Okla. Admin. Code § 340:10-2-1 - Work requirements
All parents or needy caretakers who apply for or receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance from Oklahoma are required to be engaged in a work activity. The parent(s) or needy caretaker must participate in work activities for at least the minimum number of hours necessary to move that person into employment and self-sufficiency, per (2) of this Section.
(1)
Work-eligible
person. A work-eligible person is defined as an adult or minor
head-of-household included in the TANF assistance unit. Excluded from this
definition is a parent providing care for a disabled family member living in
the home, who does not attend school on a full-time basis, provided the need
for such care is supported by medical documentation.
(2)
Minimum hours of TANF Work
activities.
(A) All parents or needy
caretakers who meet the definition of a work-eligible person are required to
participate in the minimum hours of work activities.
(i) A work-eligible person must participate
in work activities an average of 30 hours per week, unless the person is a
single custodial parent with a child under 6 years of age, who must participate
in work activities an average of 20 hours per week.
(ii) In a two-parent family, when deprivation
is based on incapacity, the non-incapacitated adult must participate in work
activities an average of 30 hours per week unless he or she is:
(I) required in the home to provide care for
the incapacitated work-eligible parent; or
(II) a custodial parent with a child under 6
years of age. In this instance the non-incapacitated adult must participate in
work activities an average of 20 hours per week.
(iii) In a two-parent family, when
deprivation is based on unemployment, one adult must participate in work
activities an average of 35 hours per week and the other adult must participate
an average of 30 hours per week. When one parent is an ineligible alien, the
other parent must participate in work activities an average of 35 hours per
week. When both parents are ineligible aliens, the family does not qualify as a
two-parent family as the work requirement cannot be met.
(iv) To determine the average weekly
countable work hours for a work-eligible person who is self-employed, the Adult
and Family Services (AFS) worker:
(I)
determines the person's monthly countable earned self-employment income per
Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
340:10-3-32;
(II) divides the income by the federal
minimum wage; and
(III) divides
that figure by 4.3 that equals weekly countable work
hours.
(B)
Hours missed due to holidays and excused absences count as hours of
participation for any unpaid scheduled work activity per criteria in (i)
through (iii) of this subparagraph.
(i)
Federal law establishes public holidays and the Governor orders state holidays.
When the facility the participant attends is open on a designated holiday, the
day is not considered a holiday for participation purposes.
(ii) Excused absences are reasonable,
short-term hours missed from a scheduled work activity. The participant may be
granted a maximum of 80 hours of excused absences in any 12-month period with
no more than 16 hours of excused absences per month counted as TANF Work
participation hours. All excused absences must be approved by the AFS worker.
An excused absence is defined as:
(I)
unavailability of appropriate child care;
(II) illness or injury of the participant or
a family member who lives in the household. The family member must meet the
definition of a relative per OAC
340:10-9-1;
(III) scheduled doctor appointments for the
participant or a family member who lives in the household;
(IV) the participant's court-required
appear-ance;
(V) the participant's
required attendance at parent and teacher conferences;
(VI) the temporary unavailability of planned
transportation when needed or inability to arrange for
transportation;
(VII) an inclement
weather occurrence that prevented the participant, and other persons similarly
situated, from traveling to, or participating in, the prescribed
activity;
(VIII) crisis
intervention needed due to domestic violence issues;
(IX) a family crisis; or
(X) the participant's required attendance for
a specific appointment by another governmental entity.
(iii) To count an excused absence or holiday
as participation hours, the participant must have been scheduled to participate
in an allowable work activity for the period of the absence. Participation
allowances are paid for approved holidays and excused absences for a maximum of
16 hours per month.
(3)
TANF Work activities. TANF
Work activities are defined as core and non-core and must be scheduled,
structured, and supervised. TANF Work participants are placed in core work
activities when appropriate.
(A) Core work
activities are:
(i) full- or part-time
unsubsidized employment in the public or private sector that is not subsidized
by TANF or any other public program;
(ii) subsidized private sector employment in
the private sector for which the employer receives a subsidy from TANF or other
public funds to offset some or all of the wages and costs of employing a
recipient;
(iii) subsidized public
sector employment for which the employer receives a subsidy from TANF or other
public funds to offset some or all of the wages and costs of employing a
recipient;
(iv) Work Experience
Program (WEP) placement that provides a participant with an opportunity to
acquire general skills, training, knowledge, and work habits necessary to
obtain employment;
(v) paid
on-the-job training in the public or private sector a participant receives
while engaged in productive work that provides knowledge and skills essential
to the full and adequate performance of the job;
(vi) job search and job readiness
activi-ties.Job readiness activities prepare the participant to seek and obtain
employment and includes life skills training, substance abuse treatment, mental
health treatment, or rehabilitation activities for those who are otherwise
employable;
(vii) vocational
training, not to exceed 12 months, that is organized educational programs
directly related to preparing participants for employment in current or
emerging occupations requiring training. Countable vocational training may
include up to 12 months toward a two year vocational training certificate, an
associate's degree, a bachelor's degree, or an advanced degree program that
qualifies a participant to obtain immediate employment in a specific field.
(I) When the institution of higher education
has a TANF-funded contract, the participant must attend through the contracted
provider.
(II) The participant is
required to participate in a TANF Work activity the minimum number of hours per
(2) of this Section or as mandated by the TANF-contracted provider.
(III) The participant must maintain
satisfactory academic progress with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 and
verify progress at mid-term, when possible, and at the end of the semester.
Progress may be verified by a grade report, transcript, or a statement from the
contracted provider or other school official.
(IV) When satisfactory progress is not met,
the AFS worker submits Form 08TW008E, Higher Education Probationary Approval
Request, to AFS TANF program field representative staff to request a
probationary approval period. When the probationary approval period is not
approved, the participant is placed in another TANF Work activity; and
(viii) Community
Partnership (CP) is a structured work activity in which TANF participants
perform work for the direct benefit of the community that improves the
employability of recipients not otherwise able to obtain employment.
(B) Non-core work activities are:
(i) job skills training directly related to
employment that is training or education for job skills required by an employer
that provides a participant with the ability to obtain employment or to advance
or adapt to the changing demands of the workplace. Time spent in vocational
training in excess of 12 months may be counted as job skills training, when the
participant also participates in a different approved core activity for a
minimum of 20 hours per week;
(ii)
education directly related to employment when a participant has not received a
high school equivalency, that is related to a specific occupation, job, or job
offer; and
(iii) satisfactory
school attendance at a secondary school or in a course of study leading to a
high school equivalency certificate when a participant has not completed
secondary school or received such a certificate.
(4)
Limitations and special
rules.
(A) A single custodial parent
younger than 20 years of age, who has not completed high school is determined
to be in a work activity when the participant maintains satisfactory attendance
at a secondary school or equivalent during the month.
(B) A single custodial parent or the
non-incapacitated adult in a family where deprivation is based on incapacity
who has a child under the age of 4 months is not required to participate in a
work activity. The participant may use this rule for a lifetime limit not to
exceed 12 months.
Notes
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