1999 Minnesota Statutes

     256J.50 County duties. 

    Subdivision 1.    Employment and training services 
 component of MFIP.  (a) By January 1, 1998, each county must 
 develop and implement an employment and training services 
 component of MFIP which is designed to put participants on the 
 most direct path to unsubsidized employment.  Participation in 
 these services is mandatory for all MFIP caregivers, unless the 
 caregiver is exempt under section 256J.56. 

    (b) A county must provide employment and training services 
 under sections 256J.515 to 256J.74 within 30 days after the 
 caregiver's participation becomes mandatory under subdivision 5. 

    Subd. 2.    Pilot programs.  In counties selected for 
 the work first or work focused pilot programs, first-time 
 applicants for assistance must meet the requirements of those 
 programs in place of the requirements of the MFIP-S program.  A 
 county may, at its option, discontinue a work first or work 
 focused pilot program. 

    Subd. 3.    Transitional rule; MFIP or MFIP-R participant. 
  A caregiver who was enrolled in MFIP or MFIP-R on the date 
 the county implements the employment and training services 
 component of MFIP-S and was making satisfactory progress toward 
 the objectives specified in the caregiver's employment plan, may 
 continue with the existing employment plan for up to two years 
 with the approval of a job counselor.  The job counselor may 
 require changes to the plan in order to be consistent with this 
 two-year time limit. 

    Subd. 3a.    Transitional rule; STRIDE, ACCESS.  (a) A 
 county agency that is not a participant in the MFIP or MFIP-R 
 field trials formerly codified in sections 256.031 to 256.0361 
 shall not enroll a recipient into project STRIDE or ACCESS after 
 the date that MFIP is implemented in the county.  

    (b) A caregiver who: 

    (i) was enrolled in project STRIDE or ACCESS continuously 
 since March 1, 1997; 

    (ii) is not a part of an MFIP or MFIP-R comparison group; 
 and 

    (iii) who is making satisfactory progress toward the 
 objectives specified in the caregiver's employment plan, may, 
 with the approval of the job counselor, continue with the 
 existing employment plan for up to two years after the caregiver 
 is enrolled in MFIP.  For purposes of the federal participation 
 standards, the activities in the caregiver's employment plan are 
 work activities, as that term is defined in section 256J.49, 
 subdivision 13. 

    (c) Notwithstanding contrary provisions of section 256.736, 
 the employability plan of a caregiver who is enrolled in project 
 STRIDE or ACCESS on or after July 1, 1997, must meet the 
 requirements of section 256J.53. 

    Subd. 4.    Service providing agencies.  Unless the 
 provisions of subdivision 8 apply, a county must select at least 
 two employment and training service providers.  A county may opt 
 to provide services on its own as one of these providers. 

    Subd. 5.    Participation requirements for single-parent 
 and two-parent cases.  (a) A county must establish a uniform 
 schedule for requiring participation by single parents.  
 Mandatory participation must be required within six months of 
 eligibility for cash assistance.  For two-parent cases, 
 participation is required concurrent with the receipt of MFIP-S 
 cash assistance. 

    (b) Beginning January 1, 1998, with the exception of 
 caregivers required to attend high school under the provisions 
 of section 256J.54, subdivision 5, MFIP caregivers, upon 
 completion of the secondary assessment, must develop an 
 employment plan and participate in work activities. 

    (c) Upon completion of the secondary assessment: 

    (1) In single-parent families with no children under six 
 years of age, the job counselor and the caregiver must develop 
 an employment plan that includes 20 to 35 hours per week of work 
 activities for the period January 1, 1998, to September 30, 
 1998; 25 to 35 hours of work activities per week in federal 
 fiscal year 1999; and 30 to 35 hours per week of work activities 
 in federal fiscal year 2000 and thereafter. 

    (2) In single-parent families with a child under six years 
 of age, the job counselor and the caregiver must develop an 
 employment plan that includes 20 to 35 hours per week of work 
 activities. 

    (3) In two-parent families, the job counselor and the 
 caregivers must develop employment plans which result in a 
 combined total of at least 55 hours per week of work activities. 

    Subd. 6.    Explanatory materials required.  The county 
 must: 

    (1) explain to applicants and recipients and provide 
 explanatory materials regarding the relationship between the 
 60-month time limit on assistance funded with TANF dollars and 
 the receipt of various benefits, including cash assistance, food 
 stamps, medical assistance, and child care assistance; and 

    (2) provide assistance to applicants and recipients to 
 enable them to minimize the use of their 60 allowable months of 
 TANF-funded assistance.  

    Subd. 7.    Local service unit plan.  Each local or 
 county service unit shall prepare and submit a plan as specified 
 in section 268.88. 

    Subd. 8.    County duty to ensure employment and training 
 choices for participants.  Each county, or group of counties 
 working cooperatively, shall make available to participants the 
 choice of at least two employment and training service providers 
 as defined under section 256J.49, subdivision 4, except in 
 counties utilizing workforce centers that use multiple 
 employment and training services, offer multiple services 
 options under a collaborative effort and can document that 
 participants have choice among employment and training services 
 designed to meet specialized needs. 

    Subd. 9.    Exception; financial hardship.  
 Notwithstanding subdivision 8, a county that explains in the 
 plan required under subdivision 7 that the provision of 
 alternative employment and training service providers would 
 result in financial hardship for the county is not required to 
 make available more than one employment and training provider. 

    Subd. 10.    Required notification to victims of domestic 
 violence.  County agencies and their contractors must provide 
 universal notification to all applicants and recipients of 
 MFIP-S that: 

    (1) referrals to counseling and supportive services are 
 available for victims of domestic violence; 

    (2) nonpermanent resident battered individuals married to 
 United States citizens or permanent residents may be eligible to 
 petition for permanent residency under the federal Violence 
 Against Women Act, and that referrals to appropriate legal 
 services are available; 

    (3) victims of domestic violence are exempt from the 
 60-month limit on assistance while the individual is complying 
 with an approved safety plan, as defined in section 256J.49, 
 subdivision 11; and 

    (4) victims of domestic violence may choose to be exempt or 
 deferred from work requirements for up to 12 months while the 
 individual is complying with an approved safety plan as defined 
 in section 256J.49, subdivision 11.  

    Notification must be in writing and orally at the time of 
 application and recertification, when the individual is referred 
 to the title IV-D child support agency, and at the beginning of 
 any job training or work placement assistance program. 

    Subd. 11.    Coordination.  The county agency and the 
 county agency's employment and training providers must consult 
 and coordinate with other providers of employment and training 
 services to identify existing resources, in order to prevent 
 duplication of services, to assure that other programs' services 
 are available to enable participants to achieve 
 self-sufficiency, and to assure that costs for these other 
 services for which participants are eligible are not incurred by 
 MFIP-S.  At a minimum, the county agency and its providers must 
 coordinate with Jobs Training and Partnership Act providers and 
 with any other relevant employment, training, and education 
 programs in the county. 

    HIST: 1997 c 85 art 1 s 40; 1998 c 407 art 6 s 91-93; 1999 c 
 159 s 89; 1999 c 245 art 6 s 61