§ 336 — Work activities

§ 336. Work activities. 1. Social services districts may provide, and\nrequire applicants for and recipients of public assistance to\nparticipate in a variety of activities, including but not limited to the\nfollowing:\n (a) unsubsidized employment;\n (b) subsidized private sector employment;\n (c) subsidized public sector employment;\n (d) work experience in the public sector or non-profit sector,\n(including work associated with refurbishing publicly assisted housing)\nif sufficient private sector employment is not available;\n (e) On-the-job training;\n (f) job search and job readiness assistance, which shall include\nactivities with the goal of seeking or obtaining employment, or\npreparation to seek or obtain employment, including life-skills\ntraining, which shall include but not be limited to home visiting\nservices to the recipient and their family, and provided further that\njob search is an active and continuing effort to secure employment\nconfigured by the local social services official; and such social\nservices district may work in cooperation with the department of labor\nto provide workforce guidance and information in accordance with section\nten-c of the labor law;\n (g) community service programs provided, however, the number of hours\na participant in community service activities authorized pursuant to\nthis section shall be required to work in such assignment shall not\nexceed a number which equals the amount of assistance payable with\nrespect to such individual (inclusive of the value of food stamps\nreceived by such individual, if any) divided by the higher of (a) the\nfederal minimum wage, or (b) the state minimum wage. No participant\nshall in any case be required to engage in assigned activities for more\nthan forty hours in any week. No participant shall be assigned to a\ncommunity service activity that conflicts with his or her bona fide\nreligious beliefs;\n (h) vocational educational training as time limited by federal law.\nFor the purposes of this title, "vocational educational training" shall\ninclude but not be limited to organized educational programs offering a\nsequence of courses which are directly related to the preparation of\nindividuals for current or emerging occupations including programs that\nrequire up to four years of post-secondary education. Such programs\nshall include competency-based applied learning which contributes to an\nindividual's academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning, and\nproblem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills,\nand the occupational-specific skills necessary for economic\nindependence. Such term also includes applied technology education;\n (i) job skills training directly related to employment. Job skills\ntraining directly related to employment may include but not be limited\nto participation in up to four years of post-secondary education to the\nextent consistent with federal and state requirements;\n (j) education directly related to employment, in the case of a\nrecipient who has not yet received a high school diploma or a\ncertificate of high school equivalency;\n (k) satisfactory attendance at secondary school or a course of study\nleading to a certificate of general equivalency in the case of a\nrecipient who has not completed secondary school or received such\ncertificate;\n (l) provision of child care services to an individual who is\nparticipating in community service;\n (m) job search and job readiness assistance, as defined in paragraph\n(f) of this subdivision, once the individual has exceeded the six week\nlimit set in federal law;\n (n) educational activities pursuant to section three hundred\nthirty-six-a of this title.\n 2. No participant shall be required to provide child care services as\na work activity described in this section unless the participant\nexpressly requests in writing to provide such services.\n 3. Social services districts may enter into agreements with public and\nprivate employment agencies to assist recipients of public assistance to\nfind jobs.\n 4. No participant shall in any case be required to engage in assigned\nactivities for more than forty hours in any week.\n 5. In no event shall the programs and activities enumerated in this\ntitle be deemed the sole activities that a social services district may\nprovide and require applicants for and recipients of public assistance\nto engage in. Any program or activity that meets the goals of this title\nand is consistent with the requirements of the labor law and this\nchapter shall be allowed.\n 6. Any social services district that establishes and provides a\nprogram or activity not herein enumerated shall set forth the\nrequirements and structure of such program or activity in its local plan\npursuant to the provisions of section three hundred thirty-three of this\ntitle.\n 7. In accordance with the provisions of paragraph (h) of subdivision\ntwo of section four hundred fifty-four of the family court act or as\notherwise required by the court, the court may assign to work activities\nthe non-custodial parents of children receiving public assistance and\nrequire a report to such court of any failure of said parent to comply\nwith the requirements of such program.\n 8. The hours of participation in federal work study programs completed\npursuant to section three hundred thirty-five-b of this title shall be\nincluded as a work activity within the definition of unsubsidized\nemployment, subsidized private sector employment or subsidized public\nsector employment pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subdivision\none of this section, and the hours of participation in internships,\nexternships and other work placements completed pursuant to section\nthree hundred thirty-five-b of this title shall be included as a work\nactivity within the definition of on-the-job training pursuant to\nparagraph (e) of subdivision one of this section.\n