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256J.50 COUNTY DUTIES.
    Subdivision 1. Employment and training services component of MFIP. (a) Each county
must develop and provide an employment and training services component 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 is determined eligible for MFIP, or within ten days
when the caregiver participated in the diversionary work program under section 256J.95 within
the past 12 months.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 107]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 107]
    Subd. 3a.[Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 107]
    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    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 107]
    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 or food support, 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    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 107]
    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 service agreement required under section 256J.626, subdivision 4, 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 family violence. (a) County agencies and
their contractors must provide universal notification to all applicants and recipients of MFIP that:
(1) referrals to counseling and supportive services are available for victims of family
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 family violence are exempt from the 60-month limit on assistance if they are
complying with an employment plan under section 256J.521, subdivision 3; and
(4) victims of family violence may choose to have regular work requirements waived while
the individual is complying with an employment plan under section 256J.521, subdivision 3.
(b) If an employment plan under section 256J.521, subdivision 3, is denied, the county or a
job counselor must provide reasons why the plan is not approved and document how the denial of
the plan does not interfere with the safety of the participant or children.
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. 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.
    Subd. 12. Access to persons trained in domestic violence. In a county where there is
no staff person who is trained in domestic violence, as that term is defined in section 256J.08,
subdivision 67a
, the county must work with the nearest organization that is designated as
providing services to victims of domestic violence to develop a process, which ensures that
domestic violence victims have access to a person trained in domestic violence.
History: 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; 2000 c 488 art 10 s 17,18; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 10 s 38-41,66; 2002 c 379 art 1 s 113;
1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 71-73,106

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes