Preparing More Welfare Recipients for Work Act

Summary: Preparing More Welfare Recipients for Work Act This bill amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act with respect to mandatory work requirements to:  eliminate the requirement that recipients participate in certain core work activities not fewer than 20 hours per week, as well as separate requirements for two-parent families; allow states to receive partial credit for certain families participating for less than the minimum hours required for purposes of calculating the monthly participation rate; give states the option to apply an alternative work participation rate calculation; revise requirements for counting job search as work; modify the rule deeming an individual to meet work participation requirements by attending secondary school; require a state to meet individuals participating for three months in job readiness assistance and certify whether continued participation is necessary to prepare them for employment; replace with job readiness assistance as a separate work activity the currently recognized work activity of providing child care services to a participant in a community service program; and increase from 12 to 24 months the maximum period that vocational educational training counts as a work activity.  

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preparing More Welfare Recipients 
for Work Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVING COUNTING OF REQUIRED HOURS OF PARTICIPATION IN WORK 
              ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Elimination of Distinction Between Core and Non-Core Work 
Activities.--Section 407(c)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
607(c)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``, not fewer than 20 hours per 
week of which are attributable to an activity described in paragraph 
(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), or (12) of subsection (d)''.
    (b) Allowing States To Receive Partial Credit for Partial 
Engagement.--Section 407(c)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(1)(B)) 
is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(B) Partial credit for families participating for 
                less than the minimum hours required.--If a family 
                receiving assistance under the State program funded 
                under this part includes an adult or minor child head 
                of household receiving the assistance who has 
                participated in work activities for an average of 15 
                hours (or 10 hours, in the case of a single parent 
                specified in paragraph (2)(B)) per week during a month, 
                the family shall count as 0.5 of a family for purposes 
                of calculating the number described in subsection 
                (b)(1)(B)(i) for the month.''.
    (c) State Option To Request Alternate Work Participation Rate 
Calculation.--Section 407(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(a)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) State option to request alternate work participation 
        rate calculation.--
                    ``(A) Application.--A State may apply to the 
                Secretary to apply subparagraph (C) with respect to the 
                State.
                    ``(B) Approval of application.--The Secretary may 
                approve the application if the State demonstrates to 
                the Secretary (in accordance with such guidelines as 
                the Secretary shall establish) that the State has 
                systems and mechanisms in place to accurately record 
                individual hours of participation in work activities 
                that accurately reflects the number of hours of 
                participation of the individuals required to 
                participate in the activities.
                    ``(C) Alternative calculation.--A State whose 
                application under this paragraph is approved by the 
                Secretary shall be considered to be in compliance with 
                this subsection for a month in a fiscal year if the sum 
                of the total number of hours during which the 
                recipients of assistance under the State program funded 
                under this part who are required to be participating in 
                work activities during the month have participated in 
                the activities is not less than the percentage equal to 
                the minimum participation rate in effect under 
                paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, multiplied by the 
                sum of--
                            ``(i) 30 times the number of the recipients 
                        who are so required to participate for an 
                        average of at least 30 hours per week in the 
                        month (as determined by the State); and
                            ``(ii) 20 times the number of the 
                        recipients who are so required to participate 
                        for an average of at least 20 hours per week in 
                        the month (as so determined).''.
    (d) Modifications to Counting Job Search as Work.--Section 
407(c)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(A)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                    ``(A) Counting of job search as work.--After the 
                participation of an individual in an activity described 
                in subsection (d)(6) of this section of a State program 
                funded under this part or any other State program 
                funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined in 
                section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) has been counted for 3 months 
                as participation in a work activity, participation by 
                the individual in such an activity shall count towards 
                not more than half of the hours of participation in 
                work activities by the individual.''.
    (e) Modification of Rule Providing for Participation by Reason of 
Secondary School Attendance.--Section 407(c)(2)(C) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(C)) is amended--
            (1) in the subparagraph heading, by striking ``Single teen 
        head of household or married teen'' and inserting 
        ``Individual'';
            (2) by striking ``is married or a head of household and'' 
        and
            (3) by striking ``20 years'' and inserting ``26 years''.
    (f) Requirement That State Meet With Individual Involved in Job 
Readiness Activities for More Than 3 Months.--Section 407(c)(2) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
                    ``(E) Periodic meeting with individuals 
                participating in job readiness assistance.--After an 
                individual has participated for 3 months in an activity 
                described in subsection (d)(12) of this section of a 
                State program funded under this part or any other State 
                program funded with qualified State expenditures (as 
                defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), the individual 
                shall not be considered to be engaged in work by reason 
                of participation in such an activity until the State 
                has met with the individual, and certified that 
                continued participation in such an activity is 
                necessary to help prepare the individual for, or 
                support the individual in, employment.''.
    (g) Providing Child Care Assistance to Community Service 
Participant Replaced by Job Readiness Assistance as Separate Work 
Activity.--
            (1) In general.--Section 407(d)(12) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        607(d)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(12) job readiness assistance.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 407(d)(6) of such Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 607(d)) is amended by striking ``and job readiness 
        assistance''.
    (h) Doubling of Limit on Counting Vocation Educational Training as 
Work.--Section 407(d)(8) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(d)(8)) is amended 
by striking ``12'' and inserting ``24''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 
2015.