§ 40-5.2-12 Work requirements for receiptof cash assistance. – (a) The department of human services and the department of labor and trainingshall assess the applicant/parent or non-parent caretaker relative's workexperience, educational and vocational abilities, and the department togetherwith the parent shall develop and enter into a mandatory individual employmentplan in accordance with subsection 40-5.2-10(e) of this chapter.
(b) In the case of a family including two (2) parents, atleast one of the parents shall be required to participate in an employment planleading to full-time employment. The department may also require the secondparent in a two (2) parent household to develop an employment plan if and whenthe youngest child reaches six (6) years of age or older.
(c) The written individual employment plan shall specify, atminimum, the immediate steps necessary to support a goal of long-term economicindependence.
(d) All applicants and participants in the Rhode Island Worksemployment program must attend and participate in required appointments,employment plan development, and employment-related activities, unlesstemporarily exempt for reasons specified in this chapter.
(e) A recipient/participant temporarily exempted from thework requirements may participate in an individual employment plan on avoluntary basis, however, remains subject to the same program compliancerequirements as a participant without a temporary exemption.
(f) The individual employment plan shall specify theparticipant's work activity(ies) and the supportive services which will beprovided by the department to enable the participant to engage in the workactivity(ies).
(g) Work Requirements for single parent families. Insingle parent households, the participant parent or non-parent caretakerrelative in the cash assistance payment, shall participate as a condition ofeligibility, for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week if the youngest childin the home is under the age of six (6), and for a minimum of thirty (30) hoursper week if the youngest child in the home is six (6) years of age or older, inone or more of their required work activities, as appropriate, in order to helpthe parent obtain stable full-time paid employment, as determined by thedepartment of human services and the department of labor and training;provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensive employmentservices through the department of labor and training as the first step in theindividual employment plan. Required work activities are as follows:
(1) At least twenty (20) hours per week must come fromparticipation in one or more of the following ten (10) work activities:
(A) Unsubsidized employment;
(B) Subsidized private sector employment;
(C) Subsidized public sector employment;
(D) Work experience;
(E) On the Job Training;
(F) Job search and job readiness;
(G) Community service programs;
(H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12)months;
(I) Providing child care services to another participantparent who is participating in an approved community service program;
(J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness programnot to exceed six (6) months.
(2) Above twenty (20) hours per week, the parent mayparticipate in one or more of the following three (3) activities in order tosatisfy a thirty (30) hour requirement:
(A) Job skills training directly related to employment;
(B) Education directly related to employment; and,
(C) Satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in acourse of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence if it is a teenparent under the age twenty (20) who is without a high school diploma orGeneral Equivalence Diploma (GED);
(3) In the case of a parent under the age of twenty (20),attendance at a secondary school or the equivalent during the month or twenty(20) hours per week on average for the month in education directly related toemployment will be counted as engaged in work.
(4) A parent who participates in a work experience orcommunity service program for the maximum number of hours per week allowable bythe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is deemed to have participated in his/herrequired minimum hours per week in core activities if actual participationfalls short of his/her required minimum hours per week.
(5) A parent who has been determined to have a physical ormental impairment affecting employment but who has not been found eligible forSocial Security Disability Benefits or Supplemental Security Income mustparticipate in his or her rehabilitation employment plan as developed with theOffice of Rehabilitative Services which leads to employment and/or to receiptof disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.
(6) A required work activity may be any other work activitypermissible under federal TANF provisions or state defined Rhode Island WorksProgram activity, including up to ten (10) hours of activities required by aparent's department of children, youth and families service plan.
(h) Exemptions from Work Requirements for the singleparent family. Work Requirements outlined in subsection 40-5.2-12(g) aboveshall not apply to a single parent if (and for so long as) the department findsthat he or she is:
(1) Caring for a child below the age of one, provided,however that a parent may opt for the deferral from an individual employmentplan for a maximum of twelve (12) months during the twenty-four (24) months ofeligibility for cash assistance, and provided further that a minor parentwithout a high school diploma or the equivalent, and who is not married, shallnot be exempt for more than twelve weeks from the birth of the child;
(2) Caring for a disabled family member, who resides in thehome and requires full time care;
(3) A recipient of Social Security Disability benefits orSupplemental Security Income or other disability benefits which have the samestandard of disability as defined by the Social Security Administration;
(4) An individual receiving assistance who is a victim ofdomestic violence as determined by the department in accordance with rules andregulations;
(5) An applicant for assistance in her third trimester or apregnant woman in her third trimester who is a recipient of assistance and hasmedical documentation that she cannot work;
(6) An individual otherwise exempt by the department asdefined in rules and regulations promulgated by the department.
