II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 263

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to require a comprehensive strategic plan for the State temporary assistance to needy 

families program and to give States the flexibility to implement innovative 

welfare programs that have been proven effective in other States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2003

Mr. BINGAMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to require a comprehensive strategic plan for the State 

temporary assistance to needy families program and to 

give States the flexibility to implement innovative welfare 

programs that have been proven effective in other States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Self Sufficiency and 

5 Accountability Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC TANF PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Social Security 

3 Act (42 U.S.C. 602) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 402. ELIGIBLE STATES; STATE PLAN. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this part, the term 

6 ‘eligible State’ means, with respect to a fiscal year, a State 

7 that, during the 27-month period ending with the close 

8 of the 1st quarter of the fiscal year, has submitted to the 

9 Secretary, and revised when necessary in accordance with 

10 subsection (b), a written plan that the Secretary has found 

11 includes the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) OUTLINE OF FAMILY ASSISTANCE PRO13 GRAM.—

14 ‘‘(A) PROGRAMMATIC INFORMATION.—In15 formation relating to the State program, includ16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) With respect to each program 

18 that will be funded under this part, or with 

19 qualified State expenditures claimed by the 

20 State to meet the requirements of section 

21 409(a)(7), over the 2-year period for which 

22 the plan is being submitted—

23 ‘‘(I) the name of the program; 

24 ‘‘(II) the goals of the program; 
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1 ‘‘(III) a description of the bene2 fits and services provided in the pro3 gram; 

4 ‘‘(IV) a description of principal 

5 eligibility rules and populations served 

6 under the program, including the cir7 cumstances under which the State 

8 provides benefits or services to indi9 viduals who are not citizens of the 

10 United States; 

11 ‘‘(V) a description of how the 

12 State will ensure fair and equitable 

13 treatment among program applicants 

14 and recipients and how the State will 

15 provide opportunities for applicants 

16 and recipients who have been ad17 versely affected to be heard in a State 

18 administrative or appeal process, in19 cluding a description of the steps that 

20 the State has taken (or will take) to 

21 ensure—

22 ‘‘(aa) compliance with non23 discrimination, civil rights, and 

24 employment laws throughout the 

25 process of providing services 
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1 under this part, including at the 

2 time of application for benefits, 

3 during the applicant assessment 

4 process, when determining avail5 ability of an eligibility for bene6 fits and services, during the ac7 tual delivery of services or bene8 fits, and when deciding to termi9 nate benefits in full or in part; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(bb) that program appli12 cants and recipients are aware of 

13 their rights and the process for 

14 enforcing their rights; and 

15 ‘‘(VI) a description of how the 

16 program meets 1 or more of the pur17 poses described in section 401 or, in 

18 the case of a program funded with 

19 qualified State expenditures, how the 

20 program meets the criteria in section 

21 409(a)(7)(B). 

22 ‘‘(ii) With respect to each program 

23 that will be funded under this part, or with 

24 qualified State expenditures claimed by the 

25 State to meet the requirements of section 
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1 409(a)(7), over the 2-year period for which 

2 the plan is being submitted and that pro3 vides assistance—

4 ‘‘(I) a description of the applica5 ble financial and nonfinancial eligi6 bility rules including, income eligibility 

7 thresholds, the treatment of earnings, 

8 asset eligibility rules, and excluded 

9 forms of income; 

10 ‘‘(II) a description of applicable 

11 work-related requirements, including 

12 which adults are required to partici13 pate in such activities, the activities in 

14 which they can participate, the cri15 teria for determining the activity an 

16 adult is assigned to, and the proce17 dures used to screen and assess par18 ticipants for barriers to employment 

19 including physical or mental impair20 ments, substance abuse, learning dis21 abilities, domestic violence, inadequate 

22 or unstable housing and very low 

23 basic skills; 

24 ‘‘(III) a description of applicable 

25 time limit policies, including the 
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1 length of the time limit, exemption 

2 and extension policies, and procedures 

3 and policies for providing services to 

4 families reaching time limits and who

5 have lost assistance due to time limits; 

