ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
FINAL
REVISED
workers’
compensation; Arizona works participants
Purpose
Appropriates approximately $2.9
million from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block
grant in FY 2000-2001 to the Department of Economic Security (DES) for the
Marriage and Communication Skills Program (Program), vouchers for marriage
skills training, a marriage handbook, expanding the teen pregnancy prevention
media campaign, expanding perinatal substance abuse services, additional food
stamps outreach and permanent guardianship subsidies. Redirects $500,000 appropriated in FY 1999-2000 for FY 2000-2001
from DES to Northern Arizona University (NAU) for character education. Appropriates approximately $2.7 million from
TANF high performance bonuses awarded in FY 2000-2001 to DES for employee
performance bonuses and welfare technology.
Establishes the Program, a Community-Based Marriage and Communication
Skills Program Fund (Fund) and a Marriage and Communication Skills Commission
(Commission). Expands TANF eligibility
for specified programs and benefits to former TANF recipients and low income
households. Requires the Welfare Reform
Joint Committee to study the feasibility of a separate fund for all TANF
monies.
Background
The Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Act of 1996 replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
with TANF. The primary goal is moving
families from a cycle of dependence on public assistance to independence by
employment. States may use these funds
in innovative ways to achieve four specified purposes. They are: (1) to provide assistance to needy
families; (2) to end dependence of needy parents by promoting job preparation,
work and marriage; (3) to prevent and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and
(4) to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
The proposed legislation establishes
a Commission to oversee a new community-based program, develop a marriage
handbook and recommend eligibility criteria for marriage skills training
vouchers and establishes a new fund.
The bill supplements funding for several ongoing TANF programs and
expands eligibility for other ongoing TANF programs. The Welfare Reform Joint Committee is charged with reviewing
whether a separate fund should be established for all TANF monies.
TANF appropriations for FY 2000-2001
in this bill include approximately $1.1 million for marriage programs and $1.8
million for supplemental funding of four ongoing programs. $500,000 appropriated last year for FY
2000-2001 for character education is redirected from DES to NAU. Approximately $2.7 million in TANF bonuses
awarded to DES are appropriated in FY 2000-2001 for employee bonuses and
automation.
Provisions
1. Appropriates
$1 million in FY 2000-2001 from the federal TANF block grant to DES to
establish a Community-Based Marriage and Communication Skills Fund (Fund).
Requires DES to distribute Fund monies to organizations with plans recommended
by the Commission, as follows:
a) Requires
programs to include relationship, communication and negotiation skills and to
discuss family law, domestic violence issues and marriage license options.
b) Prohibits
discussion or encouragement of unlawful behavior.
c) Allocates
not more than five percent of the appropriation for DES administrative costs.
d) Terminates
the program on July 1, 2005.
2. Appropriates
$150,000 in FY 2000-2001 from TANF to DES, of which $75,000 is allocated for
marriage skills training vouchers for low income households and $75,000 is
allocated for development of a handbook for marriage license applicants on ten
specified topics.
3. Appropriates
$859,300 in FY 2000-2001 from TANF to DES to supplement the Subsidized
Guardianship Program.
4. Appropriates
$500,000 in FY 2000-2001 from TANF to DES to supplement the DHS Teen Pregnancy
Prevention media campaign.
5. Appropriates
$200,000 in FY 2000-2001 from TANF to DES to supplement DHS perinatal substance
abuse services for persons with family income of 200 percent of federal poverty
guidelines or less.
6. Appropriates
$200,000 in fiscal year 2000-2001 from TANF to DES to hire TANF recipients to
conduct food stamp outreach and education. Requires DES to actively solicit
funds from private sources for nutrition assistance programs.
7. Appropriates
approximately $2.7 million from TANF high performance bonus monies awarded in
FY 2000-2001 to DES to be used for state employee performance bonuses and to
upgrade and replace automation.
8. Reappropriates
$500,000 from TANF for character education appropriated in FY 1999-2000 for FY
2000-2001 from DES to NAU.
9. Establishes
the Commission with membership as follows: the Governor or designee, the DES
Director or designee, a member of the news media, a marriage counselor and a
family law attorney, plus four advisory members from the Legislature.
