Legislative Session number- 85

Bill Name: SF0559

1E Relating to human services

ARTICLE 1 - SELF-SUFFICIENTY
PROVISIONS

Establishing family stabilization services under the Minnesota
family investment program (MFIP) to serve families failing to make significant
progress within MFIP due to certain barriers to employment and to stabilize and
improve the lives of families at risk of long term welfare dependency;
specifying certain eligibility requirements for MFIP or diversionary work
program (DWP) participants; prohibiting the commissioner of human services from
moving programs or activities funded with MFIP or temporary assistance for needy
families (TANF) funds to other funding sources without legislative approval;
requiring participation in family stabilization services by all caregivers;
requiring county agencies to provide the services through a case management
model, requiring the assignment of case managers to participating families
within a certain number of days after receipt of MFIP financial assistance;
requiring case managers to recommend and county agencies to establish and modify
as necessary family stabilization plans, specifying certain plan content and
completion requirements, requiring modification under certain conditions;
specifying certain participant family stabilization plan cooperation and
compliance requirements, requiring subsequent assessments, providing for the
imposition of sanctions for failure to comply; providing for a work
participation bonus for participants exiting DWP or terminating MFIP cash
assistance with earnings, determining holiday hour calculation; specifying
certain eligibility requirements; providing for use of the MFIP consolidated
fund to provide services to work program participants, extending MFIP allowable
expenditures to work program participants and expanding the MFIP county and
tribal biennial service agreements to the work program; providing county and
tribal funding and an incentive for the work program; repealing ineligibility
for state funded programs for legal noncitizens ineligible for federally funded
cash or food benefits and the MFIP consolidated fund performance base funds;
preventing counties from being penalized for failures with respect to TANF
grants; increasing county eligibility for certain TANF grants

ARTICLE 2 -
SUPPORTING WORK FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

Requiring MFIP appropriations to be
allocated to counties based on certain criteria, requiring paid transitional
work experience and other supported employment to provide a continuum of
employment assistance, specifying county eligibility; appropriating money to the
Minnesota office of higher education for work study grants, car loans and car
repairs, the MFIP integrated services project and MFIP supported work
(me)