the
22 recipient's next redetermination of eligibility. The applicant
23 or recipient must document such efforts and present the
24 documentation to the appropriate county assistance office upon
25 request. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section
26 shall result in the imposition of the sanctions set forth in
27 section 432.3.
28 (4) If the initial job search period concludes without the
29 applicant or recipient obtaining full-time employment or
30 employment for an average of at least twenty hours per week, the
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1 county assistance office, in consultation with the applicant or
2 recipient, shall assess the additional measures that may be
3 necessary for the applicant or recipient to seek and obtain
4 employment, including the type of work-related activities that
5 will be used to meet the ongoing work-related activity
6 requirement. These measures shall be incorporated into the
7 applicant's or recipient's agreement of mutual responsibility
8 pursuant to section 405.3.
9 (5) An applicant or recipient may fulfill the work-related
10 activity requirement following the initial job search and
11 consultation with the county assistance office by participating
12 in any one or a combination of vocational education, general
13 education, English-as-a-second-language study or job skills
14 training, as necessary, for a maximum of twelve months. For a
15 recipient or applicant who is eighteen years of age or older and
16 less than twenty-two years of age and who has not earned a high
17 school diploma or its equivalent, pursuit of a high school
18 diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency can fulfill
19 the work-related activity requirement for a maximum of twenty-
20 four months.
21 (6) A recipient who has received assistance for twenty-four
22 months, whether those months are consecutive or interrupted,
23 must work, participate in subsidized employment, work
24 experience, on-the-job training, community service or workfare
25 for an average of at least twenty hours per week. Information
26 indicating noncompliance with the minimum twenty-hour per week
27 requirement shall be cause for a review of eligibility.
28 (a.3) An applicant or recipient may be exempt from the
29 requirements of subsection (a.2) if any of the following apply:
30 (1) The applicant or recipient has been assessed by a
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1 physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, physician
2 assistant or psychologist [OR], PSYCHOLOGIST OR MIDWIFE, WHO IS <--
3 LICENSED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE OR OTHER LICENSING AGENCY,
4 AND WHO IS OPERATING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF AUTHORITY AND RELEVANT
5 AREA OF EXPERTISE OR TRAINING as having a verified physical or
6 mental disability which temporarily or permanently precludes the
7 applicant or recipient from any form of employment or work-
8 related activity. The verification of the physical or mental
9 disability shall be established by written documentation in a
10 form prescribed by the department and shall be based on
11 acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques, rather
12 than a statement of symptoms by the applicant or recipient. The
13 department may also require the applicant or recipient to submit
14 to an independent examination as a condition of receiving
15 assistance. An applicant or recipient with a verified physical
16 or mental disability that is temporary in nature must pursue
17 appropriate treatment as a condition of receiving assistance.
18 (2) The applicant or recipient is a specified relative
19 caring for a child who is under six years of age and for whom
20 alternate child care arrangements are unavailable.
21 (3) The applicant or recipient is under eighteen years of
22 age. An applicant or recipient under this clause shall be
23 required to pursue a high school diploma or a certificate of
24 high school equivalency.
25 (a.4) An applicant or recipient who is exempt under
26 subsection (a.3) shall be required to comply with subsection
27 (a.2) as follows:
28 (1) An applicant or recipient who is exempt under subsection
29 (a.3)(1) shall be required to comply with subsection (a.2) when
30 the condition which caused the person to be unable to be
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1 employed ceases as follows:
2 (i) If the condition ceases during the first twenty-two
3 months that the recipient receives cash assistance, whether
4 those months are consecutive or interrupted, the recipient shall
5 be required to comply with subsection (a.2) immediately.
6 (ii) If the condition ceases after the recipient has
7 received cash assistance for twenty-two months or more, whether
8 those months are consecutive or interrupted, the recipient shall
9 be required to comply with subsection (a.2) within eight weeks.
10 (2) An applicant or recipient who is exempt under subsection
11 (a.3)(2) shall be required to comply with subsection (a.2) as
12 soon as alternate child care arrangements are available.