6 and

7 ‘‘(IV) a description of applicable 

8 sanction policies and procedures, in9 cluding the program requirements for 

10 which a sanction can be applied for 

11 failure to comply, the amount and du12 ration of sanctions, the State-defined 

13 criteria that constitute good cause for 

14 failing to meet each program require15 ment for which a sanction may be im16 posed, how the State will comply with 

17 the requirement in section 407(e)(2), 

18 and the procedures in place to identify 

19 families who are unable to comply 

20 with program requirements due to 

21 various barriers (such as physical or 

22 mental impairments, domestic vio23 lence, unavailable or inaccessible child 

24 care, illiteracy, lack of English pro25 ficiency) and procedures for providing 
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1 services to those families rather than 

2 imposing a sanction on them. 

3 ‘‘(iii) A description of—

4 ‘‘(I) the primary problems that 

5 families receiving assistance, and fam6 ilies who have recently stopped receiv7 ing assistance, under the State pro8 gram funded under this part, or under 

9 a program funded with qualified State 

10 expenditures as defined in section 

11 407(a)(7), experience in securing and 

12 retaining adequate, affordable housing 

13 and the estimated extent of each such 

14 problem, including the price of such 

15 housing in various parts of the State 

16 that include a large proportion of re17 cipients of assistance under the State 

18 program, and the steps that have been 

19 and will be taken by the State and 

20 other public or private entities that 

21 administer housing programs to ad22 dress these problems; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the methods the State has 

24 adopted to identify barriers to work 

25 posed by the living arrangement, 
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1 housing cost, and housing location of 

2 individuals eligible for participation in 

3 the State program funded under this 

4 part and the services and benefits 

5 that have been or will be provided by 

6 the State and other public or private 

7 entities to help families overcome such 

8 barriers. 

9 ‘‘(iv) A description of the steps the 

10 State will take to restrict the use and dis11 closure of information about individuals 

12 and families applying for or receiving as13 sistance under a program funded under 

14 this part, or with qualified State expendi15 tures as defined in section 409(a)(7). 

16 ‘‘(v) A description of how the State 

17 will ensure the availability of a stable and 

18 professional workforce in the administra19 tion of the State program under this part 

20 with the resources, skills, and expertise 

21 necessary to successfully carry out the pro22 gram, including a description of the plan 

23 of the State to provide program staff with 

24 training on the following: 
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1 ‘‘(I) Program information and 

2 services. 

3 ‘‘(II) The rights of recipients of 

4 assistant under all laws applicable to 

5 the activities of the program, includ6 ing nondiscrimination and employ7 ment laws. 

8 ‘‘(III) Cultural diversity and sen9 sitivity. 

10 ‘‘(IV) Referral of recipients of as11 sistance to all appropriate programs 

12 and services for which such recipients 

13 are eligible. 

14 ‘‘(V) Screening of recipients of 

15 assistance for serious barriers to em16 ployment and referral to qualified spe17 cialists. 

18 ‘‘(vi) A description of the steps that 

19 the State has taken to inform applicants 

20 for and recipients of assistance under the 

21 State program under this part of their 

22 rights and obligations under such program. 

23 Such description shall include—

24 ‘‘(I) an explanation of the man25 ner in which the State will ensure that 
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1 such information is communicated ef2 fectively to all such individuals, in3 cluding how the State will provide ap4 propriate translation or interpretation 

5 services where necessary; and 

6 ‘‘(II) an assurance that the com7 munication of such information will 

8 take place throughout the service de9 livery and processing. 

10 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION ABOUT PROGRAMS DE11 SIGNED OR IMPLEMENTED AT SUB-STATE LEV12 ELS.—With respect to any program described 

13 in clauses (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) in 

14 which the State permits counties or other sub15 state entities to design their own rules with re16 spect to any of the information required under 

17 such clauses, the State plan shall be designed to 

18 reflect the policies of each such county or sub19 state entity. 

20 ‘‘(C) STATE GOALS AND BENCHMARKS.—

21 For each purpose contained in section 401(a), 

22 the State plan shall provide the following infor23 mation: 

24 ‘‘(i) A description of specific goals the 

25 State will attempt to achieve over the suc-
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1 ceeding 5-year period to further that pur2 pose.