(1) In families consisting of two parents, one parent isrequired and shall be engaged in work activities as defined below, for at leastthirty-five (35) hours per week during the month, not fewer than thirty (30)hours per week of which are attributable to one or more of the following listedwork activities, provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensiveemployment services through the department of labor and training as the firststep in the Individual Employment Plan. Two parent work requirements shall bedefined as the following:
(A) Unsubsidized employment;
(B) Subsidized private sector employment;
(C) Subsidized public-sector employment;
(D) Work experience;
(E) On-the-job training;
(F) Job search and job readiness;
(G) Community service program;
(H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12)months;
(I) The provision of child care services to a participantindividual who is participating in a community service program;
(J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness programnot to exceed six (6) months.
(2) Above thirty (30) hours per week, the following three (3)activities may also count for participation:
(A) Job skills training directly related to employment;
(B) Education directly related to employment; and
(C) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in acourse of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence.
(3) A family with two parents in which one or both parentsparticipate in a work experience or community service program shall be deemedto have participated in core work activities for the maximum number of hoursper week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if actualparticipation falls short of his/her required minimum hours per week.
(4) If the family receives child care assistance and an adultin the family is not disabled or caring for a severely disabled child, then thework-eligible individuals must be participating in work activities for anaverage of at least fifty-five (55) hours per week to count as a two-parentfamily engaged in work for the month.
(5) At least fifty (50) of the fifty-five (55) hours per weekmust come from participation in the activities listed in subdivision40-5.1-12(i)(1).
Above fifty (50) hours per week, the three (3) activitieslisted in subdivision 40-5.1-(i)(2) may also count as participation.
(6) A family with two parents receiving child care in whichone or both parents participate in a work experience or community serviceprogram for the maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair LaborStandards Act (FLSA) will be considered to have met their required core hoursif actual participation falls short of the required minimum hours per week. Forfamilies that need additional hours beyond the core activity requirement, thesehours must be satisfied in some other TANF work activity.
(j) Exemptions from work requirements for two parentfamilies. Work requirements outlined in subsection 40-5.2-12(i) above shallnot apply to two parent families if (and for so long as) the department findsthat:
(1) Both parents receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
(2) One parent receives SSI, and the other parent is caringfor a disabled family member who resides in the home, and who requires fulltime care; or
(3) The parents are otherwise exempt by the department asdefined in rules and regulations.
(1) The cash assistance to which an otherwise eligiblefamily/assistance unit is entitled under this chapter, shall be reduced forthree (3) months, whether or not consecutive, in accordance with rules andregulations promulgated by the department, whenever any participant, withoutgood cause, as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, hasfailed to enter into an individual employment plan; has failed to attend arequired appointment; has refused or quit employment; or has failed to complywith any other requirements for the receipt of cash assistance under thischapter. If the family's benefit has been reduced, benefits shall be restoredto the full amount beginning with the initial payment made on the first of themonth following the month in which the parent: (1) enters into an individualemployment plan or rehabilitation plan and demonstrates compliance with theterms thereof; or (2) demonstrates compliance with the terms of his or herexisting individual employment plan or rehabilitation plan, as such plan may beamended by agreement of the parent and the department.
(2) In the case where appropriate child care has been madeavailable in accordance with this chapter, a participant's failure, withoutgood cause, to accept a bona fide offer of work, including full-time, part-timeand/or temporary employment, or unpaid work experience or community service,shall be deemed a failure to comply with the work requirements of this sectionand shall result in reduction or termination of cash assistance, as defined bythe department in rules and regulations duly promulgated.
(3) If the family/assistance unit's benefit has been reducedfor a total of three (3) months, whether or not consecutive in accordance withthis section due to the failure by one or more parents to enter into anindividual employment plan or failure to comply with the terms of his of herindividual employment plan, or the failure to comply with the requirements ofthis chapter, cash assistance to the entire family shall end. Thefamily/assistance unit may reapply for benefits, and the benefits shall berestored to the family/assistance unit in the full amount the family/assistanceunit is otherwise eligible for under this chapter beginning on the first of themonth following the month in which all parents in the family/assistance unitwho are subject to the employment or rehabilitation plan requirements underthis chapter: (A) enter into an individual employment or rehabilitation plan asapplicable, and demonstrate compliance with the terms thereof, or (B)demonstrate compliance with the terms of the parent's individual employment orrehabilitation employment plan in effect at the time of termination ofbenefits, as such plan may be amended by agreement of the parent and thedepartment.
