§ 42-4-113 — No board of county commissioners shall be responsible for any burial or cremation expenses in excess of the amount paid under this subsection. Burial or cremation expenses under this subsection shall not include those expenses relating to cemetery costs

Wyoming § 42-4-113

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 42: Welfare
• Ch. 2: PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND SOCIAL SERVICES
• Art. 1: IN GENERAL

Text

(d) The department of health shall, by rule, administer a
state supplemental security income program entitling any
individual receiving payments under the federal supplemental
security income program with no other income during any one (1)
calendar month, to a payment for each month the condition
exists. The monthly payment under this subsection shall be
established by the legislature within the department of health's
biennial budget appropriation, which shall not be less than the
required payment under applicable federal law. Rules
promulgated in accordance with this subsection shall include
procedures for applying, approving, reviewing and terminating
assistance under this subsection. Decisions of the department
of health under this subsection regarding entitlement to
payments shall be subject to the contested case procedures of
the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
(e) In administering this section and in addition to other
requirements imposed under this chapter and the Wyoming Medical
Assistance and Services Act and federal rule and regulation, the
department shall by rule and regulation:
(i) Limit assistance payable under W.S. 42-2-104 to
five (5) years for any assistance unit within a lifetime,
regardless of location. Time spent on assistance funded with
federal funds and time spent on assistance funded with state
funds, shall be added together in determining the time spent on
assistance for the purposes of this section. Adults who
previously received assistance as a dependent child, excluding
minor parents, shall be allowed up to the five (5) year lifetime
limit under their own assistance unit. For minor parents only,
one (1) year in the personal opportunities with employment
responsibilities (POWER) program prior to reaching the age of
majority shall be counted against the five (5) year lifetime
limit. Months of assistance received for an eligible dependent
child by a nonparent caretaker relative who is not included in
the calculation of the performance payment to the dependent
child shall not count toward the nonparent caretaker relative's
lifetime limit. Individuals who have received assistance under
W.S. 42-2-104 for three (3) or more years as of January 1, 1997,
shall be eligible for two (2) additional years of assistance
used after January 1, 1997. Any individual who is totally
physically or mentally disabled as specified by department
rules, or who is a caretaker and stays at home to provide full-
time care for a totally disabled or incapacitated immediate
family member who resides with the caretaker because no other
reasonable alternative, as determined by the department, is
available to provide care and who otherwise qualifies for
assistance under W.S. 42-2-104 shall not be subject to the
limitation imposed under this paragraph. For an individual who
is such a caretaker, the department shall waive any work
requirements that unduly interfere with the provision of care
and may waive other program requirements as appropriate. For
purposes of this section an individual is totally disabled or
incapacitated if he has a physical or mental impairment to the
extent that it prevents the individual from achieving
independent living, full-time employment, or participation in
job training programs that will reasonably lead to independent
living and monetary self sufficiency. The department may consult
a licensed physician or other appropriate professional to make
its determination of disability or incapacitation. Nothing in
this paragraph shall prohibit the department from requiring
recipients to maintain, improve or enhance employment and
self-sufficiency efforts and activities. The department shall
waive time limits, and may waive other program requirements as
provided in paragraph (viii) of this subsection, as allowed
under sections 402(a)(7)(A)(iii) and 408(a)(7)(A)(iii) of the
federal Social Security Act, as amended by P.L. 104-193, for a
period not to exceed two (2) years for individuals who are
fleeing for personal safety or for the safety of their children
or who have been victimized by domestic violence or who are at
risk of further domestic violence. The department may extend
assistance up to one (1) year under either the federal or state
program in addition to the five (5) year limitation imposed
under this paragraph for the following reasons:
(A) Repealed By Laws 1997, ch. 196, § 2.
(B) Continuation of education leading toward an
associate or a baccalaureate degree under the state funded
program only;
(C) Abandonment.
