PRINTER'S NO. 1894
No. 1554 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY MYERS, THOMAS, BELARDI, BELFANTI, PRESTON, MELIO,
CARN, YOUNGBLOOD, MANDERINO, M. COHEN, CURRY, JOSEPHS,
GRUITZA, PISTELLA, BOSCOLA, A. H. WILLIAMS, RAMOS,
WASHINGTON, STURLA AND OLIVER, JUNE 3, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JUNE 3, 1997
AN ACT
1 Creating the Jobs Plus Program; providing for further duties of
2 the Department of Public Welfare; establishing the Jobs Plus
3 Advisory Board and providing for its powers and duties;
4 establishing Jobs Plus implementation councils and the Jobs
5 Plus Program Fund; and providing for certain employer
6 contributions and reimbursement and for Federal and State
7 participation and funding.
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS
9 Chapter 1. Preliminary Provisions
10 Section 101. Short title.
11 Section 102. Legislative intent.
12 Section 103. Definitions.
13 Chapter 3. Education and Training
14 Section 301. Education and training standards.
15 Section 302. Role of departments.
16 Section 303. Supportive services.
17 Section 304. Contract.
18 Chapter 5. Federal Provisions
19 Section 501. Exemptions and waivers.
1 Section 502. Changes to rules.
2 Section 503. Plan amendments.
3 Section 504. Federal waivers.
4 Section 505. Federal approval.
5 Chapter 7. Board and Councils
6 Section 701. Jobs Plus Advisory Board.
7 Section 702. Jobs plus implementation councils.
8 Section 703. Jobs Plus Program Fund.
9 Chapter 9. Employers
10 Section 901. Utilization of program participants.
11 Section 902. Maximum number.
12 Section 903. Authority of department.
13 Section 904. Procedure.
14 Section 905. Ineligible persons.
15 Section 906. Unemployment compensation.
16 Section 907. Temporary assistance for needy families.
17 Section 908. Conditions of employment.
18 Section 909. Duty of employers.
19 Section 910. Medical assistance.
20 Section 911. Individual Education Account.
21 Section 912. Tax provisions.
22 Section 913. Food stamps.
23 Chapter 11. Evaluation of Program
24 Section 1101. Annual report.
25 Chapter 21. Miscellaneous Provisions
26 Section 2101. Effective date.
27 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
28 hereby enacts as follows:
29 CHAPTER 1
30 PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
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1 Section 101. Short title.
2 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Public
3 Service Jobs Act.
4 Section 102. Legislative intent.
5 (a) Intent.--It is the intent of the General Assembly to
6 promote greater economic self-sufficiency among families and
7 workers by:
8 (1) Increasing the employability of unemployed and
9 underemployed persons through on-the-job training.
10 (2) Invigorating the public-private work force
11 partnership through development of jobs with both private
12 for-profit and public employers.
13 (3) Insuring that program participants through their
14 employment development plans have opportunities to improve
15 work skills, education and employability and establish recent
16 work histories with work site training, mentoring, individual
17 education accounts and provision of necessary support service
18 benefits that include child care, workers' compensation, job
19 placement and a guarantee that participation in the Jobs Plus
20 Program does not result in reductions of net income to
21 participants.
22 (b) Program.--The Jobs Plus Program is created as a program
23 in which residents of this Commonwealth shall, with the aid of
24 the temporary assistance for needy families program, be provided
25 jobs and paid in a way that promotes self-sufficiency and
26 encourages unemployed persons to improve their position in the
27 work force.
28 Section 103. Definitions.
29 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
30 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
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1 context clearly indicates otherwise:
2 "Board." The Jobs Plus Advisory Board established in this
3 act.
4 "Department." The Department of Public Welfare of the
5 Commonwealth.
6 "Fund." The Jobs Plus Program Fund established in section
7 703.
8 "Jobs Plus Program" or "program." The Jobs Plus Program
9 created by this act.
10 "Local government." Any political subdivision.
11 "Secretary." The Secretary of Public Welfare of the
12 Commonwealth.
13 "TANF." Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
14 CHAPTER 3
15 EDUCATION AND TRAINING
16 Section 301. Education and training standards.
17 The objective of developing these standards is to ensure each
18 of the regions in this Commonwealth has basic guidelines to
19 operate from while beginning to enable public assistance
20 recipients, the underemployed and the unemployed to secure
21 permanent full-time unsubsidized jobs, preferably in the private
22 sector. These positions will be with wages and benefits that are
23 adequate to support their families.