(4) Up to ten (10) days following a notice of adverse actionto reduce or terminate benefits under this subsection, the client may requestthe opportunity to meet with a social worker to identify the reasons fornon-compliance, establish good cause and seek to resolve any issues that haveprevented the parent from complying with the employment plan requirements.
(5) Participants whose cases had closed in sanction statuspursuant to Rhode Island's prior Temporary Assistance for Needy FamiliesProgram,(federal TANF described in Title IVA of the federal Social SecurityAct, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), the Family Independence Program, morespecifically, subdivision 40-5.1-9(2)(c), due to failure to comply with thecash assistance program requirements, but who had received less thanforty-eight (48) months of cash assistance at the time of closure, and whoreapply for cash assistance under the Rhode Island Works Program, mustdemonstrate full compliance, as defined by the department in its rules andregulations, before they shall be eligible for cash assistance pursuant to thischapter.
(l) Good Cause. Good Cause for failing to meet anyprogram requirements including leaving employment, and failure to fulfilldocumentation requirements, shall be outlined in rules and regulationspromulgated by the department of human services.
§ 40-5.2-12 Work requirements for receiptof cash assistance. – (a) The department of human services and the department of labor and trainingshall assess the applicant/parent or non-parent caretaker relative's workexperience, educational and vocational abilities, and the department togetherwith the parent shall develop and enter into a mandatory individual employmentplan in accordance with subsection 40-5.2-10(e) of this chapter.
(b) In the case of a family including two (2) parents, atleast one of the parents shall be required to participate in an employment planleading to full-time employment. The department may also require the secondparent in a two (2) parent household to develop an employment plan if and whenthe youngest child reaches six (6) years of age or older.
(c) The written individual employment plan shall specify, atminimum, the immediate steps necessary to support a goal of long-term economicindependence.
(d) All applicants and participants in the Rhode Island Worksemployment program must attend and participate in required appointments,employment plan development, and employment-related activities, unlesstemporarily exempt for reasons specified in this chapter.
(e) A recipient/participant temporarily exempted from thework requirements may participate in an individual employment plan on avoluntary basis, however, remains subject to the same program compliancerequirements as a participant without a temporary exemption.
(f) The individual employment plan shall specify theparticipant's work activity(ies) and the supportive services which will beprovided by the department to enable the participant to engage in the workactivity(ies).
(g) Work Requirements for single parent families. Insingle parent households, the participant parent or non-parent caretakerrelative in the cash assistance payment, shall participate as a condition ofeligibility, for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week if the youngest childin the home is under the age of six (6), and for a minimum of thirty (30) hoursper week if the youngest child in the home is six (6) years of age or older, inone or more of their required work activities, as appropriate, in order to helpthe parent obtain stable full-time paid employment, as determined by thedepartment of human services and the department of labor and training;provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensive employmentservices through the department of labor and training as the first step in theindividual employment plan. Required work activities are as follows:
(1) At least twenty (20) hours per week must come fromparticipation in one or more of the following ten (10) work activities:
(A) Unsubsidized employment;
(B) Subsidized private sector employment;
(C) Subsidized public sector employment;
(D) Work experience;
(E) On the Job Training;
(F) Job search and job readiness;
(G) Community service programs;
(H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12)months;
(I) Providing child care services to another participantparent who is participating in an approved community service program;
(J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness programnot to exceed six (6) months.
(2) Above twenty (20) hours per week, the parent mayparticipate in one or more of the following three (3) activities in order tosatisfy a thirty (30) hour requirement:
(A) Job skills training directly related to employment;
(B) Education directly related to employment; and,
(C) Satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in acourse of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence if it is a teenparent under the age twenty (20) who is without a high school diploma orGeneral Equivalence Diploma (GED);
(3) In the case of a parent under the age of twenty (20),attendance at a secondary school or the equivalent during the month or twenty(20) hours per week on average for the month in education directly related toemployment will be counted as engaged in work.
