Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 607 - ASPIRE-TANF PROGRAM RULES › Section 144-607-1 - DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
Summary:
This section describes organizational
				  units, programs, acronyms and significant terms pertaining to the ASPIRE-TANF
				  program.
DEFINITIONS
Organizational units, programs, and their acronyms, and other
				  significant terms pertaining to ASPIRE-TANF are defined below:
Alternative Education
- An educational program
				  that embraces subject matter or teaching methodology that is not generally
				  offered to students of the same age or grade level in traditional school
				  settings.
ASPIRE-Plus
- ASPIRE-Plus is an On-the-Job
				  training program that provides an employer subsidy for up to 26 weeks,
				  depending on the length of training time needed, of up to 50% of the hourly
				  wage paid by the employer.
ASPIRE-TANF
- "ASPIRE-TANF" stands for -
				  Additional Support for People in Retraining and Employment - Temporary
				  Assistance for Needy Families. ASPIRE is the welfare employment and training
				  program created by the Governor and the Maine Legislature in July 1988, to
				  provide case management, education, training, support and employment services
				  to help TANF recipients to find or create jobs in the local labor
				  market.
ASPIRE-TANF Unit
- A unit within the Department
				  of Health and Human Services, Office for Family Independence, or an agent or
				  contractor thereof, which provides ASPIRE-TANF services to TANF participants.
				  These services include but are not limited to Assessment, prevocational
				  activities, support services, Good Cause determination, case management and
				  employment services.
Assessment
- An individualized process designed
				  to integrate the array of ASPIRE-TANF services with the educational and
				  vocational needs, interests and abilities of each participant.
Basic Literacy Level
- The capability to read
				  and write at a level equivalent to an 8.9 grade level as demonstrated either by
				  an educational achievement test; maintaining a grade point average of at least
				  2.0 at a post-secondary institution; or having passed the reading portion of a
				  high school equivalency test.
Case Management
- The process of identifying the
				  needs of the participant and the participant's family, coordinating services
				  appropriate to meet those needs, and monitoring the participant's progress
				  through ASPIRE-TANF so the participant can gain the skills and support to
				  obtain employment.
Child care, affordable*
- Affordable child care
				  arrangements are those for which the participant incurs no cost or is
				  reimbursed by another program such as ASPIRE or through a deduction for child
				  care from income by the TANF program or by any combination of these
				  methods.
Child care, appropriate*
- Appropriate child
				  care is affordable child care furnished by a child care provider, of the
				  participant's choice, who has passed background checks as required by
				  22
				  M.R.S. §§8301-A and
				  8302-A
				  0.
* these definitions apply only to single parents with a child
				  under age 6
Child care, reasonable distance*
- Reasonable
				  distance means that the ASPIRE participant is required to commute no more than
				  15 additional miles between home and work activity in order to transport the
				  child to the child care provider.
Child care, unsuitability of informal care*
-
				  Unsuitable child care is that provided by an individual who cannot pass a
				  required background check or is unaffordable or would require the ASPIRE
				  participant to travel an unreasonable distance.
Component
- Education, training and employment
				  activities approved by ASPIRE-TANF including: pre-training; educational
				  activities through post-secondary level; job skills training; job readiness
				  activities; group and individual job search; on-the-job training; and community
				  work experience.
Department of Health and Human Services (Department or
				  DHHS)
- The agency authorized by Federal statutes to administer the
				  ASPIRE-TANF program and other programs within the Office for Family
				  Independence.
Education
- Activities including
				  remedial-education, high school or equivalency, and post-secondary certificate
				  programs designed to prepare the participant for employment.
Exempt from the Time Limit
- A TANF recipient
				  who has a month or months that do not count against his or her 60-month time
				  limit.
Exempt from Work Participation
- A TANF
				  recipient who is not required to participate in ASPIRE-TANF in accordance with
				  Federal or State regulations.
Extension
- A one to six-month time period
				  during which TANF benefits may be received, based on hardship or receipt of the
				  Step Earnings Disregard, approved by the Department. This allows a household to
				  receive benefits past its 60-month time limit, when the recipient is complying
				  with program rules and meets all other TANF eligibility requirements.
Fair Hearing (also known as an Administrative
				  Hearing)
- A hearing conducted before a Department of Health and Human
				  Services hearings officer in which a participant has an opportunity to dispute
				  a decision made by the Department. The hearings officer's decision is binding
				  on all parties involved in the particular case.
Family Contract
A form signed by a
				  representative of the Department and each TANF caretaker relative that states
				  the responsibilities of the parties to the agreement, including but not limited
				  to cooperation in child support enforcement and determination of paternity, and
				  the requirements of program participation. The contract may also include
				  referral to parenting activities and health care services where the need for
				  such services has been established.