24 Section 302. Role of departments.
25 (a) Private employers.--The Department of Public Welfare, in
26 consultation with the Department of Community and Economic
27 Development, shall develop a plan to recruit private sector
28 employers in each region to offer employment to persons who have
29 completed their training under this program.
30 (b) Public service employment.--
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1 (1) Each secretary individually shall develop
2 contingency plans to create public service employment in the
3 various regions of this Commonwealth if private sector
4 employers are reluctant to participate.
5 (2) These plans must be developed with the targets of
6 the temporary assistance for needy families as the
7 guidelines. As these plans are developed the secretaries must
8 make sure that assignment of a person or persons to a public
9 service job in a nonprofit agency that placement not result
10 in the displacement of regular employees.
11 Section 303. Supportive services.
12 The Jobs Plus Program shall provide supportive services to a
13 program participant as assessed during the development of their
14 plan. The supportive services shall include, but not be limited
15 to, one or more of the following:
16 (1) Day-care services for the participant's child to be
17 provided for up to one year. As a result of earned income,
18 these services can be provided through an alternative child-
19 care arrangement agreed to by the participant and the program
20 representative.
21 (2) In each county or region, the designated
22 representative responsible for the development of the
23 participant's plan shall conduct an assessment of the health-
24 related, social, educational and vocational background of the
25 participant's family unit in preparing the participant's
26 plan.
27 (3) Transportation services shall be provided by the
28 program or through an allowance or other means by which the
29 participant may purchase transportation.
30 (4) The secretaries shall establish staff training
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1 programs necessary to effectively carry out the goals and
2 objectives of this act.
3 (5) The Secretary of Labor and Industry shall establish
4 regulations concerning the appropriateness of work site
5 assignments.
6 Section 304. Contract.
7 A contract shall be made between each applicant and the Jobs
8 Plus Program outlining the rights and responsibilities of each
9 party in reference to an educational, vocational and employment
10 plan developed in cooperation between one applicant and a
11 program representative. The contract shall be written in the
12 language in which the applicant is conversant and on a level of
13 that language that is understandable to the applicant.
14 CHAPTER 5
15 FEDERAL PROVISIONS
16 Section 501. Exemptions and waivers.
17 The Governor and the department shall work diligently to
18 obtain all exemptions and waivers from and amendments to Federal
19 Statutes, rules and regulations necessary to implement the
20 program at the earliest possible date.
21 Section 502. Changes to rules.
22 Upon obtaining all such exemptions, waivers and amendments,
23 the department, with the advice of the board, shall adopt such
24 changes to current rules as may be required to implement the
25 program.
26 Section 503. Plan amendments.
27 The department, with the advice of the board, shall amend the
28 State plans program to incorporate the programs into the Jobs
29 Plus Program for the regions or counties, and shall obtain
30 Federal approval of plan amendments.
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1 Section 504. Federal waivers.
2 The department, with the advice of the board, shall obtain
3 any exemptions and waivers from Federal Statutes and regulations
4 necessary to qualify the program as a federally approved
5 demonstration project under section 17 of the Food Stamp Act of
6 1977 (Public Law 88-525, 7 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.) and section
7 1115 of the Social Security Act (49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 1315
8 et seq.).
9 Section 505. Federal approval.
10 The purpose of this chapter is to facilitate implementation
11 of the program at the earliest possible date and with maximum
12 Federal financial participation. Therefore, the department is
13 directed to expedite the acquisition of Federal waiver and
14 amendment approvals, and the adoption of necessary statute
15 amendments in close and continuous coordination with appropriate
16 Federal officials and to prepare and submit completely and in a
17 timely manner all forms and data required by those officials.
18 The department, with the advice of the board, is authorized to
19 make such changes to the program as are necessary to achieve
20 Federal waiver approval. Any such changes should be, in the
21 judgment of the secretary, the fewest necessary to achieve
22 Federal approval for the program. Such changes must maintain the
23 general purpose and effect of the program described in this act.
24 If changes to the program required to gain waiver approval would
25 be too extensive to maintain the general purpose and effect of
26 the program, the department, with the advice of the board, shall
27 seek the amendments to Federal statutes that are required for
28 implementation of the program.