3 ‘‘(ii) A description of how the State 

4 intends to meet the goals described in 

5 clause (i) over such 5-year period and a de6 scription of the steps the State will take 

7 during such period to work toward achiev8 ing such goals. 

9 ‘‘(iii) A description of performance 

10 measures that will be used to measure 

11 progress made by the State toward achiev12 ing each such goal, including the method13 ology for computing such measures. Each 

14 performance and outcome measure de15 scribed in the State plan under this sub16 paragraph shall be reported by the State 

17 annually in a form prescribed by the Sec18 retary. 

19 ‘‘(iv) An identification of those key 

20 factors external to the program and be21 yond the control of the State that could 

22 significantly affect the attainment of the 

23 goals. 

24 ‘‘(v) A description of any additional 

25 evaluation methods the State will use to 
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1 measure progress made by the State to2 ward achieving such goals. 

3 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM PARTICIPATION RATES.—A de4 scription of how the minimum participation rates 

5 specified in section 407 will be satisfied.

6 ‘‘(3) ESTIMATE OF EXPENDITURES.—An esti7 mate of the total amount of State or local expendi8 tures under all programs described in clauses (i) or 

9 (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) for the fiscal year in which 

10 the plan is submitted. 

11 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL PROVISIONS.—

12 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION REGARDING ASSESS13 MENT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES AND INFORM14 ING LOCALITIES OF SECTORAL LABOR SHORT15 AGES AND IDENTIFICATION OF SELF-SUFFI16 CIENCY STANDARD.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A certification by 

18 the chief executive officer of the State that, 

19 during the fiscal year, the State will—

20 ‘‘(I) assess its regional economies 

21 and provide information to political 

22 subdivisions of the State about the in23 dustrial sectors that are experiencing 

24 a labor shortage and that provide 

25 higher entry-level wage opportunities 
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1 for unemployed and underemployed 

2 job seekers identified in accordance 

3 with section 411(c); and 

4 ‘‘(II) identify the self-sufficiency 

5 standards for families after the fami6 lies cease to receive assistance under 

7 the State program funded under this 

8 part in accordance with clause (ii). 

9 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR IDENTI10 FICATION OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY STAND11 ARDS.—

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The State 

13 shall provide to the Secretary a docu14 ment adopted or developed by the 

15 State, that—

16 ‘‘(aa) describes the income 

17 needs of families (in this part re18 ferred to as ‘State self-sufficiency 

19 standards’) based on family size, 

20 the number and ages of children 

21 in the family, and sub-State geo22 graphical considerations; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) if the State has a size24 able Native American population, 
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1 includes information specific to 

2 the needs of that population. 

3 ‘‘(II) CRITERIA.—The State self4 sufficiency standards shall separately 

5 specify the monthly costs of housing, 

6 food, child care, transportation, health 

7 care, other basic needs, and taxes (in8 cluding tax benefits), and shall be de9 termined using national, State and 

10 local data on the cost of purchasing 

11 goods and services in the marketplace. 

12 ‘‘(III) CATEGORIES OF FAMI13 LIES.—The State self-sufficiency 

14 standards shall categorize families—

15 ‘‘(aa) by whether there are 1 

16 or 2 adults in the family; 

17 ‘‘(bb) by whether there are 

18 0, 1, 2, 3, or more than 3 chil19 dren in the family; and 

20 ‘‘(cc) by the age of each 

21 child in the family, according to 

22 whether a child is an infant, of 

23 pre-school age, of school age, or a 

24 teenager. 
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1 ‘‘(IV) REGULATIONS.—The Sec2 retary shall prescribe the protocols, 

3 criteria, cost categories, definitions, 

4 and means of making inflation adjust5 ments to be used in developing self6 sufficiency standards pursuant to this 

7 clause, which shall be based on com8 monly accepted definitions of ade9 quacy, such as those used for estab10 lishing fair market rents, and that re11 flect, to the extent possible, consensus 

12 and use among those calculating fam13 ily budgets and self-sufficiency stand14 ards. 

