I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4210
To reauthorize and improve the program of block grants to States for
temporary assistance for needy families.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 11, 2002
Mrs. ROUKEMA (for herself and Mr. TIERNEY) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To reauthorize and improve the program of block grants
to States for temporary assistance for needy families.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Working From Poverty
to Promise Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—POVERTY REDUCTION
Sec. 101. Modification of a purpose of the program.
Sec. 102. States required to include poverty reduction plan in annual State
plan.
Sec. 103. States required to identify barriers to employment of recipients and
develop and revise self-sufficiency plans.
TITLE II—ACHIEVING LONG TERM SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Subtitle A—Education and Training
Sec. 201. Elimination of limitation on participation in education and training
activities.
Sec. 202. Limited participation in vocational or educational training (including
postsecondary education), work-study, and related internships
as allowable work activities.
Subtitle B—Encouraging States to Meet the Needs of Employers and
Workers
Sec. 251. State plan required to include certification that the State will assess
its regional economies and provide information to local political
subdivisions.
Sec. 252. Assessment of State economies to identify higher-entry level wage op-
portunities in industries experiencing labor shortages.
Sec. 253. Economic opportunity and accountability bonus.
TITLE III—TIME LIMITS
Sec. 301. Effect of wage subsidies on 5-year limit.
Sec. 302. Improving hardship exception to 5-year limit on assistance.
Sec. 303. Requirement that States have case management plan for hardship cli-
ents with multiple barriers to employment.
TITLE IV—FUNDING
Sec. 401. Inflation adjustment of family assistance grants.
Sec. 402. Inflation adjustment of maintenance of effort requirement.
TITLE V—WAIVERS
Sec. 501. Continuation of waivers.
TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE
Sec. 601. Effective date.
TITLE I—POVERTY REDUCTION
SEC. 101. MODIFICATION OF A PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM.
Section 401(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) provide assistance to needy families to re-
duce the extent and severity of poverty in families
with children;’’.
SEC. 102. STATES REQUIRED TO INCLUDE POVERTY RE-
DUCTION PLAN IN ANNUAL STATE PLAN.
Section 402(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(vii) Establish goals and take action
to reduce the extent and severity of pov-
erty experienced by families seeking assist-
ance.’’.
SEC. 103. STATES REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY BARRIERS TO
EMPLOYMENT OF RECIPIENTS AND DEVELOP
AND REVISE SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(b) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(b)) is amended—
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘IN-
DIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY’’ and inserting ‘‘SELF-
SUFFICIENCY’’;
(2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(including
any barriers to employment)’’ after ‘‘employability’’;
(3) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) in the matter preceding clause
(i)—
(I) by striking ‘‘may’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘shall’’; and
(II) by striking ‘‘individual re-
sponsibility’’ and inserting ‘‘self-suffi-
ciency’’;
(ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘imme-
diately’’; and
(iii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘self-
sufficient’’ before ‘‘and remain employed’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(or, at
the option of the State, 180 days)’’; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘30 days
(or, at the option of the State, 90 days)’’
and inserting ‘‘60 days’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(C) REVISION
OF
PLAN.—The State
agency shall reassess the matters described in
paragraph (1) with respect to an individual who
has signed a self-sufficiency plan developed pur-
suant to this subsection and, in consultation
with the individual, shall develop a revised self-
sufficiency plan for the individual, if—
‘‘(i) the individual has good cause for
failing to comply with the plan; or
‘‘(ii) the State agency otherwise deter-
mines that the plan is not appropriate for
the individual.’’;
(4) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting
‘‘shall’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘individual responsibility’’
and inserting ‘‘self-sufficiency’’; and
(5) by striking paragraph (4).
(b) PENALTY FOR FAILURE OF STATE TO ASSESS
EMPLOYABILITY OR BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT, OR DE-
VELOP SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLAN.—Section 409(a) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(13) FAILURE TO ASSESS EMPLOYABILITY OR
BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT, OR DEVELOP SELF-SUF-
FICIENCY PLAN.—If the Secretary determines that a
State has not complied with paragraph (1) or (2) of
section 408(b) during a fiscal year, the Secretary
shall reduce the grant payable to the State under
section 403(a)(1) for the immediately succeeding fis-
cal year by an amount equal to not more than 5 per-
cent of the State family assistance grant.’’.
TITLE II—ACHIEVING LONG
TERM SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Subtitle A—Education and
Training
SEC. 201. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION
IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES.
Section 407(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph
(D).
SEC. 202. LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN VOCATIONAL OR
EDUCATIONAL TRAINING (INCLUDING POST-
SECONDARY EDUCATION), WORK-STUDY, AND
RELATED 
INTERNSHIPS 
AS 
ALLOWABLE
WORK ACTIVITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 407(d) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 607(d)(8)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through
(12) as paragraphs (11) through (14), respectively;
and
(2) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(8) participation in vocational training or edu-
cational training (including postsecondary edu-
cation), at an eligible educational institution (as de-
fined in section 404(h)(5)(A)) leading to attainment
of a credential from the institution;
‘‘(9) participation in a State or Federal work-
study program under part C of title IV of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 or an internship related
to vocational or postsecondary education, supervised
by an eligible educational institution (as defined in
section 404(h)(5)(A));
‘‘(10) occupational training leading to employ-
ment;’’.