(ii) Require an unmarried parent under the age of
eighteen (18) and the dependent child of the minor parent to
reside in the household of a parent or in a supervised setting
with an adult relative or court appointed guardian or custodian
in order to qualify for assistance under W.S. 42-2-104, unless
the minor parent is emancipated under law. Assistance under
this paragraph shall be payable to the parent, relative or court
appointed guardian or custodian on behalf of the minor parent
and the dependent child. The income and resources of the parents
shall be considered in determining eligibility for assistance
under W.S. 42-2-104. If the minor custodial parent is living
with a qualified person other than a parent and except for
exemptions specified by department rule and regulation, the
department shall through local child support enforcement
agencies, enforce child support obligations of the parents of
each minor parent, including the parents of the noncustodial
minor parent. The department shall waive the requirements of
this subsection if the only available households contain an
individual who has been convicted of violating W.S. 6-4-402 or
who has been charged with violating W.S. 6-4-402 and the charges
have not received final disposition. The department shall assist
law enforcement officials and the family of a minor mother to
pursue the filing of criminal charges against the father of the
minor mother's child if the minor mother conceived her child
while under sixteen (16) years of age and the father was at
least four (4) years older than the minor mother at the time of
conception;
(iii) Limit assistance payable under W.S. 42-2-104
for the year 2008 as follows:
Family Size Cumulative Inflation Maximum POWER
Factor Payment
1 1.489 $290
2 1.489 476
3 1.489 506
4 1.489 506
5 1.489 536
6 1.489 536
7 and above 1.489 566
Beginning July 1, 2009 and annually thereafter, the maximum
payment level shall be adjusted for the percentage change in the
Wyoming cost-of-living index for the previous fiscal year as
determined by the division of economic analysis of the
department of administration and information.
(iv) Establish only one (1) earned income disregard
for determining assistance payable under W.S. 42-2-104 at six
hundred dollars ($600.00) per month for any one (1) recipient.
For married couples the earned income disregard shall be one
thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200.00) per month. The
department may in addition establish an additional individual
earned income disregard tailored to the individual person as
part of that person's self-sufficiency plan developed pursuant
to paragraph (v) of this subsection, provided:
(A) Such an individual earned income disregard
shall be available only during time periods when the person is
working at paid employment enough average number of hours per
week to qualify as working for the purposes of section 407 of
P.L. 104-193;
(B) The amount disregarded shall not exceed six
dollars and fifty cents ($6.50) per hour except that in high
cost of living areas as defined by the department it shall not
exceed seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) per hour;
(C) The disregard shall be structured to allow
one-half (1/2) of the person's preemployment personal
opportunities with employment responsibilities (POWER) grant for
a period not to exceed six (6) months and one-quarter (1/4) of
the personal opportunities with employment responsibilities
(POWER) grant for an additional period not to exceed six (6)
months;
(D) The one-half (1/2) grant in the first period
may be paid from either state funds or federal funds and shall
count toward the five (5) year limit established by W.S. 42-2-
103(e). The one-quarter (1/4) grant in the second period shall
be paid from state maintenance of effort funds and shall not be
subject to the time limits established by W.S. 42-2-103(e);
(E) The use of the individual earned income
disregard may be conditioned upon successful completion of other
portions of the person's self-sufficiency plan;
(F) The decision to allow an individual earned
income disregard in a particular case is discretionary with the
department and the department's decision is not subject to
judicial review;
(G) The individual earned income disregard shall
be used only to the extent the department determines funds are
available and are not needed for other purposes with higher
priority.
(v) In accordance with guidelines and criteria
prescribed by rule and regulation of the department and unless
otherwise qualifying for a good cause exemption pursuant to rule
and regulation of the department, require the development of and
adherence to a self-sufficiency plan with guidelines and
assistance provided by the department, as a condition for
benefit eligibility under the personal opportunities with
employment responsibilities (POWER) program. A self-sufficiency
plan including timely completion of an approved educational
program complying with W.S. 42-2-109(a) shall be deemed to meet
the requirements of this subsection if adhered to. Any person
not qualifying for a good cause exemption and failing to comply
with this paragraph shall be sanctioned under the personal
opportunities with employment responsibilities (POWER) program.