13 (3) Upon attaining eighteen years of age, the recipient who
14 is exempt under subsection (a.3)(3) shall be required to comply
15 with subsection (a.2).
16 (b) Any applicant or recipient exempted from subsection
17 (a.2) may participate in employment and work-related activities.
18 (c) No applicant or recipient subject to the requirements of
19 subsection (a.2) shall refuse to accept a bona fide offer of
20 employment or training.
21 In order to be a bona fide offer of employment, there must be
22 reasonable assurances that:
23 (1) Appropriate standards for the health, safety, minimum
24 wage and other conditions applicable to the performance of work
25 and training in the employment are established and will be
26 maintained.
27 (2) The offer of employment will not result in any
28 displacement of employed workers.
29 (3) With respect to such employment, the conditions of work,
30 training, education, and employment are reasonable in the light
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1 of such factors as the type of work, geographical region, and a
2 proficiency of the participant.
3 (4) The employment is not available due to labor dispute,
4 strike or lock-out.
5 (d) Any applicant or recipient who wilfully fails to fulfill
6 the obligations pursuant to subsection (a.2) shall be ineligible
7 for cash assistance in accordance with section 432.3.
8 Section 432. Eligibility.--Except as hereinafter otherwise
9 provided, and subject to the rules, regulations, and standards
10 established by the department, both as to eligibility for
11 assistance and as to its nature and extent, needy persons of the
12 classes defined in clauses (1), (2), and (3) shall be eligible
13 for assistance:
14 (1) Persons for whose assistance Federal financial
15 participation is available to the Commonwealth as aid to
16 families with dependent children or as other assistance, and
17 which assistance is not precluded by other provisions of law.
18 (2) Persons who are eligible for State supplemental
19 assistance.
20 (i) State supplemental assistance shall be granted to
21 persons who receive Federal supplemental security income for the
22 aged, blind and disabled pursuant to Title XVI of the Federal
23 Social Security Act.
24 (ii) State supplemental assistance shall also be granted to
25 persons who are aged, blind and disabled, as defined in Title
26 XVI of the Federal Social Security Act, and whose income,
27 pursuant to the standards and income disregards of Title XVI of
28 the Social Security Act, is less than the combined income of the
29 Federal payments under the supplemental security income program
30 and the State supplemental assistance payments established
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1 pursuant to the provisions of this act.
2 (iii) In establishing the amounts of the State supplemental
3 assistance, the department shall consider the funds certified by
4 the Budget Secretary as available for State supplemental
5 assistance, pertinent Federal legislation and regulation, the
6 cost-of-living and the number of persons who may be eligible.
7 (iv) Beneficiaries of State supplemental assistance shall be
8 eligible for cash State financial assistance to cover the cost
9 of special needs as defined by statute and regulations
10 promulgated under this act.
11 (v) After the amounts of assistance payments have been
12 determined by the department with the approval of the Governor
13 and General Assembly, the amounts of assistance payments shall
14 not be reduced as a consequence of assistance increases,
15 including but not limited to cost-of-living increases, provided
16 through Federal legislation.
17 (vi) After the amounts of assistance payments have been
18 determined by the department with the approval of the Governor
19 and General Assembly, the amounts of assistance payments shall
20 not be increased without the approval of the General Assembly in
21 accordance with the procedure established by the act of April 7,
22 1955 (P.L.23, No.8) known as the "Reorganization Act of 1955,"
23 and a message to the General Assembly from the Governor for the
24 purposes of executing such function shall be transmitted as in
25 other cases under the Reorganization Act.
26 (3) Other persons who are citizens of the United States, or
27 lawfully admitted aliens who are eligible for general
28 assistance.
29 (i) Persons who may be eligible for general assistance for
30 an indeterminate period as a result of medical, social or
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1 related circumstances shall be limited to:
2 (A) A child who is under age eighteen or who is eighteen
3 through twenty years of age and attending a secondary or
4 equivalent vocational or technical school full-time and may
5 reasonably be expected to complete the program before reaching
6 twenty-one years of age.