Family Contract Amendment
- The binding
				  agreement ASPIRE participants enter into with the Department, ASPIRE Unit,
				  pursuant to
				  22
				  M.R.S.A.§3788(4-A). In
				  these agreements, specific action steps are listed that both the Department and
				  the participant agree to perform. ASPIRE support services to be provided are
				  listed in the FCA.
Federal Department of Health and Human Services,
				  Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance
				  (HHS/ACF/OFA)
- The federal agency that administers and regulates the
				  TANF Program and other programs of the Department of Health and Human Services,
				  Office for Family Independence, and provides block grant funds for these
				  programs.
* these definitions apply only to single parents with a child
				  under age 6
Field Training
- A non-wage, time limited,
				  training placement with a public, private non-profit or profit employer which
				  enables the participant to explore a preliminary career decision, gain
				  experience in the work world and/or improve specific job skills.
Fraud, Investigation and Recovery Unit
(FIRU) -
				  the unit in the department responsible for investigating allegations of misuse,
				  fraud, and over-payments. The unit also is responsible for seeking repayment
				  when appropriate or referring the matter to the Attorney General's office for
				  prosecution.
Gainful Employment
- Activities that a person
				  can perform which are intended to provide an income and which are a source of
				  consistent revenue for the worker, such as a steady job.
Good Caus.
- Acceptable reasons, as determined
				  by the Department of Health and Human Services, for a participant's failing or
				  refusing to participate in ASPIRE-TANF or in a particular ASPIRE-TANF
				  component.
Intentional Program Violation
- (IPV) means that
				  an individual has purposely misused "cash benefits" and/or misrepresented
				  actual circumstances in order to receive benefits, and the individual would not
				  have been eligible had the proper information been available at the time of
				  application, redetermination of eligibility, or within ten days of the change
				  in circumstances. An IPV will result in a referral to the Fraud, Investigation
				  and Recovery Unit (FIRU) for further review and recovery.
Job Club
- A structured and supervised job
				  search group which assists participants in their efforts to obtain and retain
				  employment.
Job Development/Placement
- Specific actions by
				  ASPIRE-TANF or a service provider in identifying subsidized and unsubsidized
				  jobs, marketing participants based on their career goals for those jobs and
				  securing job interviews for participants.
Job Readiness
- Pre-training activities focusing
				  on life management skills, work maturity skills, work place expectations and
				  work behavior and attitudes necessary to succeed in the labor market.
Job Search
- Counseling and pre-employment
				  training on job-seeking skills either individually or in groups. The group "Job
				  Club" is the preferred job search activity.
Job Skills Training
- Vocational training
				  focusing on the required skills, knowledge and abilities of a specific
				  occupation or business.
MaineServer
A community service program designed
				  to provide parents who are eligible for TANF opportunities to serve their
				  communities and the State in a manner that assists them in developing and
				  renewing their skills in ways that may lead to employment that is sufficient to
				  sustain their families.
Matriculation
- For the Parents as Scholars
				  Program, matriculation is defined as acceptance and enrollment into any
				  two-year or four-year academic program in an institution of post-secondary
				  education.
Net Loss of Cash income
- Net loss of cash
				  income results if the family's gross income, less necessary work-related
				  expenses, is less than the TANF benefit and any other cash assistance the
				  participant was receiving at the time the offer of employment is made.
Non-Compliance
- Failure of a mandatory ASPIRE
				  recipient to sign or abide by the terms of the Family Contract Amendment
				  without Good Cause, which will result in termination of benefits to the
				  individual for the lesser of ninety (90) days or until the failure to comply
				  ceases.
Office for Family Independence (OFI)
- The
				  organizational unit with the Department of Health and Human Services which
				  administers the ASPIRE-TANF program. OFI also administers the following
				  services: TANF, Food Supplement Benefits (SNAP), General Assistance, MaineCare,
				  Support Enforcement and Recovery, and Emergency Assistance.
On-the-Job Training (OJT)
- A means by which a
				  participant is hired and trained in a specific occupation by a private or
				  public employer who receives a partial reimbursement of wages paid for
				  providing skills and training necessary to perform the job (See ASPIRE-Plus).
Order of Reference
A document in which the
				  Department's Commissioner gives specific instructions to the Office of
				  Administrative Hearings regarding: the issues to be addressed at hearing and
				  the handling of a hearing request. This may include, but is not limited to, an
				  instruction that the Hearing Office issue recommended findings and a
				  recommended decision with the authority to make the final findings and decision
				  reserved to the Commissioner.