29 CHAPTER 7
30 BOARD AND COUNCILS
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1 Section 701. Jobs Plus Advisory Board.
2 (a) Establishment, membership and terms.--The Jobs Plus
3 Advisory Board is hereby established to advise the department in
4 the direction and administration of the program. The board shall
5 have members, consisting of representatives of the business
6 community and former recipients of the aid to dependent children
7 program, the food stamp program or the unemployment insurance
8 program. Members shall serve three-year terms.
9 (b) Appointment.--The Governor shall appoint the members and
10 the chair. These appointments shall include one from a list of
11 three suggested by the President pro tempore of the Senate, one
12 from a list of three suggested by the Minority Leader of the
13 Senate, two from a list of six suggested by the Speaker of the
14 House of Representatives, one from a list of three suggested by
15 the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and six
16 employed former recipients of aid to families with dependent
17 children who are recommended by the secretary.
18 (c) Meetings.--The board shall meet monthly with the
19 Secretary of Public Welfare and the Secretary of Labor and
20 Industry.
21 (d) Reports.--The board shall report at least annually to
22 the Governor and the General Assembly on the status and progress
23 of the program. The chairperson of the board shall have the
24 additional duty to work with and coordinate the local councils
25 created in section 702.
26 Section 702. Jobs plus implementation councils.
27 A jobs plus implementation council shall be established in
28 each county to assist the board and the Department of Public
29 Welfare in the administration of the program and to allow local
30 flexibility in dealing with the particular needs of the citizens
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1 of each county. Each council shall be primarily responsible for
2 recruiting and encouraging participation of employment providers
3 in the county. Each council shall be composed of seven members
4 who shall be appointed by the county commissioners in each
5 county. Council members shall be residents of the county in
6 which they are appointed and shall serve three-year terms. At
7 least two members shall be current or former recipients of the
8 aid to dependent children program, the food stamp program or the
9 unemployment insurance program.
10 Section 703. Jobs Plus Program Fund.
11 (a) Establishment and purpose.--There is hereby established
12 a separate account in the State Treasury to be known as the Jobs
13 Plus Program Fund. All moneys in the fund are continuously
14 appropriated to the Department of Public Welfare and shall be
15 used exclusively to meet the necessary expenditures of the
16 program, including program wage reimbursements to participating
17 employers, temporary assistance for needy families, food stamp
18 allotments, jobs program payments and employment-related day-
19 care payments to eligible residents and administrative costs
20 directly associated with the operation of the program. No less
21 than quarterly, the Department of Public Welfare shall meet with
22 the board to review the cost effectiveness of the program and
23 shall take any necessary action to modify or suspend the program
24 to maintain cost neutrality.
25 (b) Individual Education Account.--The Individual Education
26 Account is established as part of the Jobs Plus Program Fund in
27 order to improve the position of Jobs Plus participants in the
28 work force by increasing their access to continuing education.
29 Employer contributions to this account under section 911 shall
30 be used to pay for the further education as provided in that
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1 section.
2 (c) Fund generally.--Five percent of all funds appropriated
3 for expenditure by or apportioned to the department for
4 operation of the temporary assistance for needy families
5 program, the job opportunities and basic skills program, and for
6 employment-related day care in the counties shall accrue to the
7 fund. The fund shall be held and administered by the State
8 Treasurer in the manner provided by law for the administration
9 of State moneys. All income earned on moneys in the fund shall
10 be credited to and deposited in the fund to the extent permitted
11 by Federal and State law.
12 CHAPTER 9
13 EMPLOYERS
14 Section 901. Utilization of program participants.
15 The department shall adopt by rule a method to determine
16 which employers, including public and private sector employers,
17 shall have the opportunity to utilize program participants. No
18 employer is required to participate in the program. In the event
19 that there are unassigned participants whom no employer desires
20 to utilize, they may be assigned to work for a public agency.
21 Section 902. Maximum number.
22 The maximum number of program participants that any employer
23 is authorized to receive at any one time shall not exceed 10% of
24 the total number of the employer's employees. However, each
25 employer may receive one participant. The department may waive
26 the limit in special circumstances.
27 Section 903. Authority of department.
28 (a) Certain employers excluded.--The department by rule may:
29 (1) Establish criteria for excluding employers from
30 participation for failure to abide by program requirements or
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1 other demonstrated unwillingness to comply with the stated
2 intent of the program.