Subject to procedure prescribed by department regulation, any
recipient may at any time request a good cause exemption from
the requirements of this section;
(vi) Impose time limitations on educational goals of
recipients of assistance under W.S. 42-2-104 who are under
twenty (20) years of age and have not obtained a high school
diploma or general equivalency degree;
(vii) Require that applicants and current recipients
cooperate within a period specified by department rules to
establish paternity and child support obligations, subject to
good cause exceptions established by department rules and
regulations. The applicant shall not be eligible for personal
opportunities with employment responsibilities benefits and a
recipient shall not receive benefits until the applicant or
recipient has cooperated as required under this paragraph;
(viii) Provide that the department may waive program
requirements, other than time limits which shall be waived under
paragraph (i) of this subsection, for individuals who are
fleeing for personal safety or for the safety of their children
or who have been victimized by domestic violence, or who are at
risk of further domestic violence, as follows:
(A) Work participation requirements or state
postsecondary education program restrictions may be waived for
one (1) year, without re-evaluation, for individuals who have
not exhausted their benefits under the federal temporary
assistance to needy families block grant. Program requirements
under this paragraph may not be waived for longer than:
(I) One (1) year, unless the recipient's
circumstances are re-evaluated at six (6) month intervals after
the first year;
(II) Two (2) years, unless the recipient
meets the requirements of subdivision (I) of this subparagraph
and is cooperating in the development and implementation of a
plan with the department and the local domestic violence agency
to correct circumstances which have contributed to the domestic
violence or the threat of domestic violence.
(B) For individuals who have exhausted their
benefits under the federal temporary assistance to needy
families block grant, program requirements under this paragraph
may be waived by the department only if the individual's
circumstances are re-evaluated at six (6) month intervals and,
after one (1) year, the individual is cooperating in the
development and implementation of a plan with the department and
the local domestic violence agency to correct circumstances
which have contributed to the domestic violence or threat of
domestic violence.
(f) In administering the child care and development fund
provided for in the federal Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act, and subject to approval of a state plan amendment by
the administration of children and families of the United States
department of health and human services, the department shall:
(i) Annually by April 1 establish the hourly
copayment required to be paid by parents for each eligible
child, subject to the following:
(A) Households with income at or below one
hundred percent (100%) of the federal poverty level shall not be
required to make a copayment;
(B) For households with income above one hundred
percent (100%) up to two hundred twenty-five percent (225%) of
the federal poverty level, the copayment shall be calculated
based on the following table. For each category of income in
the first column, the parents' hourly copayment per child shall
be determined by multiplying the annual income dollar amount for
a family of two (2) that corresponds with the percentage of
federal poverty level in the second column by the multiplier in
the third column, then dividing by two thousand three hundred
forty (2,340), the annual number of hours of child care required
by a full-time working parent, and rounding the result to the
nearest five cents ($.05):
Household Category Federal Poverty Multiplier
of Income Level Income Factor
101% - 125% 113% 1.25%
126% - 150% 138% 2.00%
151% - 175% 163% 7%
176% - 200% 188% 9%
201% - 225% 213% 12%
(C) In determining eligibility, the department
shall use the most recent federal poverty guidelines for the
applicant's household size and income. In determining the
hourly copayment for each eligible child, the department shall
use the appropriate category of income in which the household
qualifies;
(D) If the department determines that funding
will be inadequate to implement the child care and development
fund for the balance of the appropriation period, the department
may increase copayments as calculated by subparagraph (B) of
this paragraph by ten percent (10%) for households whose income
is less than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty
level and by twenty percent (20%) for households whose income is
equal to or above two hundred percent (200%) of the federal
poverty level.
(ii) From funds available under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009, any funds not needed for
completion of the electronic benefit transfer system shall be
used to make grants for materials and supplies to child care
facilities, provided however that a facility receiving a grant
shall agree in writing to provide not less than twenty-five
percent (25%) of the facility's available care to persons
determined eligible under paragraph (i) of this subsection, for
a period commensurate with the amount of the grant as determined
by rule and regulation of the department, or to repay any monies
granted under this paragraph to the state of Wyoming plus
interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum;
(iii) If the department determines that eligibility
for other social services programs changes in ways that require
a change in the formula provided by paragraph (i) of this
subsection, the department shall report the change together with
recommended legislation to the joint labor health and social
services interim committee.