(4) A parent who participates in a work experience orcommunity service program for the maximum number of hours per week allowable bythe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is deemed to have participated in his/herrequired minimum hours per week in core activities if actual participationfalls short of his/her required minimum hours per week.
(5) A parent who has been determined to have a physical ormental impairment affecting employment but who has not been found eligible forSocial Security Disability Benefits or Supplemental Security Income mustparticipate in his or her rehabilitation employment plan as developed with theOffice of Rehabilitative Services which leads to employment and/or to receiptof disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.
(6) A required work activity may be any other work activitypermissible under federal TANF provisions or state defined Rhode Island WorksProgram activity, including up to ten (10) hours of activities required by aparent's department of children, youth and families service plan.
(h) Exemptions from Work Requirements for the singleparent family. Work Requirements outlined in subsection 40-5.2-12(g) aboveshall not apply to a single parent if (and for so long as) the department findsthat he or she is:
(1) Caring for a child below the age of one, provided,however that a parent may opt for the deferral from an individual employmentplan for a maximum of twelve (12) months during the twenty-four (24) months ofeligibility for cash assistance, and provided further that a minor parentwithout a high school diploma or the equivalent, and who is not married, shallnot be exempt for more than twelve weeks from the birth of the child;
(2) Caring for a disabled family member, who resides in thehome and requires full time care;
(3) A recipient of Social Security Disability benefits orSupplemental Security Income or other disability benefits which have the samestandard of disability as defined by the Social Security Administration;
(4) An individual receiving assistance who is a victim ofdomestic violence as determined by the department in accordance with rules andregulations;
(5) An applicant for assistance in her third trimester or apregnant woman in her third trimester who is a recipient of assistance and hasmedical documentation that she cannot work;
(6) An individual otherwise exempt by the department asdefined in rules and regulations promulgated by the department.
(1) In families consisting of two parents, one parent isrequired and shall be engaged in work activities as defined below, for at leastthirty-five (35) hours per week during the month, not fewer than thirty (30)hours per week of which are attributable to one or more of the following listedwork activities, provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensiveemployment services through the department of labor and training as the firststep in the Individual Employment Plan. Two parent work requirements shall bedefined as the following:
(A) Unsubsidized employment;
(B) Subsidized private sector employment;
(C) Subsidized public-sector employment;
(D) Work experience;
(E) On-the-job training;
(F) Job search and job readiness;
(G) Community service program;
(H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12)months;
(I) The provision of child care services to a participantindividual who is participating in a community service program;
(J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness programnot to exceed six (6) months.
(2) Above thirty (30) hours per week, the following three (3)activities may also count for participation:
(A) Job skills training directly related to employment;
(B) Education directly related to employment; and
(C) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in acourse of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence.
(3) A family with two parents in which one or both parentsparticipate in a work experience or community service program shall be deemedto have participated in core work activities for the maximum number of hoursper week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if actualparticipation falls short of his/her required minimum hours per week.
(4) If the family receives child care assistance and an adultin the family is not disabled or caring for a severely disabled child, then thework-eligible individuals must be participating in work activities for anaverage of at least fifty-five (55) hours per week to count as a two-parentfamily engaged in work for the month.
(5) At least fifty (50) of the fifty-five (55) hours per weekmust come from participation in the activities listed in subdivision40-5.1-12(i)(1).
Above fifty (50) hours per week, the three (3) activitieslisted in subdivision 40-5.1-(i)(2) may also count as participation.
(6) A family with two parents receiving child care in whichone or both parents participate in a work experience or community serviceprogram for the maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair LaborStandards Act (FLSA) will be considered to have met their required core hoursif actual participation falls short of the required minimum hours per week. Forfamilies that need additional hours beyond the core activity requirement, thesehours must be satisfied in some other TANF work activity.
(j) Exemptions from work requirements for two parentfamilies. Work requirements outlined in subsection 40-5.2-12(i) above shallnot apply to two parent families if (and for so long as) the department findsthat:
(1) Both parents receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
(2) One parent receives SSI, and the other parent is caringfor a disabled family member who resides in the home, and who requires fulltime care; or
(3) The parents are otherwise exempt by the department asdefined in rules and regulations.