3 (2) Provide that employers that have shown a pattern of
4 terminating participants prior to the completion of training
5 or of not offering unsubsidizied employment to participants
6 who have successfully completed training with that employer
7 shall be ineligible to receive additional participants.
8 (b) Jobs.--The department shall insure that jobs made
9 available to program participants shall:
10 (1) Not require work in excess of 40 hours per week.
11 (2) Be in conformity with section 3304(a)(5) of the
12 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. §
13 3301 et seq.)
14 (3) Not be used to displace regular employees nor to
15 fill unfilled positions previously established.
16 (4) Not pay a wage that is substantially less than the
17 wage paid for similar jobs in the local economy with
18 appropriate adjustments for experience and training.
19 (c) Eligible individuals.--Individuals eligible for the
20 program shall be limited to those who are:
21 (1) Adults and caretaker relatives who are receiving aid
22 to dependent children benefits.
23 (2) Adult food stamp program recipients except as
24 described in section 905(7).
25 (3) Unemployment compensation recipients.
26 (4) Unemployed noncaretaker parents of children who are
27 receiving aid to dependent children benefits.
28 Section 904. Procedure.
29 (a) Job applicants.--Individuals desiring work through the
30 program shall contact the nearest county assistance office
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1 serving the county in which they reside if they are temporary
2 assistance for needy families or food stamp program applicants
3 or recipients. Unemployment insurance applicants or recipients
4 may gain access to the program through their local State
5 employment office.
6 (b) Employment development plan.--With input from the
7 participant, case workers shall prepare an employment
8 development plan designed to assist the participant in removing
9 barriers to employment, acquiring work skills and obtaining
10 unsubsidized employment. The case worker shall periodically
11 review the employment development plan and assess participant
12 progress in accordance with rules for the program.
13 (c) Job inventory.--With the assistance of the local council
14 and the board, the department shall develop a job inventory of
15 sufficient size to accommodate all of the participants who
16 desire to work in the program. In consultation with the
17 participant, the department shall try to match the profile of a
18 participant with the needs of an employer when assigning a
19 participant to work with the employer.
20 (d) Termination.--Either the employer or the participant may
21 terminate the assignment by contacting the appropriate
22 department office. In such event, the department shall reassess
23 the needs of the participant and assign the participant to
24 another program placement or another program component and, at
25 the employer's request, provide the employer with another
26 participant.
27 (e) Payments.--The department shall pay placement and
28 barrier removal payments from the fund as necessary to enable
29 participation in Jobs Plus.
30 (f) Job search.--
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1 (1) If after six months of employment under the Personal
2 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
3 1996 (Public Law 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105) or the employment
4 provision of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known
5 as the Public Welfare Code, a person has not been hired for
6 an unsubsidized job, the employer shall allow the worker to
7 undertake eight hours of job search per week. Participating
8 employers shall consider such time as hours worked for the
9 purposes of paying wages.
10 (2) If after 12 months in a placement a participant has
11 not been hired for an unsubsidized position, the placement
12 shall be terminated and the case worker shall reassess the
13 participant's employment development plan.
14 (g) Volunteers.--The department shall accept eligible
15 volunteers into the program prior to mandating program
16 participation by eligible persons.
17 (h) Preference schedule.--Assignment of participants to
18 available jobs shall be made on the basis of a preference
19 schedule developed by the department, with priority given to
20 employing nonworking parents of children receiving TANF, food
21 stamp recipients or unemployment compensation recipients, in
22 that order.
23 Section 905. Ineligible persons.
24 Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, program jobs
25 shall not be offered to the following groups of persons:
26 (1) Teenage custodial parents working to receive their
27 General Educational Development certificate or high school
28 diploma.
29 (2) Persons determined by the department to require
30 substance abuse treatment prior to job placement.
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1 (3) Persons determined by the department to be
2 permanently or temporarily incapacitated and persons who are
3 primary caregivers to such persons.
4 (4) Food stamp applicants or recipients who are employed
5 full time or are food-stamp-eligible college students
6 enrolled full time in an institution of higher education or
7 enrolled half time in an institution of higher education and
8 working at least 20 hours per week.
9 (5) TANF recipients who have not completed both a
10 lifeskills class and requirements for a General Educational
11 Development certificate or high school diploma, except when
12 approved programs to provide life skills and a General
13 Educational Development certificate are provided to the
14 participant at the worksite.
