HOUSE BILL No. 4672
May 13, 1999, Introduced by Reps. LaForge, Jacobs, Brater, Bogardus, Kelly and Brewer and referred to the Committee on Family and Civil Law. A bill to amend 1939 PA 280, entitled "The social welfare act," by amending sections 57e and 57f (MCL 400.57e and 400.57f), as added by 1995 PA 223. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 57e. (1) Each family receiving family independence 2 assistance shall execute a social contract outlining the respon- 3 sibilities of members of the family independence assistance 4 group. The social contract shall be developed jointly by the 5 family independence agency and the adult family members and shall 6 identify compliance goals that are to be met by members of the 7 family independence assistance group. The social contract shall 8 reflect the individual needs and abilities of the particular 9 family, and shall include at least all of the following: 02017'99 LTB 2 1 (a) The obligation of each adult and each child aged 16 or 2 older who is not attending elementary or secondary school 3 full-time to participate in work first unless exempt under sec- 4 tion 57f. 5 (b) The obligation of each minor parent who has not com- 6 pleted secondary school to attend school. 7 (c) The obligation of each adult to engage in at least 20 8 hours per week of employment, work first activities, education or 9 training, community service activities, or self-improvement 10 activities. 11 (d) The obligation to cooperate in the establishment of 12 paternity and the procurement of child support, if applicable. 13 (e) The obligation of a recipient who fails to comply with 14 compliance goals due to substance abuse to participate in sub- 15 stance abuse treatment and submit to any periodic drug testing 16 required by the treatment program. 17 (f) Any other obligation the family independence agency 18 determines is necessary to enable the family to achieve 19 independence. 20 (2) Beginning 6 weeks after the birth of her child until the 21 child is 3 months 1 YEAR old, the family independence agency 22 may permit a mother exempted from work first under 23 section 57f(3)(d) to receive instruction in parenting, nutrition, 24 and child development as fulfillment of her social contract obli- 25 gation under section (1)(c). 26 (3) The family independence agency shall monitor each 27 family's compliance with the social contract. If the family 02017'99 3 1 fails to comply with the compliance goals set forth in the social 2 contract, the family independence agency shall impose penalties 3 under section 57g. 4 (4) THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY SHALL NOT CONSIDER THE 5 LOSS OF APPROVAL OR ELIGIBILITY OF A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT UNDER 6 THE COMMUNITY CONSERVATION CORPS ACT AS A VIOLATION BY THE RECIP- 7 IENT OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT. 8 Sec. 57f. (1) The family independence agency shall enter 9 into an agreement with the Michigan jobs commission DEPARTMENT 10 OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT in order to facilitate the administration 11 of work first. The family independence agency shall make infor- 12 mation on the program available to the legislature. 13 (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), every 14 member of a family independence assistance group shall be 15 referred to and shall participate in work first. If a recipient 16 has cooperated with work first but the work first agency deter- 17 mines that a job is not available, the recipient may enroll in a 18 program that is specifically job-related and of no more than 2 19 years' duration that is offered by a college or university, com- 20 munity college, state-licensed vocational or technical education 21 program, or state-licensed proprietary school. IF THE RECIPIENT 22 HAS COOPERATED WITH WORK FIRST BUT THE WORK FIRST AGENCY DETER- 23 MINES THAT MORE JOB SKILL TRAINING IS NEEDED, THE RECIPIENT MAY 24 ENROLL IN A WORKFORCE SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM APPROVED BY THE 25 WORK FIRST AGENCY. The particular activities in which the recipi- 26 ent is required or authorized to participate, the number of hours 27 of work required, and other details of work first shall be 02017'99 4 1 developed by the Michigan jobs commission DEPARTMENT OF CAREER 2 DEVELOPMENT and the family independence agency and shall be set 3 forth in the recipient's social contract. 4 (3) The following individuals are exempt from participation 5 in work first: 6 (a) A child under the age of 16. 7 (b) A child aged 16 or older, or a minor parent, who is 8 attending elementary or secondary school full-time. 9 (c) An individual who is working a minimum number of hours 10 determined by the family independence agency to be necessary to 11 meet federal requirements. 12 (d) The mother of a child under the age of 3 months 1 13 YEAR. 14 (e) An individual aged 65 or older. 15 (f) A recipient of supplemental security income, social 16 security disability, or medical assistance due to disability or 17 blindness. 18 (g) An individual suffering from a physical or mental 19 impairment that meets federal supplemental security income dis- 20 ability standards, except that no minimum duration is required. 21 (h) The spouse of an individual described in subdivision (f) 22 or (g) who is the full-time caregiver of that individual. 23 (i) A parent or caretaker of a child who is suffering from a 24 physical or mental impairment that meets the federal supplemental 25 security income disability standards, except that no minimum 26 duration is required. 02017'99 5 1 (4) In addition to those individuals exempt under subsection 2 (3), the family independence agency may grant a temporary 3 exemption from participation in work first, not to exceed 90 4 days, to an individual who is suffering from a documented 5 short-term mental or physical illness, limitation, or disability 6 that severely restricts his or her ability to participate in 7 employment or training activities. An individual with a docu- 8 mented mental or physical illness, limitation, or disability that 9 does not severely restrict his or her ability to participate in 10 employment or training activities shall be required to partici- 11 pate in work first at a medically permissible level. 12 (5) An individual is not disabled for purposes of this sec- 13 tion if substance abuse is a contributing factor material to the 14 determination of disability. 15 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take 16 effect unless Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. _____ 17 (request no. 00641'99) of the 90th Legislature is enacted into 18 law. 02017'99 Final page. LTB