7 (B) Persons who are parents residing in two-parent
8 households with their child who is under thirteen years of age
9 unless the child is thirteen years of age or older and has a
10 verified disability. Every possible effort shall be made by the
11 department to place these persons in the AFDC program.
12 (C) A person who has been assessed by a physician, certified
13 registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant or <--
14 psychologist [OR], PSYCHOLOGIST OR MIDWIFE, WHO IS LICENSED BY <--
15 THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE OR OTHER LICENSING AGENCY, AND WHO IS
16 OPERATING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF AUTHORITY AND RELEVANT AREA OF
17 EXPERTISE OR TRAINING as having a verified physical or mental
18 disability which temporarily or permanently precludes him or her
19 from any gainful employment. The verification of the physical or
20 mental disability must be established by written documentation
21 in a form prescribed by the department and must be based on
22 acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques, rather
23 than a statement of symptoms by the applicant or recipient. The
24 department may also require the applicant or recipient to submit
25 to an independent examination as a condition of receiving
26 assistance. An applicant or recipient with a verified physical
27 or mental disability which is temporary in nature shall pursue
28 appropriate treatment as a condition of receiving assistance.
29 (D) A person who is a nonparental caretaker of a child under
30 thirteen years of age or a caretaker of another person because
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1 of illness or disability. Such child or other person must be a
2 member of the household and the caretaker must be a person whose
3 presence is required in the home to care for another person as
4 determined in accordance with department regulations. Assistance
5 shall not be granted to a person under this clause if there is
6 another adult in the household who is capable of providing the
7 care without general assistance being required.
8 (E) A person who is currently undergoing active treatment
9 for substance abuse in a drug and alcohol program licensed or
10 approved by the Department of Health or administered by an
11 agency of the Federal Government. A person shall only qualify
12 for general assistance under this clause if the treatment
13 program precludes the person from any form of employment in
14 accordance with standards established by the department. No
15 individual shall qualify for general assistance under this
16 clause for more than nine months in a lifetime.
17 (F) A pregnant woman whose pregnancy has been medically
18 verified.
19 (G) A person who is a victim of domestic violence and who is
20 receiving protective services as defined by the department. No
21 individual shall qualify for general assistance under this
22 provision for more than nine months in that person's lifetime.
23 (ii) General assistance shall continue as long as the person
24 remains eligible. Redeterminations shall be conducted on at
25 least an annual basis, and persons shall be required to seek
26 employment, accept any offer of employment and maintain
27 employment as conditions of eligibility except as otherwise
28 exempt under section 405.1(a.3).
29 (iv) No transitionally needy assistance shall be initially
30 authorized after June 30, 1995. Any person receiving
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1 transitionally needy general assistance as of the effective date
2 of this subclause may continue to receive that assistance until
3 sixty days of assistance are exhausted in accordance with
4 subclause (iii). Transitionally needy assistance received after
5 June 30, 1993, shall be applied to the total period of
6 assistance. Transitionally needy general assistance shall cease
7 on the earlier of:
8 (A) the date of the final issuance of assistance; or
9 (B) August 29, 1995.
10 (4) Assistance shall not be granted (i) to or in behalf of
11 any person who disposed of his real or personal property, of the
12 value of five hundred dollars ($500), or more, without fair
13 consideration, within two years immediately preceding the date
14 of application for assistance unless he is eligible for State
15 supplemental assistance; or (ii) to an inmate of a public
16 institution.
17 (5) (i) Assistance may be granted only to or in behalf of a
18 resident of Pennsylvania. Needy persons who do not meet the
19 residence requirements stated in this clause and who are
20 transients or without residence in any state, may be granted
21 assistance up to seven days in the form of vendor payments, all
22 in accordance with rules, regulations, and standards established
23 by the department.
24 (ii) Cash assistance for applicants and recipients of aid to
25 families with dependent children who have resided in this
26 Commonwealth for less than twelve months shall not exceed the
27 lesser of the maximum assistance payment that would have been
28 received from the applicant's or recipient's state of prior
29 residence or the maximum assistance payment available to the
30 applicant or recipient in this Commonwealth.
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1 (6) Aid to families with dependent children shall not be
2 paid to any family for any month in which any caretaker relative
3 with whom the child is living is, on the last day of such month,
4 participating in a strike, and no individual's needs shall be
5 included in determining the amount of aid payable for any month
6 to a family if, on the last day of such month, such individual
7 is participating in a strike.
8 (8) A person who does not meet a definitive condition for
9 aid to families with dependent children solely because of the
10 person's refusal to cooperate in establishing eligibility for
11 aid to families with dependent children shall also be ineligible
12 for general assistance.
13 (9) Assistance may not be granted to any person who has been
14 sentenced for a felony or misdemeanor offense and who has not
15 otherwise satisfied the penalty imposed on that person by law.
16 Notwithstanding any provisions in 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 91 (relating to
17 criminal history record information), the cooperative agreements
18 provided for in this clause shall provide the department with
19 access to the central repository within the Pennsylvania State
20 Police in order to carry out the objectives of this section. The
21 Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Board of
22 Probation and Parole shall have access to the records of the
23 Assistance Recipient Identification Program under section 414
24 within the department in order to carry out the objectives of
25 section 414. For cash assistance applicants and recipients, the
26 department shall enter into cooperative agreements with the
27 Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Board of
28 Probation and Parole to ensure that no cash assistance is
29 granted to a person who has been sentenced for a felony or
30 misdemeanor offense. For this purpose, the department may access
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1 and provide information available pursuant to section 414. As
2 used in this clause, "satisfied the penalty" means completed the
3 period of incarceration or extension thereof and paid all fines,
4 costs and restitution. Nothing in this clause shall be deemed to
5 exclude from cash assistance any person who has been paroled
6 from a term of imprisonment, or any person who is in compliance
7 with all terms of probation, and who has made either full
8 payment of all fines, costs and restitution or is in compliance
9 with an approved payment plan.
10 (10) Assistance shall not be granted to any applicant or
11 recipient who is under eighteen years of age and who has never
12 been married and is pregnant and/or caring for a dependent child
13 unless the minor parent is residing with a parent, legal
14 guardian or other adult relative or in an adult-supervised
15 supportive living arrangement approved by the department. In the
16 event that the minor parent is residing with a parent, legal
17 guardian or other adult relative or in an adult-supervised
18 supportive living arrangement approved by the department,
19 assistance shall be paid to the parent, legal guardian or other
20 adult with whom the minor parent is residing. Exceptions to this
21 subsection will be granted by the department if it is determined
22 that an exception would best serve the health and safety of the
23 minor parent and the child or if the minor parent can present
24 evidence that the parent, legal guardian or other adult:
25 (i) refuses or is unable to allow the minor parent or child
26 to live in his or her home;
27 (ii) poses an emotional or physical threat to the minor
28 parent or child;
29 (iii) has physically or sexually abused the minor parent or
30 the minor parent's child or any other child in the household or
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1 poses a risk of doing so;
2 (iv) has exhibited neglect of the minor parent or the minor
3 parent's child; or
4 (v) has spent the minor parent's assistance in an improper
5 manner.
6 If the minor parent does not meet any of the exceptions set
7 forth in this clause and the parents or legal guardian live
8 within this Commonwealth or another state, the minor parent and
9 child may be given a one-time allowance solely for the limited
10 purpose of reuniting that minor parent and child with a parent,
11 legal guardian or other adult relative at their place of
12 residence. The amount of the allowance shall be limited to the
13 least expensive mode of transportation available.
14 (11) A person who is ineligible for general assistance or
15 medical assistance under this act shall be ineligible for
16 assistance under the act of June 24, 1937 (P.L.2017, No.396),
17 known as the "County Institution District Law," and the act of
18 August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as "The County Code."
19 Section 2. Any regulations of the Department of Public
20 Welfare that are inconsistent with this act are hereby abrogated
21 to the extent of that inconsistency.
22 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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