(1) The cash assistance to which an otherwise eligiblefamily/assistance unit is entitled under this chapter, shall be reduced forthree (3) months, whether or not consecutive, in accordance with rules andregulations promulgated by the department, whenever any participant, withoutgood cause, as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, hasfailed to enter into an individual employment plan; has failed to attend arequired appointment; has refused or quit employment; or has failed to complywith any other requirements for the receipt of cash assistance under thischapter. If the family's benefit has been reduced, benefits shall be restoredto the full amount beginning with the initial payment made on the first of themonth following the month in which the parent: (1) enters into an individualemployment plan or rehabilitation plan and demonstrates compliance with theterms thereof; or (2) demonstrates compliance with the terms of his or herexisting individual employment plan or rehabilitation plan, as such plan may beamended by agreement of the parent and the department.
(2) In the case where appropriate child care has been madeavailable in accordance with this chapter, a participant's failure, withoutgood cause, to accept a bona fide offer of work, including full-time, part-timeand/or temporary employment, or unpaid work experience or community service,shall be deemed a failure to comply with the work requirements of this sectionand shall result in reduction or termination of cash assistance, as defined bythe department in rules and regulations duly promulgated.
(3) If the family/assistance unit's benefit has been reducedfor a total of three (3) months, whether or not consecutive in accordance withthis section due to the failure by one or more parents to enter into anindividual employment plan or failure to comply with the terms of his of herindividual employment plan, or the failure to comply with the requirements ofthis chapter, cash assistance to the entire family shall end. Thefamily/assistance unit may reapply for benefits, and the benefits shall berestored to the family/assistance unit in the full amount the family/assistanceunit is otherwise eligible for under this chapter beginning on the first of themonth following the month in which all parents in the family/assistance unitwho are subject to the employment or rehabilitation plan requirements underthis chapter: (A) enter into an individual employment or rehabilitation plan asapplicable, and demonstrate compliance with the terms thereof, or (B)demonstrate compliance with the terms of the parent's individual employment orrehabilitation employment plan in effect at the time of termination ofbenefits, as such plan may be amended by agreement of the parent and thedepartment.
(4) Up to ten (10) days following a notice of adverse actionto reduce or terminate benefits under this subsection, the client may requestthe opportunity to meet with a social worker to identify the reasons fornon-compliance, establish good cause and seek to resolve any issues that haveprevented the parent from complying with the employment plan requirements.
(5) Participants whose cases had closed in sanction statuspursuant to Rhode Island's prior Temporary Assistance for Needy FamiliesProgram,(federal TANF described in Title IVA of the federal Social SecurityAct, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), the Family Independence Program, morespecifically, subdivision 40-5.1-9(2)(c), due to failure to comply with thecash assistance program requirements, but who had received less thanforty-eight (48) months of cash assistance at the time of closure, and whoreapply for cash assistance under the Rhode Island Works Program, mustdemonstrate full compliance, as defined by the department in its rules andregulations, before they shall be eligible for cash assistance pursuant to thischapter.
(l) Good Cause. Good Cause for failing to meet anyprogram requirements including leaving employment, and failure to fulfilldocumentation requirements, shall be outlined in rules and regulationspromulgated by the department of human services.
§ 40-5.2-12 Work requirements for receiptof cash assistance. – (a) The department of human services and the department of labor and trainingshall assess the applicant/parent or non-parent caretaker relative's workexperience, educational and vocational abilities, and the department togetherwith the parent shall develop and enter into a mandatory individual employmentplan in accordance with subsection 40-5.2-10(e) of this chapter.
(b) In the case of a family including two (2) parents, atleast one of the parents shall be required to participate in an employment planleading to full-time employment. The department may also require the secondparent in a two (2) parent household to develop an employment plan if and whenthe youngest child reaches six (6) years of age or older.
(c) The written individual employment plan shall specify, atminimum, the immediate steps necessary to support a goal of long-term economicindependence.
(d) All applicants and participants in the Rhode Island Worksemployment program must attend and participate in required appointments,employment plan development, and employment-related activities, unlesstemporarily exempt for reasons specified in this chapter.
(e) A recipient/participant temporarily exempted from thework requirements may participate in an individual employment plan on avoluntary basis, however, remains subject to the same program compliancerequirements as a participant without a temporary exemption.
(f) The individual employment plan shall specify theparticipant's work activity(ies) and the supportive services which will beprovided by the department to enable the participant to engage in the workactivity(ies).