15 ‘‘(V) DATA.—The self-sufficiency 

16 standards developed pursuant to this 

17 clause shall be—

18 ‘‘(aa) recalculated on adop19 tion if the data on which the 

20 standards are based is more than 

21 3 years old; 

22 ‘‘(bb) recalculated every 5 

23 years after adoption; and 

24 ‘‘(cc) updated for inflation 

25 each year after adoption in which 
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1 the standards are not be recal2 culated pursuant to item (bb).

3 ‘‘(VI) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN

4 DEVELOPING STANDARDS.—The Sec5 retary may provide financial or tech6 nical assistance to an eligible State to 

7 enable the State to develop or improve 

8 the State self-sufficiency standards 

9 and produce State reports required by 

10 section 411(d). The Secretary shall 

11 carry out this paragraph by making a 

12 grant to, or entering into a contract 

13 with an organization or institution 

14 with substantial experience in calcu15 lating and implementing on the State 

16 level family budgets and self-suffi17 ciency standards. An organization or 

18 institution desiring to provide tech19 nical assistance described in this sub20 clause shall submit to the Secretary 

21 an application at such time, in such 

22 manner, and accompanied by such in23 formation as the Secretary may re24 quire. 
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1 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION THAT THE STATE

2 WILL OPERATE A CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE3 MENT PROGRAM.—A certification by the chief 

4 executive officer of the State that, during the 

5 fiscal year, the State will operate a child sup6 port enforcement program under the State plan 

7 approved under part D. 

8 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION THAT THE STATE

9 WILL OPERATE A FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION

10 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—A certification by the 

11 chief executive officer of the State that, during 

12 the fiscal year, the State will operate a foster 

13 care and adoption assistance program under the 

14 State plan approved under part E, and that the 

15 State will take such actions as are necessary to 

16 ensure that children receiving assistance under 

17 such part are eligible for medical assistance 

18 under the State plan under title XIX. 

19 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATION OF THE ADMINISTRA20 TION OF THE PROGRAM.—A certification by the 

21 chief executive officer of the State specifying 

22 which State agency or agencies will administer 

23 and supervise the family assistance program re24 ferred to in paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, 
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1 which shall include assurances that local gov2 ernments and private sector organizations—

3 ‘‘(i) have been consulted regarding the 

4 plan and design of welfare services in the 

5 State so that services are provided in a 

6 manner appropriate to local populations; 

7 and

8 ‘‘(ii) have had at least 45 days to sub9 mit comments on the plan and the design 

10 of such services. 

11 ‘‘(E) CERTIFICATION THAT THE STATE

12 WILL PROVIDE INDIANS WITH EQUITABLE AC13 CESS TO ASSISTANCE.—A certification by the 

14 chief executive officer of the State that, during 

15 the fiscal year, the State will provide each mem16 ber of an Indian tribe, who is domiciled in the 

17 State and is not eligible for assistance under a 

18 tribal family assistance plan approved under 

19 section 412, with equitable access to assistance 

20 under the State program. 

21 ‘‘(F) CERTIFICATION OF STANDARDS AND

22 PROCEDURES TO ENSURE AGAINST PROGRAM

23 FRAUD AND ABUSE.—A certification by the 

24 chief executive officer of the State that the 

25 State has established and is enforcing stand-
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1 ards and procedures to ensure against program 

2 fraud and abuse, including standards and pro3 cedures concerning nepotism, conflicts of inter4 est among individuals responsible for the ad5 ministration and supervision of the State pro6 gram, kickbacks, and the use of political pa7 tronage. 

8 ‘‘(G) OPTIONAL CERTIFICATION OF STAND9 ARDS AND PROCEDURES TO ENSURE THAT THE

10 STATE WILL SCREEN FOR AND IDENTIFY DO11 MESTIC VIOLENCE.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the option of 

13 the State, a certification by the chief exec14 utive officer of the State that the State has 

15 established and is enforcing standards and 

16 procedures to—

17 ‘‘(I) screen and identify individ18 uals receiving assistance under this 

19 part with a history of domestic vio20 lence while maintaining the confiden21 tiality of such individuals; 

22 ‘‘(II) refer such individuals to 

23 counseling and supportive services; 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(III) waive, pursuant to a deter2 mination of good cause, other pro3 gram requirements such as time limits 

4 (for so long as necessary) for individ5 uals receiving assistance, residency re6 quirements, child support cooperation 

7 requirements, and family cap provi8 sions, in cases where compliance with 

9 such requirements would make it 

10 more difficult for individuals receiving 

11 assistance under this part to escape 

12 domestic violence or unfairly penalize 

13 such individuals who are or have been 

14 victimized by such violence, or individ15 uals who are at risk of further domes16 tic violence. 

