Texas Register, Volume 23, Number 15, Pages 3631-3764, April 10, 1998 Page: 3,701
3631-3764 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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811.2, 811.11-811.20, 811.31-811.34, 811.41-811.45, 811.61-
811.65, 811.81-811.87 and 811.101, concerning the Choices
rules. Sections 811.2, 811.13, 811.18-811.20, 811.42, 811.44,
811.45, 811.62, 811.87 and 811.101 are adopted with changes
to the proposed text as published in the January 2, 1998, issue
of the Texas Register (23 TexReg 101).
Rules of the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) re-
lating to employment services include the following: require-
ments of applicants and recipients of temporary cash assis-
tance to attend workforce orientation sessions and to partici-
pate in employment services; the exemptions from participation
requirements; determination of good cause for failure to partic-
ipate; and financial penalties applied to benefits resulting from
noncompliance. The Commission, where applicable, cross-
references those rules for the purposes of continuity or clar-
ity. Although these rules govern services available through the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant
funds, participants are eligible for and receive services funded
through other resources, including the Job Training Partner-
ship Act (JTPA), Wagner-Peyser Employment Services, and the
Adult Education Act, as amended by the National Literacy Act.
Local workforce development boards have the jurisdiction and
the authority to develop local policy, to determine service
delivery practices and procedures, to set the services and
activities available in each local workforce development area,
and to choose the locations where services are available and
delivered consistent with federal and state regulations, rules,
and policies.
Eligibility requirements for receipt of temporary cash assistance
benefits under the jurisdiction of the DHS include the require-
ment to work or participate in the state's employment services
program which replaces the JOBS Program. Failure of an ap-
plicant or a recipient of temporary cash assistance to fulfill this
requirement results in denial of the application or a financial
penalty (sanction) placed on the cash assistance grant for each
month of noncompliance. The current financial penalty for fail-
ure to participate in employment services is a maximum of $78
per month for one parent. In two-parent households, if both
parents do not comply, the penalty is a maximum of $125 per
month.
Some commenters were for the rules and others had con-
cerns and questions about the rules as proposed and sug-
gested changes. Comments were received from the following:
a Texas Senator's office, a Texas Representative, West Central
Texas Workforce Development Board, Tarrant County Workforce
Development Board, Texas Council on Family Violence, North
Central Texas Council of Governments, Houston Welfare Rights
Organization, Texas Legal Services Center, and an individual
representing herself. Following each comment is the Commis-
sion's response.
Comments regarding 811.2 Definitions are as follows.
Comment: A commenter requests a change in the definition
of employability plan. The commenter suggests that the
employability plan is a contractual agreement and should be
signed by both the participant and the Choices staff member to
be valid.
Response: The Commission agrees that both parties to the
agreement should sign the employability plan. The definition
in the proposed version did not intend to imply that only the
participant would sign the agreement. Rather its intentionwas to clarify that, because the agreement is used to base
compliance decisions, it is necessary for the participant to sign.
To avoid confusion, however, the definition of employability plan
has been revised. The second sentence of that definition now
reads, "The plan, signed by the participant and the Choices
staff member, is the participation agreement for compliance
purposes."
Comment: A commenter requests a clarification in the definition
of good cause determination to not exclude exempt clients.
Exempt clients may be granted good cause. The commenter
asserts that if an exempt client fails to participate and the good
cause reason continues, the case should be closed.
Response: The definitions in this section provide context for the
use of terms in other sections of Chapter 811. The Commission
acknowledges that good cause may be determined for exempt
participants, but it does not have the same outcome as good
cause determinations for nonexempt participants. The term
good cause is used in other sections to indicate exceptions for
initiating sanctions. Again, to avoid misinterpretations, we will
delete the word "nonexempt" from the definition of good cause.
Comments regarding 811.11 Eligibility are as follows.
Comment: A commenter suggests that the language in subsec-
tion (a) should be modified to add the words "able-bodied" or
"non-disabled" preceding "applicants and recipients." The com-
menter asserts the reason for this change would be that in-
capacity of an adult is a qualifying factor for temporary cash
assistance under DHS rules at 40 TAC 3.1701. Cash assis-
tance recipients can have $3,000 in countable resources, while
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients can have only
$2,000 in countable resources.
Response: The Commission's intent in this rule is not to specify
who is or is not eligible for temporary cash assistance, but to
state the eligibility criteria for receipt of Choices services. As
the commenter pointed out, the DHS is the rulemaking authority
for TANF eligibility requirements, and their rules are found in
40 TAC Chapter 3. Therefore, as currently worded, 40 TAC
811.11 appropriately states the eligibility for Choices. Although
clients may be exempt from, or have good cause for, not working
or participating in employment services due to disability or
incapacity, they remain eligible for Choices services. Program
staff may outreach or offer services to assist such clients in
obtaining employment and self-sufficiency.
Comments regarding 811.12 Participation Requirements are
as follows.
Comment: A commenter states that subsection (a) of this
section specifies that DHS will determine who is mandated to
participate in the Choices Program. The commenter points out
that current DHS policy states that teens 16 years of age or
older who have dropped out of high school and who are in an
active TANF case are mandated to participate in the program.
The commenter is concerned about the way participation is
counted at the federal level. The commenter asserts that the
employment services activity of a mandatory teen may not be
counted in the participation rate formula. The commenter asks
if there will be rules that mandate Choices Program staff to
outreach, assess, and counsel these teens.
Response: The Commission does not plan to specify in rules
any requirements as to the level of outreach or services avail-
able for mandatory teens who are part of another assistance
unit. This is a decision best left to local programs and is im-ADOPTED RULES April 10, 1998 23 TexReg 3701
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 23, Number 15, Pages 3631-3764, April 10, 1998, periodical, April 10, 1998; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113834/m1/71/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.