Parents as Scholars Program (PaS)
- A student
				  aid program based on need for up to 2000 participants, to aid needy students
				  who have dependent children and who are matriculating in post-secondary
				  undergraduate 2-year and 4-year degree-granting education programs.
Participant
- A TANF recipient who is involved
				  in ASPIRE-TANF activities.
Period of Enrollment
The time frame from the
				  opening of activity with the ASPIRE-TANF program, until participation with
				  ASPIRE-TANF is ended.
Pre-Training
- Activities designed to prepare
				  the participant for occupational skills training, post-secondary education and
				  employment. Such activities include secondary education programs, job readiness
				  activities, employment counseling, field training, self-employment evaluation,
				  and referral to services to improve life-management skills.
Sanctions
- Actions taken by the Department of
				  Health and Human Services as a result of a participant's failing or refusing to
				  participate in ASPIRE-TANF without Good Cause. These actions generally cause a
				  reduction in TANF and Food Supplement benefits for a specified time period for
				  participants who are not exempt, and a loss of services for a specified time
				  for voluntary participants.
Satisfactory Progress
- The requirement that a
				  participant meet standards of performance imposed by an educational or training
				  institution and by ASPIRE-TANF while participating in an education or training
				  activity.
Step Disregard
- A disregard of earned income as
				  detailed in the Maine Public Assistance Manual, 10-144 CMR 331, Chapter IV,
				  Step Disregard.
Support Services
- Services such as child care,
				  transportation, eye and dental care, which enable the participant to complete
				  the Family Contract Amendment and take employment.
TANF Earnings Disregard Extension
- An extension
				  granted to a household for each month in which they receive TANF/PaS and a Step
				  disregard of either 100% or 75% (see Maine Public Assistance Manual, 10-144 CMR
				  331, Chapter IV, Step Disregard). This extension type is only available for
				  families that have reached 60 months on or after October 1, 2019.
TANF Recipient
- An individual whose family's
				  financial needs are met in part with TANF payments in accordance with the Maine
				  Public Assistance Manual. (September 1, 2020) 1-5 Policy #26A
TANF Single Parent Family
- A TANF family which
				  receives benefits under the program authorized in the Federal Social Security
				  Act, as amended by the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
				  Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996
, and the
Deficit Reduction
				  Act (DRA) of 2005
, whose children are deprived of parental support or
				  care by reasons other than the underemployment of the parent who is the
				  principal wage earner, or the incapacity of a parent.
TANF Two Parent Family
- A TANF family which
				  receives benefits under the program authorized in the Federal Social Security
				  Act, as amended by the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
				  Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996
, and the
Deficit Reduction
				  Act (DRA) of 2005
, whose children are deprived of parental support or
				  care either by reason of the underemployment of the parent who is the principal
				  wage earner, or by reason of incapacity of a parent
.
Time Limit
- The limit of 60 months during which
				  a family may receive TANF assistance in the absence of the family qualifying
				  for a time limit exemption or extension.
Training and Work Site Agreement
- An agreement
				  which is included as part of the Family Contract Amendment and which stipulates
				  specific performance requirements for a participant enrolled in education,
				  training and/or work experience.
Transitional Employment for Maine Parents (TEMP)
- a volunteer work experience position.
Up-front Job Search
- Newly-granted TANF
				  recipients who are considered job-ready, and who are eligible for TANF based on
				  unemployment of the primary wage earner or single parent recipients whose
				  children are 5 years of age or older, may participate in individual or group
				  job search activities during the work evaluation phase of involvement with
				  ASPIRE-TANF.
Voluntary Participant
- A TANF recipient who is
				  not required to participate, by Federal or State regulations but chooses to
				  enroll in ASPIRE-TANF.
Work Activities
- Work activities are those
				  activities that are allowable under PRWORA (Sec. 407, (d)), and are listed in
				  this manual in Section
				  3 (IV)(A)(3) and (IV)(B)(2).
Work Eligible Individual (WEI)
- An adult, or a
				  minor child, who is a head of household, receiving assistance under TANF or a
				  separate State program, who is not otherwise exempted from meeting a work
				  requirement.
Work Evaluation
- Consists of all activities
				  related to Assessment, employability plan development and initial amendment to
				  the Family Contract Amendment. Work evaluation is limited to a maximum of 90
				  days, unless extended by the Commissioner (or the designee of the
				  Commissioner).
Work Experience
- This is a generic term used to
				  describe a variety of experiential activities (such as TEMP, On-the-Job
				  Training, Community Service, etc.) that lead to, or include, employment.
Work Readiness Activities
- These activities
				  include job shadowing, job coaching, mentoring, situational assessment, and any
				  other activity that will encourage obtaining or retaining employment.