17 ‘‘(ii) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DE18 FINED.—For purposes of this subpara19 graph, the term ‘domestic violence’ has the 

20 same meaning as the term ‘battered or 

21 subjected to extreme cruelty’, as defined in 

22 section 408(a)(7)(C)(iii). 

23 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AND AMENDING

24 STATE PLANS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) STANDARD STATE PLAN FORMAT.—The 

2 Secretary shall, after notice and public comment, de3 velop a proposed Standard State Plan Form to be 

4 used by States under subsection (a). Such form shall 

5 be finalized by the Secretary for use by the State 

6 not later than February 1, 2003.

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR COMPLETED PLAN

8 USING STANDARD STATE PLAN FORMAT BY FISCAL

9 YEAR 2004.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 law, each State shall submit a complete State plan, 

11 using the Standard State Plan Form developed 

12 under paragraph (1), not later than October 1, 

13 2003. 

14 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Prior to 

15 submitting a State plan to the Secretary under this 

16 section, the State shall—

17 ‘‘(A) make the proposed State plan avail18 able to the public through an appropriate State 

19 maintained Internet web site and through other 

20 means as the State determines appropriate; 

21 ‘‘(B) allow for a reasonable public com22 ment period of not less than 45 days; and 

23 ‘‘(C) make comments received concerning 

24 such plan or, at the discretion of the State, a 

25 summary of the comments received available to 
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1 the public through such web site and through 

2 other means as the State determines appro3 priate. 

4 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF STATE PLAN.—

5 A State shall ensure that the State plan, that is in 

6 effect for any fiscal year, is available to the public 

7 through an appropriate State maintained Internet 

8 web site and through other means as the State de9 termines appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(5) AMENDING THE STATE PLAN.—A State 

11 shall file an amendment to the State plan with the 

12 Secretary if the State determines that there has 

13 been a material change in any information required 

14 to be included in the State plan or any other infor15 mation the State has included in the plan, including 

16 substantial changes in the use of funding. Prior to 

17 submitting an amendment to the State plan to the 

18 Secretary, the State shall—

19 ‘‘(A) make the proposed amendment avail20 able to the public as provided for in paragraph 

21 (3)(A); 

22 ‘‘(B) allow for a reasonable public com23 ment period of not less than 45 days; and 

24 ‘‘(C) make the comments available as pro25 vided for in paragraph (3)(C).’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

2 408(a)(5)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 608(a)(5)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘referred to in 

4 section 402(a)(4)’’. 

5 SEC. 3. MONITORING OF FEDERAL AND STATE EFFORTS; 

6 ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES. 

7 (a) GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 

8 411(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 611(a)) is 

9 amended—

10 (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para11 graph (9); and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6), the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(7) SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD.—The re15 port required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter 

16 shall include a description of the self-sufficiency 

17 standard identified for families in accordance with 

18 section 402(a)(4)(A)(ii). 

19 ‘‘(8) INFORMATION REGARDING CIVIL

20 RIGHTS.—As part of the information collected and 

21 reported under paragraph (1), the State shall in22 clude information on the number of complaints filed 

23 by applicants for or recipients of assistance under 

24 the State program under this part that allege civil 

25 rights or employment law violations and the status 
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1 of such complaints, including the number of com2 plaints pending at the time the report is prepared. 

3 Such information shall be delineated by alleged vio4 lation, the number of resolutions during the report5 ing period in favor of and against the complainants, 

6 and the average length of time to process com7 plaints.’’.