(g) Work Requirements for single parent families. Insingle parent households, the participant parent or non-parent caretakerrelative in the cash assistance payment, shall participate as a condition ofeligibility, for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week if the youngest childin the home is under the age of six (6), and for a minimum of thirty (30) hoursper week if the youngest child in the home is six (6) years of age or older, inone or more of their required work activities, as appropriate, in order to helpthe parent obtain stable full-time paid employment, as determined by thedepartment of human services and the department of labor and training;provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensive employmentservices through the department of labor and training as the first step in theindividual employment plan. Required work activities are as follows:
(1) At least twenty (20) hours per week must come fromparticipation in one or more of the following ten (10) work activities:
(A) Unsubsidized employment;
(B) Subsidized private sector employment;
(C) Subsidized public sector employment;
(D) Work experience;
(E) On the Job Training;
(F) Job search and job readiness;
(G) Community service programs;
(H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12)months;
(I) Providing child care services to another participantparent who is participating in an approved community service program;
(J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness programnot to exceed six (6) months.
(2) Above twenty (20) hours per week, the parent mayparticipate in one or more of the following three (3) activities in order tosatisfy a thirty (30) hour requirement:
(A) Job skills training directly related to employment;
(B) Education directly related to employment; and,
(C) Satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in acourse of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence if it is a teenparent under the age twenty (20) who is without a high school diploma orGeneral Equivalence Diploma (GED);
(3) In the case of a parent under the age of twenty (20),attendance at a secondary school or the equivalent during the month or twenty(20) hours per week on average for the month in education directly related toemployment will be counted as engaged in work.
(4) A parent who participates in a work experience orcommunity service program for the maximum number of hours per week allowable bythe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is deemed to have participated in his/herrequired minimum hours per week in core activities if actual participationfalls short of his/her required minimum hours per week.
(5) A parent who has been determined to have a physical ormental impairment affecting employment but who has not been found eligible forSocial Security Disability Benefits or Supplemental Security Income mustparticipate in his or her rehabilitation employment plan as developed with theOffice of Rehabilitative Services which leads to employment and/or to receiptof disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.
(6) A required work activity may be any other work activitypermissible under federal TANF provisions or state defined Rhode Island WorksProgram activity, including up to ten (10) hours of activities required by aparent's department of children, youth and families service plan.
(h) Exemptions from Work Requirements for the singleparent family. Work Requirements outlined in subsection 40-5.2-12(g) aboveshall not apply to a single parent if (and for so long as) the department findsthat he or she is:
(1) Caring for a child below the age of one, provided,however that a parent may opt for the deferral from an individual employmentplan for a maximum of twelve (12) months during the twenty-four (24) months ofeligibility for cash assistance, and provided further that a minor parentwithout a high school diploma or the equivalent, and who is not married, shallnot be exempt for more than twelve weeks from the birth of the child;
(2) Caring for a disabled family member, who resides in thehome and requires full time care;
(3) A recipient of Social Security Disability benefits orSupplemental Security Income or other disability benefits which have the samestandard of disability as defined by the Social Security Administration;
(4) An individual receiving assistance who is a victim ofdomestic violence as determined by the department in accordance with rules andregulations;
(5) An applicant for assistance in her third trimester or apregnant woman in her third trimester who is a recipient of assistance and hasmedical documentation that she cannot work;
(6) An individual otherwise exempt by the department asdefined in rules and regulations promulgated by the department.
(1) In families consisting of two parents, one parent isrequired and shall be engaged in work activities as defined below, for at leastthirty-five (35) hours per week during the month, not fewer than thirty (30)hours per week of which are attributable to one or more of the following listedwork activities, provided, however, that he or she shall begin with intensiveemployment services through the department of labor and training as the firststep in the Individual Employment Plan. Two parent work requirements shall bedefined as the following:
(A) Unsubsidized employment;
(B) Subsidized private sector employment;
(C) Subsidized public-sector employment;
(D) Work experience;
(E) On-the-job training;
(F) Job search and job readiness;
(G) Community service program;
(H) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12)months;
(I) The provision of child care services to a participantindividual who is participating in a community service program;
(J) Adult education in an intensive work readiness programnot to exceed six (6) months.
(2) Above thirty (30) hours per week, the following three (3)activities may also count for participation:
(A) Job skills training directly related to employment;
(B) Education directly related to employment; and
(C) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in acourse of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence.
(3) A family with two parents in which one or both parentsparticipate in a work experience or community service program shall be deemedto have participated in core work activities for the maximum number of hoursper week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if actualparticipation falls short of his/her required minimum hours per week.