15 (6) Teenage persons who have not received a General
16 Educational Development certificate or high school diploma.
17 (7) Food stamp recipients in the counties who are
18 eligible for Supplemental Security Income benefits or other
19 ongoing Federal or State maintenance benefits based on age or
20 disability.
21 (8) Persons for whom suitable child care arrangements
22 are necessary but not available.
23 (9) Persons for whom transportation is not available,
24 persons who live in remote areas or persons who would be
25 required to commute for more than one hour each way, in
26 accordance with program rules.
27 Section 906. Unemployment compensation.
28 Unemployment compensation recipients may be referred to
29 available work through the program if the qualifying base year
30 wages used to establish the claim do not exceed $10,000. If
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1 referred, unemployment compensation recipients shall be referred
2 to the program in accordance with the job referral process used
3 to refer applicants to available work. When a program job is
4 offered to an unemployment insurance recipient and the job is
5 refused, the Department of Labor and Industry shall investigate
6 the refusal and identify and decide all issues arising
7 therefrom, including suspension of benefits, in accordance with
8 the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1),
9 known as the Unemployment Compensation Law.
10 Section 907. Temporary assistance for needy families.
11 TANF and food stamp benefits shall be suspended at the end of
12 the calendar month in which any employer makes the first wage
13 payment to a participant who is a custodial parent in a family
14 that receives TANF or to any adult member of a household
15 receiving food stamps. Failure of the participant to cooperate
16 with the requirements of the program shall result in the
17 participant's removal from the program and the removal of the
18 needs of the adult or adults from the grant in accordance with
19 program rules. Rules governing sanctions, hearings or
20 conciliations for participants in the program shall be the same
21 as those for the program under this act and the food stamp
22 program.
23 Section 908. Conditions of employment.
24 (a) Minimum wage.--Employers shall pay all participating
25 individuals at least the hourly rate of the Pennsylvania minimum
26 wage.
27 (b) Leave.--Sick leave, holiday and vacation absences shall
28 conform to the individual employer's rules for new employees.
29 (c) Health insurance.--Group health insurance benefits shall
30 be provided by the employer to program participants if, and to
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1 the extent that, Federal or State law requires the employer to
2 provide such benefits.
3 (d) Nature of employment.--All persons participating in the
4 program shall be considered to be temporary employees of the
5 individual employer providing the work and shall be entitled
6 only to benefits required by Federal or State law.
7 (e) Work-related injuries.--Employers shall provide workers'
8 compensation coverage for each program participant.
9 (f) Supplemental pay.--In the event that the net monthly
10 full-time wage paid to a participant would be less than the
11 level of income from the TANF and the food stamp benefit amount
12 equivalent that the participant would otherwise receive, the
13 department shall determine and pay a supplemental payment as
14 necessary to provide the participant with that level of net
15 income. The department by rule shall adopt an equivalency scale
16 to be adjusted for household size and other factors. The purpose
17 of this equivalency scale is to insure that participants are not
18 economically disadvantaged in terms of net income by accepting a
19 job under the program. The department shall determine and pay in
20 advance supplemental payments to participants on a monthly basis
21 as necessary to insure equivalent net program wages.
22 Participants shall be compensated only for time worked.
23 (g) Child support.--In addition to, and not in lieu of the
24 payments provided for under this section, participants shall be
25 entitled to retain the full child support payments collected by
26 the department.
27 Section 909. Duty of employers.
28 Program employers shall:
29 (1) Endeavor to make program placements positive
30 learning and training experiences.
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1 (2) Maintain health, safety and working conditions at or
2 above levels generally acceptable in the industry and no less
3 than that of comparable jobs of the employer.
4 (3) Provide on-the-job training to the degree necessary
5 for the participants to perform their duties.
6 (4) Recruit volunteer mentors from among their regular
7 employees to assist the participants in becoming oriented to
8 work and the workplace.
9 (5) Sign an agreement for each placement outlining the
10 specific job offered to the participant and agreeing to abide
11 by all requirements of the program, including the requirement
12 that the program not supplant existing jobs. All agreements
13 shall include provisions noting the employer's responsibility
14 to repay reimbursements in the event the employer violates
15 program rules.
16 Section 910. Medical assistance.
17 Program participants who are eligible for federally and State
18 funded medical assistance at the time they enter the program
19 shall remain eligible as long as they continue to participate in
20 the program. In conformity with existing State employment-
21 related day-care program regulations, child day care shall be
22 provided for all program participants who require it.
23 Section 911. Individual Education Account.
24 (a) Employer contributions.--After the participant has
25 participated in the program for 30 days, in addition to the
26 participant wage, the employer shall pay $1 for each participant
27 hour worked into the participant's Individual Education Account.
28 Contributions to such an account shall be tax deferred or tax
29 exempt to the extent permitted by Federal and State law. This
30 contribution shall not be reimbursed by the Jobs Plus Program
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1 Fund except as provided in paragraph (b).
2 (b) Reimbursement on account of certain employers.--If the
3 employer hires a participant in a unsubsidized position for at
4 least 30 days, the Jobs Plus Program Fund shall reimburse one-
5 half of the employer's contribution to the Individual Education
6 Account to the employer.
7 (c) Access.--Any participant for whom an Individual
8 Education Account contribution is made shall be eligible for
9 access to education benefits from that participant's Individual
10 Education Account at any time after the participant has left the
11 program and has held a full-time, unsubsidized job for at least
12 30 days.
13 (d) Duty of Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
14 Agency.--When any participant has qualified for use of that
15 participant's Individual Education Account, an amount equal to
16 that participant's Individual Education Account balance shall be
17 transferred to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
18 Agency for that participant's use. Only one Individual Education
19 Account shall be created for any participant. Each account shall
20 be administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
21 Fund and shall be used for continuing education and training in
22 any of the State's community colleges or institutions of higher
23 education for the participant and the participant's immediate
24 family.
25 Section 912. Tax provisions.
26 (a) Subjects of tax.--Program participant wages shall be
27 subject to Federal and State income taxes, Social Security taxes
28 and unemployment insurance tax, which shall be withheld and paid
29 in accordance with Federal and State law. Supplemental payments
30 made pursuant to section 15(f) shall not be subject to State
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1 income taxes and, to the extent allowed by Federal law, shall
2 not be subject to Federal income taxes and Social Security
3 taxes.
4 (b) Employer reimbursement.--The department shall reimburse
5 employers for the employer share of Social Security,
6 unemployment insurance and workers' compensation premiums paid
7 on behalf of program participants, as well as the minimum wage
8 earnings paid to program participants by the employer from the
9 Jobs Plus Program Fund.
10 (c) Enforcement.--If the department finds that an employer
11 has violated any of the rules of the program, the department:
12 (1) Shall withhold any amounts due to employers under
13 this section.
14 (2) May seek repayment of any amounts paid to employers
15 under this section.
16 Section 913. Food stamps.
17 If approval is obtained from the Federal Government for the
18 program established in this act, the Department of Public
19 Welfare may distribute food stamp program benefits to any
20 eligible person in the form of cash rather than coupons.
21 CHAPTER 11
22 EVALUATION OF PROGRAM
23 Section 1101. Annual report.
24 (a) Content.--Each year the department shall submit a
25 written report to the Governor and the General Assembly
26 containing a full and complete analysis of the program. The
27 report shall include recommendations from the department and the
28 board regarding appropriate revisions to the program and the
29 potential for its permanent implementation in this Commonwealth.
30 (b) Conduct of evaluation.--The evaluation of the program
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1 shall be conducted by an independent evaluator using a
2 combination of group comparison, survey and individualized event
3 and attitude recording techniques. Performance in attaining
4 program goals in each region shall be matched against
5 performance using the traditional welfare and employment
6 characteristics. In addition, the composite performance of the
7 regions shall be compared to the rest of this Commonwealth. The
8 evaluation shall include measurements of whether program
9 participation has improved the quality of life of program
10 participants. In addition, as a part of the evaluation of the
11 program, the Department of Labor and Industry shall determine
12 whether the program has displaced unsubsidized employment
13 opportunities that would otherwise have been available and
14 whether the program has had any discernible impact on the
15 economies or wage levels in individual regions.
16 (c) Goals.--The target goals for the program are to reduce
17 the program eligible in unemployed or underemployed regions by
18 TANF, food stamp and unemployment compensation caseloads 50% by
19 the end of the third year of the program and to reduce the costs
20 associated with these caseloads by 25% over the three-year pilot
21 period.
22 CHAPTER 21
23 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
24 Section 2101. Effective date.
25 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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