8 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 

9 411(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 611(b)) is 

10 amended—

11 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

12 end; 

13 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

14 inserting ; and’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(5) the status of civil rights complaints filed 

17 under this part with the Office of Civil Rights of the 

18 Department of Health and Human Services by ap19 plicants for or recipients of assistance under a State 

20 program, including the number of complaints pend21 ing at the time the report is prepared delineated by 

22 alleged violation, the number of resolutions during 

23 the reporting period in favor of and against the com24 plainants, and the average length of time to process 

25 complaints.’’. 
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1 (c) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL ECONO2 MIES; ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

3 LEADING TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY.—Section 411 of the So4 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 611) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(c) ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES TO

7 IDENTIFY HIGHER ENTRY LEVEL WAGE OPPORTUNITIES

8 IN INDUSTRIES EXPERIENCING LABOR SHORTAGES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State annually 

10 shall conduct an assessment of its regional econo11 mies to identify higher entry level wage opportunities 

12 in industries experiencing labor market shortages. 

13 ‘‘(2) MATTERS TO BE ASSESSED.—

14 ‘‘(A) LABOR MARKET.—The assessment 

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(i) identify industries or occupations 

17 that have or expect to grow, that have or 

18 expect a loss of skilled workers, or that 

19 have a need for workers; 

20 ‘‘(ii) identify the entry-level education 

21 and skills requirements for the industries 

22 or occupations that have or expect a need 

23 for workers; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) analyze the entry-level wages 

2 and benefits in identified industries or oc3 cupations. 

4 ‘‘(B) JOB SEEKERS.—The assessment shall 

5 create a profile in each regional economy in the 

6 State, of the characteristics of the unemployed 

7 and underemployed residents of such regional 

8 economy, including educational attainment, bar9 riers to employment, geographic concentrations, 

10 self-sufficiency needs, and availability and utili11 zation of need support services. 

12 ‘‘(C) EDUCATION AND TRAINING INFRA13 STRUCTURE.—The assessment shall create a 

14 profile, in each regional economy in the State of 

15 the education, training, and support services in 

16 place in such regional economy to prepare work17 ers for the industries or occupations identified 

18 pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(D) ALIGNING INDUSTRIES AND JOB

20 SEEKERS.—The assessment shall compare the 

21 characteristics of the industries or occupations 

22 identified pursuant to subparagraph (A) to the 

23 profile of the job seekers in the State and the 

24 profile of the education and training infrastruc25 ture in the State. 
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1 ‘‘(3) SHARING OF INFORMATION WITH LOCAL2 ITIES.—The State shall share with all counties, mu3 nicipalities, local workforce investment boards estab4 lished under section 117 of the Workforce Invest5 ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2832), and other ap6 propriate political subdivisions of the State, informa7 tion obtained pursuant to this subsection regarding 

8 higher entry-wage job opportunities in industries ex9 periencing labor shortages, and information regard10 ing opportunities for collaboration with institutions 

11 of higher education, community-based organizations, 

12 and economic development and welfare agencies. 

13 ‘‘(4) REPORTS OF ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL

14 ECONOMIES.—Each eligible state shall submit to the 

15 Secretary annually a report that contains the annual 

16 assessment conducted pursuant to this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

18 LEADING TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY.—A State to which a 

19 grant is made under section 403(a) for a fiscal year shall 

20 submit to the Secretary a report that describes, with re21 spect to the preceding fiscal year—

22 ‘‘(1) a description of the ways in which the 

23 State program funded under this part, and support 

24 services provided by the State to recipients of assist25 ance under that program, moved families toward 
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1 self-sufficiency, and that highlights the programs 

2 and services that appeared to have a particularly 

3 positive effect on families achieving self-sufficiency; 

4 ‘‘(2) the total family income for families that 

5 left the State program funded under this part (in6 cluding earnings, unemployment compensation, and 

7 child support); and 

8 ‘‘(3) the benefits received by families that have 

9 left the State program funded under this part (in10 cluding benefits under the food stamp program 

11 under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, the medicaid 

12 program under title XIX, the State children’s health 

13 insurance program under title XXI, earned income 

14 tax credits, and housing assistance).’’. 

