Authority: Title 63.1, Chapters 6.2, 6.3, and 6.5, Code of Virginia; P.L. 104-193, as amended, P.L. 105-33, Federal Code; Title IV, Part A, of the federal Social Security Act; § 5001, federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
A. The Department of Social Services, in collaboration with local departments of social services, shall maintain minimum performance standards for all local departments of social services participating in the Virginia Initiative for Employment, Not Welfare (VIEW) program. The Department shall allocate VIEW funds to local departments of social services based on these performance standards and VIEW caseloads. The allocation formula shall be developed and revised in cooperation with the local social services departments and the Department of Planning and Budget.
B. To the extent permitted by federal law, food stamp recipients subject to a work requirement pursuant to § 824 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193, as amended, shall be permitted to satisfy such work requirement by providing volunteer services to a public or private, nonprofit agency for the number of hours per month determined by dividing the household's monthly food stamp allotment by the federal minimum wage.
C. The Department of Social Services shall maintain a plan for providing education, training, job-specific skills development, and other services to Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare (VIEW) participants who have difficulty in finding and maintaining employment. The plan shall include (i) criteria that will be used to identify VIEW participants who are considered "hard to serve"; (ii) an estimate of how many VIEW participants are expected to receive special targeted services; (iii) a description of the types and amounts of education, training, and other services that will be offered to this population; (iv) methods for coordinating services among local departments of social services, private industry councils, and other public and private providers of service; and (v) a description of the conditions under which the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, Welfare-to-Work grant, Workforce Investment Act funds, and any other source of funds for this purpose will be used to pay for services. The Plan shall be updated as appropriate and made available upon request.
D. The Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the Department of Correctional Education, shall identify and apply for federal, private and faith-based grants for pre-release parenting programs for non-custodial incarcerated parent offenders committed to the Department of Corrections, including but not limited to the following grant programs: Promoting Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Marriages, State Child Access and Visitation Block Grant, Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Collaboration, Special Improvement Projects, §1115 Social Security Demonstration Grants, and any new grant programs authorized under the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program.
E. Out of this appropriation, the Department of Social Services shall allocate $2,295,000 each year from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant for employment and training and other services for hard-to-serve recipients to promote self-sufficiency.
F. Out of this appropriation, the Department of Social Services shall allocate $637,500 each year from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant for employment and training services through the Centers for Employment and Training.
G. Contingent upon the availability of federal funding, the Virginia Department of Social Services may continue funding for the Healthy Marriage and Stable Families Initiative grants which provide community-based family preservation and supportive services designed to strengthen marriages and stabilize families. A report on these activities shall be submitted by November 30, 2005, to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees as well as to the Chairman of the Virginia Commission on Youth.