10. Requires
the Commission to:
a) Review
plans and renewal applications submitted to DES for the Program.
b) Evaluate
the Program and report annually by November to the Governor, Legislature and
Joint Legislative Audit Committee, beginning November 1, 2001.
c) Develop
and distribute to marriage license applicants, free of charge, a marriage
handbook with specified contents.
d) Recommend
to DES the qualifying criteria for marriage skills training vouchers.
11. Requires
DES to provide staff and support services to the Commission.
12. Expands
the good cause exception for failure to cooperate with child support collection
efforts to include emotional harm that may result from cooperation.
13. Requires
cash assistance of less than $100 per month to be paid out of state dollars and
excludes these payments from the lifetime cap for TANF and Arizona Works
participants.
14. Exempts
unmarried custodial parents from work requirements while attending full time
post-secondary educational programs, unless such exemption would violate
federal work participation rate requirements.
15. Allows
job training and rehabilitation participants in the Arizona Works Pilot Program
to be covered by state workers’ compensation the same as TANF participants
throughout the rest of the state.
16. Expands
Wheels to Work eligibility to former recipients and parents with income below
150 percent of the federal poverty level, for TANF and Arizona Works
participants.
17. Extends
Short Term Crisis Services to sanctioned TANF and Arizona Works participants.
18. Expands
to two years the eligibility period for Transportation and Post-employment
Education and Training for TANF and Arizona Works participants.
19. Requires
the Welfare Reform Joint Committee and Task Force to review the feasibility of
establishing a separate fund for all TANF monies and make recommendations to
the Legislature by December 15, 2001.
20. Repeals
a duplicative subsection from Laws 1998 relating to eligibility for assistance.
Amendments Adopted by
Family Services Committee
1. Adopted
a strike-everything amendment on rent arbitration.
Amendments Adopted by
Committee of the Whole
1. Appropriates
$2 million in FY 2000-2001 from TANF to DES to establish a program of grants to
community-based organizations for abstinence education, character development,
communications skills training and 11 other specified activities, for children
in grades four through ten.
2. Appropriates
$200,000 in FY 2000-2001 from TANF to DES to hire TANF recipients to conduct
food stamp outreach and education. Requires DES to actively solicit funds from
private sources for nutrition assistance programs.
3. Substitutes
the strike-everything amendment passed in Committee with expansion of TANF
eligibility for Wheels to Work, short term crisis services, transportation,
post-employment education and training and exclusion of payments of less than
$100 per month from the lifetime cap.
Reinstates underlying bill provisions to extend state workers’
compensation benefits to Arizona Works participants.
4. Terminates
the Arizona Works Pilot Program on June 30, 2002. Requires the Welfare Reform Joint Committee to make specific
recommendations to the Legislature by December 15, 2001 based on evaluations
and studies of Arizona Works conducted by the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee, the Auditor General and the Arizona Works Procurement Board.
5. Allows
DES to retain TANF bonus awards for employee bonuses and automation.
Amendments Adopted by
Conference Committee
1. Reduces
TANF appropriations from $2 million to $1 million in FY 2000-2001 for the
Program, changes the title and eliminates several curriculum requirements.
2. Increases
TANF appropriations by approximately $1.7 million in FY 2000-2001 for marriage
skills training vouchers, a marriage handbook, subsidized guardianship, teen
pregnancy prevention and perinatal substance abuse services.
3. Appropriates
approximately $2.7 million in TANF bonus monies to DES and redirects the
character education appropriation of $500,000 from DES to NAU.
4. Establishes
the Fund and the Commission.
5. Expands
TANF exemptions for child support cooperation and work requirements.
6. Eliminates
the repeal of Arizona Works and changes the additional duties of the Welfare
Reform Joint Committee from review of Arizona Works to feasibility of a
separate TANF fund.
House Action Senate
Action
HS 2/3/00 DPA 5-0-0-1 FS 3/10/00 DPA/SE
3-2-2-0
3rd Read 2/29/00 51-0-9-0 3rd
Read 3/30/00 26-1-3-0
Final Read 4/13/00 46-3-11-0 Final Read 4/14/00 21-6-3-0
Signed by Governor
4/28/00
Chapter 393
Prepared by Senate Staff
May 17, 2000