15 (d) RESEARCH, EVALUATIONS, AND NATIONAL

16 STUDIES.—Section 413(h) of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 613(h)) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN ASSESSING RE20 GIONAL ECONOMIES.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

22 provide technical assistance to an eligible State 

23 to enable the State to conduct the assessments 

24 required by section 411(c). 
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF

2 APPROPRIATIONS.—For the cost of providing 

3 technical assistance under subparagraph (A), 

4 there are authorized to be appropriated to the 

5 Secretary not more than $1,500,000 for each 

6 fiscal year in which amounts are appropriated 

7 to carry out the State programs funded under 

8 this part.’’.

9 SEC. 4. PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH FAIR 

10 TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. 

11 Section 409(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(C) INCREASE IN APPLICABLE PERCENT15 AGE FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH FAIR

16 TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The applicable 

17 percent under subparagraph (B)(ii) with respect 

18 to a State shall be increased by 5 percentage 

19 points for any year in which the Secretary de20 termines that the State has failed to comply 

21 with the State plan requirements of clause 

22 (i)(V) or (vi) of section 402(a)(1)(A).’’. 

23 SEC. 5. WAIVERS. 

24 (a) CONTINUATION OF PREWELFARE REFORM WAIV25 ERS.—Section 415 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
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1 615) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(e) CONTINUATION OF WAIVERS APPROVED OR

4 SUBMITTED BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT OF WELFARE

5 REFORM.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), with respect 

6 to any State that is operating under a waiver described 

7 in that subsection which would otherwise expire on a date 

8 that occurs during the period that begins on October 1, 

9 2002, and ends on September 30, 2007, the State may 

10 elect to continue to operate under that waiver, on the same 

11 terms and conditions as applied to the waiver on the day 

12 before such date, through September 30, 2007.’’. 

13 (b) APPROVAL OF WAIVERS TO DUPLICATE INNOVA14 TIVE PROGRAMS.—Section 415 of the Social Security Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 615), as amended by subsection (a), is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENT TO APPROVE WAIVERS TO DU18 PLICATE INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, if a State submits an application 

21 for a waiver of 1 or more requirements of this part 

22 that contains terms that are similar or identical to 

23 the terms of a waiver eligible to be continued under 

24 subsection (e), and the application satisfies the re25 quirements of paragraph (2), the Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(A) shall approve the application for a pe2 riod of at least 2 years, but not more than 4 

3 years, unless the Secretary determines that ap4 proval would be inconsistent with the purposes 

5 of this part set forth in section 401; 

6 ‘‘(B) at the end of the waiver period, shall 

7 review documentation of the effectiveness of the 

8 waiver provided by the State; and 

9 ‘‘(C) if such documentation adequately 

10 demonstrates that the program as implemented 

11 under the waiver has been effective, may renew 

12 the waiver for such period as the Secretary de13 termines appropriate, but not later than Sep14 tember 30, 2007. 

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An appli16 cation for a waiver described in paragraph (1) 

17 shall—

18 ‘‘(A) describe relevant State caseload char19 acteristics and labor market conditions; 

20 ‘‘(B) specify how the waiver is likely to re21 sult in improved employment outcomes, im22 proved child well-being, or both; 

23 ‘‘(C) describe the State’s proposed ap24 proach for evaluation of the program under the 

25 waiver; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) include an agreement to conduct an 

2 independent evaluation of the waiver and to 

3 submit the results of the evaluation to the Sec4 retary.’’. 

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 415(b)(1) 

6 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 615(b)(1)) is amend7 ed by inserting ‘‘, extended under subsection (e), or ap8 proved under subsection (f)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’. 

9 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this 

11 Act shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2002. 

12 (b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE13 QUIRED.—In the case of a State plan under section 402 

14 of the Social Security Act which the Secretary of Health 

15 and Human Services determines requires State legislation 

16 (other than legislation appropriating funds) in order for 

17 the plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by 

18 the amendments made by this Act, the State plan shall 

19 not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements 

20 of such section 402 solely on the basis of the failure of 

21 the plan to meet such additional requirements before the 

22 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the 

23 close of the 1st regular session of the State legislature that 

24 begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. For 

25 purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a State 
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1 that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such ses2 sion shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of 

3 the State legislature.

Æ