(b) LIMITATIONS.—Section 407(c)(2) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(D) LENGTH OF TIME FOR WHICH PAR-
TICIPATION IN VOCATIONAL OR EDUCATIONAL
TRAINING
(INCLUDING
POSTSECONDARY
EDU-
CATION)
COUNTS
AS
WORK.—Notwithstanding
paragraph (1) of this subsection, an individual
who has been determined under a State pro-
gram funded under this part to be engaged in
work for 24 months by virtue of participation in
1 or more activities described in subsection
(d)(8) shall not be considered to be engaged in
work by virtue of participation in any such
activity—
‘‘(i) for more than 16 hours per week
during any subsequent period of 24
months (whether or not consecutive) in
which the individual is participating in vo-
cational training or educational training
(including postsecondary education) at an
eligible educational institution (as defined
in section 404(h)(5)(A)) leading to attain-
ment of a credential from the institution;
or
‘‘(ii) for any period thereafter.’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 407(c)(1)
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(1)) is amended in each of
subparagraphs (A), (B)(i), and (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘or
(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘(9), (10), or (14)’’.
Subtitle B—Encouraging States to
Meet the Needs of Employers
and Workers
SEC. 251. STATE PLAN REQUIRED TO INCLUDE CERTIFI-
CATION THAT THE STATE WILL ASSESS ITS
REGIONAL ECONOMIES AND PROVIDE INFOR-
MATION TO LOCAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.
Section 402(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
602(a)) is amended by redesignating paragraph (7) as
paragraph (8) and inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(7) CERTIFICATION THAT THE STATE WILL
ASSESS
ITS
ECONOMY
AND
SHARE
THE
RESULTS
WITH ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—A certification
by the chief executive officer of the State that, dur-
ing the fiscal year, the State will provide for the con-
duct of an assessment of the economy of the State
in accordance with section 411(b)(1), and share the
results of the assessment with the governments of
the political subdivisions of the State.’’.
SEC. 252. ASSESSMENT OF STATE ECONOMIES TO IDENTIFY
HIGHER-ENTRY LEVEL WAGE OPPORTUNI-
TIES IN INDUSTRIES EXPERIENCING LABOR
SHORTAGES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411 of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 611) is amended by redesignating sub-
section (b) as subsection (c) and inserting after subsection
(a) the following:
‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF STATE ECONOMIES TO IDEN-
TIFY HIGHER-ENTRY LEVEL WAGE OPPORTUNITIES IN
INDUSTRIES EXPERIENCING LABOR SHORTAGES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this subsection and every
2 years thereafter, each eligible State shall provide
for the conduct of an assessment (directly or
through the collection of information obtained by
other sources) of the economy of the State, which
is designed to identify any area in the State in which
there is an industry that is experiencing a labor
shortage and that offers entry-level employment op-
portunities paying wages at a rate greater than the
minimum wage rate in effect under section 6 of the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which shall in-
clude the following:
‘‘(A) LABOR
MARKET.—The assessment
shall—
‘‘(i) identify any industry or occupa-
tion that is growing or that expects
growth, has lost or expects to lose skilled
workers, or that has or expects to have a
shortage of workers;
‘‘(ii) identify the entry-level education
and skills requirements for any such indus-
try or occupation; and
‘‘(iii) analyze the entry-level wages
and benefits provided in any such industry
or occupation.
‘‘(B) PROFILE OF JOB SEEKERS.—The as-
sessment shall create a profile of the character-
istics of the unemployed and underemployed
residents of the State, including educational at-
tainment, barriers to employment, geographic
concentrations, and access to needed support
services.
‘‘(C) EDUCATION
AND
TRAINING
INFRA-
STRUCTURE.—The assessment shall create a
profile of the education, training, and support
services in place in the State to prepare individ-
uals for employment in any industry or occupa-
tion identified under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(D) ALIGNING
INDUSTRIES
AND
JOB
SEEKER
NEEDS.—The assessment shall com-
pare the characteristics of each industry or oc-
cupation identified under subparagraph (A)
with the profiles created under subparagraphs
(B) and (C).
‘‘(2) SHARING OF INFORMATION WITH LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS.—The State shall share with the gov-
ernments of the political subdivisions of the State
any information gleaned by an assessment conducted
pursuant to this subsection regarding—
‘‘(A) the existence of any industry de-
scribed in paragraph (1); or
‘‘(B) opportunities for collaboration with
institutions of higher education, community-
based organizations, and economic development
and welfare agencies.
‘‘(3) REPORTS OF ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL
ECONOMIES.—An eligible State shall submit to the
Secretary a written report that contains the results
of any assessment conducted under paragraph (1).’’.
(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 413 of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 613) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(k) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
IN ASSESSING RE-
GIONAL ECONOMIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide
technical assistance for the purpose of assisting
States in complying with section 411(b).
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP-
PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out paragraph (1), there
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
not more than $1,500,000 for each fiscal year.’’.
SEC. 253. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
BONUS.
Section 403(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
603(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: