(a)The Department of Human Services shall:
(1)Develop a statewide implementation plan for ensuring the cooperation of state agencies and local agencies and encouraging the cooperation of private entities, especially those receiving state funds, in the coordination and implementation of the Transitional Employment Assistance Program, the Arkansas Work Pays Program, and achievement of the goals; and (2) (A) Ensure that program recipients throughout the state, including those in rural areas, have comparable access to transitional employment assistance benefits.
(B)The statewide implementation plan shall be subject to the review and recommendation of the Arkansas Workforce Development Board.
(b)At a minimum, the transitional employment assistance implementation plan shall include:
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(a) The Department of Human Services shall: (1) Develop a statewide implementation plan for ensuring the cooperation of state agencies and local agencies and encouraging the cooperation of private entities, especially those receiving state funds, in the coordination and implementation of the Transitional Employment Assistance Program, the Arkansas Work Pays Program, and achievement of the goals; and (2) (A) Ensure that program recipients throughout the state, including those in rural areas, have comparable access to transitional employment assistance benefits. (B) The statewide implementation plan shall be subject to the review and recommendation of the Arkansas Workforce Development Board. (b) At a minimum, the transitional employment assistance implementation plan shall include: (1) Performance standards and measurement criteria for state and county offices of the department and all service providers under the program; (2) Contract guidelines for contract service providers under the program; (3) Guidelines for training transitional employment assistance service providers, whether state employees or contract providers; (4) Functions to be performed by each state agency in helping recipients make the transition from welfare to work; (5) Guidelines for clarifying or, if necessary, modifying the rules of the state agencies charged with implementing the program so that all unnecessary duplication is eliminated; (6) Guidelines for modifying compensation and incentive programs for state employees in order to achieve the performance outcomes necessary for successful implementation of the program; (7) Guidelines for timely assessments for each participant which lead to an individual personal responsibility agreement that identifies the strengths of the participant and the barriers faced in obtaining a job and reaching self-sufficiency and the services to be provided to assist the participant in finding and keeping work and in moving toward self-sufficiency; (8) Guidelines for timely provision of needed support services as specified in the individual personal responsibility agreement. These guidelines shall include procedures for evaluating the quality and value of assessments and the provision of support services; (9) Guidelines governing job search requirements for transitional employment assistance applicants; (10) Guidelines governing the provision of support services to transitional employment assistance participants and former transitional employment assistance participants to assist them in retaining employment and earning higher wages and career advancement; (11) Guidelines governing the combining of work with education and training; (12) Guidelines for the independent evaluation of all cases closed due to sanctions or time limits; (13) A micro-lending program and an individual development trust account demonstration project for program recipients; (14) Criteria for relocation of program recipients which take into account factors, including, but not limited to, job availability, availability of support services, and proximity of relocation area to current residence; (15) Criteria for prioritizing work activities of program recipients in the event that funds are projected to be insufficient to support full-time work activities of program recipients. The criteria may include, but not be limited to, priorities based on the following: (A) At least one (1) adult in each two-parent family shall be assigned priority for full-time work activities; (B) Among single-parent families, a family that has older preschool children or school-age children shall be assigned priority for work activities; (C) A recipient who has access to nonsubsidized child care may be assigned priority for work activities; and (D) Priority may be assigned based on the amount of time remaining until the recipient reaches the applicable time limit for program participation or may be based on requirements of a personal responsibility agreement; and (16) The development of a performance-based payment structure to be used for all program services which takes into account the degree of difficulty associated with placing a program recipient in a job, the quality of placement with regard to salary, benefits, and opportunities for advancement, and the recipient's retention of the placement. The payment structure should provide, if appropriate, bonus payments to providers that experience notable success in achieving long-term job retention with program recipients. (c) (1) (A) The department shall prepare a comprehensive annual program report. (B) The report shall be subject to review and recommendation by the board. (2) The department shall submit the comprehensive annual program report to the Governor, the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor. (3) The comprehensive annual program report shall contain proposals for measuring and making progress toward the transitional employment assistance outcomes during the succeeding three-year period. (4) The comprehensive annual program report to the Governor, the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor shall include all information that the board deems necessary for determining progress in achieving the outcomes. (5) Information shall be provided for the state, each employment opportunity district, and each county. (6) The report shall also include all information requested by resolution of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor. (7) This report shall include a copy of all federal monthly, quarterly, and annual reports submitted by the department regarding the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. (d) The House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor shall report annually to the General Assembly their findings and recommendations regarding the program.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 832,§ 6, eff. 7/1/2023. Amended by Act 2023, No. 832,§ 5, eff. 7/1/2023. Amended by Act 2023, No. 832,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2023. Amended by Act 2023, No. 832,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2023. Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 505, eff. 7/1/2019. Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 504, eff. 7/1/2019. Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 503, eff. 7/1/2019. Amended by Act 2015, No. 907,§ 9, eff. 7/1/2015. Acts 1997, No. 1058, § 4; 1999, No. 1567, § 7; 2001, No. 1264, § 4; 2005, No. 1705, § 7; 2007, No. 514, §§ 3, 4; 2009, No. 415, § 1; 2011, No. 817, § 1.