(4) If the family receives child care assistance and an adultin the family is not disabled or caring for a severely disabled child, then thework-eligible individuals must be participating in work activities for anaverage of at least fifty-five (55) hours per week to count as a two-parentfamily engaged in work for the month.
(5) At least fifty (50) of the fifty-five (55) hours per weekmust come from participation in the activities listed in subdivision40-5.1-12(i)(1).
Above fifty (50) hours per week, the three (3) activitieslisted in subdivision 40-5.1-(i)(2) may also count as participation.
(6) A family with two parents receiving child care in whichone or both parents participate in a work experience or community serviceprogram for the maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair LaborStandards Act (FLSA) will be considered to have met their required core hoursif actual participation falls short of the required minimum hours per week. Forfamilies that need additional hours beyond the core activity requirement, thesehours must be satisfied in some other TANF work activity.
(j) Exemptions from work requirements for two parentfamilies. Work requirements outlined in subsection 40-5.2-12(i) above shallnot apply to two parent families if (and for so long as) the department findsthat:
(1) Both parents receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
(2) One parent receives SSI, and the other parent is caringfor a disabled family member who resides in the home, and who requires fulltime care; or
(3) The parents are otherwise exempt by the department asdefined in rules and regulations.
(1) The cash assistance to which an otherwise eligiblefamily/assistance unit is entitled under this chapter, shall be reduced forthree (3) months, whether or not consecutive, in accordance with rules andregulations promulgated by the department, whenever any participant, withoutgood cause, as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, hasfailed to enter into an individual employment plan; has failed to attend arequired appointment; has refused or quit employment; or has failed to complywith any other requirements for the receipt of cash assistance under thischapter. If the family's benefit has been reduced, benefits shall be restoredto the full amount beginning with the initial payment made on the first of themonth following the month in which the parent: (1) enters into an individualemployment plan or rehabilitation plan and demonstrates compliance with theterms thereof; or (2) demonstrates compliance with the terms of his or herexisting individual employment plan or rehabilitation plan, as such plan may beamended by agreement of the parent and the department.
(2) In the case where appropriate child care has been madeavailable in accordance with this chapter, a participant's failure, withoutgood cause, to accept a bona fide offer of work, including full-time, part-timeand/or temporary employment, or unpaid work experience or community service,shall be deemed a failure to comply with the work requirements of this sectionand shall result in reduction or termination of cash assistance, as defined bythe department in rules and regulations duly promulgated.
(3) If the family/assistance unit's benefit has been reducedfor a total of three (3) months, whether or not consecutive in accordance withthis section due to the failure by one or more parents to enter into anindividual employment plan or failure to comply with the terms of his of herindividual employment plan, or the failure to comply with the requirements ofthis chapter, cash assistance to the entire family shall end. Thefamily/assistance unit may reapply for benefits, and the benefits shall berestored to the family/assistance unit in the full amount the family/assistanceunit is otherwise eligible for under this chapter beginning on the first of themonth following the month in which all parents in the family/assistance unitwho are subject to the employment or rehabilitation plan requirements underthis chapter: (A) enter into an individual employment or rehabilitation plan asapplicable, and demonstrate compliance with the terms thereof, or (B)demonstrate compliance with the terms of the parent's individual employment orrehabilitation employment plan in effect at the time of termination ofbenefits, as such plan may be amended by agreement of the parent and thedepartment.
(4) Up to ten (10) days following a notice of adverse actionto reduce or terminate benefits under this subsection, the client may requestthe opportunity to meet with a social worker to identify the reasons fornon-compliance, establish good cause and seek to resolve any issues that haveprevented the parent from complying with the employment plan requirements.
(5) Participants whose cases had closed in sanction statuspursuant to Rhode Island's prior Temporary Assistance for Needy FamiliesProgram,(federal TANF described in Title IVA of the federal Social SecurityAct, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), the Family Independence Program, morespecifically, subdivision 40-5.1-9(2)(c), due to failure to comply with thecash assistance program requirements, but who had received less thanforty-eight (48) months of cash assistance at the time of closure, and whoreapply for cash assistance under the Rhode Island Works Program, mustdemonstrate full compliance, as defined by the department in its rules andregulations, before they shall be eligible for cash assistance pursuant to thischapter.
(l) Good Cause. Good Cause for failing to meet anyprogram requirements including leaving employment, and failure to fulfilldocumentation requirements, shall be outlined in rules and regulationspromulgated by the department of human services.
