MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Public Health and Welfare; Appropriations

By: Representative Taylor

House Bill 190

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SHALL CONDUCT A TWO-YEAR WELFARE REFORM PILOT PROGRAM IN WAYNE COUNTY IN WHICH A LIMITED NUMBER OF RECIPIENTS OF TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) BENEFITS MAY VOLUNTEER TO ASSIST HOME HEALTH PERSONNEL IN PROVIDING IN-HOME SERVICES TO PERSONS WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NEED NURSING HOME CARE IN THE ABSENCE OF RECEIVING SUCH HOME HEALTH SERVICES; TO PROVIDE THAT PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WILL BE PAID THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE IN LIEU OF RECEIVING THEIR REGULAR TANF BENEFITS; TO PROVIDE FOR TRAINING OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS; TO PROVIDE FOR A PENALTY FOR ANY PROGRAM PARTICIPANT WHO WITHDRAWS FROM THE PROGRAM WITHOUT A VALID REASON AND WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; TO AMEND SECTION 43-17-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) The State Department of Human Services shall conduct a welfare reform pilot program in Wayne County in accordance with this section. The department shall amend the state Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) plan to conform to this section in order to permit the implementation of the pilot program.

(2) The pilot program shall provide that current or future recipients of TANF benefits in Wayne County may volunteer to assist home health service personnel in providing in-home services to persons who otherwise would need nursing home care in the absence of receiving such home health services. The program shall be limited to a maximum of twenty-five (25) persons at any one time, and shall be conducted for a period of two (2) years. In lieu of receiving their regular TANF benefits, participants in the program shall be paid for their services a wage equal to the federal minimum wage, which shall be paid from funds in the Medicaid program. Participants shall be given a course of training in providing assistance in home health services, which training shall be in accordance with guidelines approved by the Division of Medicaid. Such training guidelines shall permit the training to be conducted by nurses on a volunteer basis. Participants shall be supervised by personnel of the county department of human services in Wayne County. Any participant who withdraws from the pilot program without a valid reason and without the permission of the Department of Human Services shall not be eligible to receive TANF payments for a period of ninety (90) days after withdrawal from the program.

(3) The Division of Medicaid shall request a waiver from the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services to allow Medicaid funds to be used to pay the wages of participants in the pilot program. This section shall not be implemented unless the federal waiver is granted.

SECTION 2. Section 43-17-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-17-1. (1) The State of Mississippi hereby accepts all of the mandatory provisions and benefits, with the exception of those provisions under which the state may exercise its options, of Title I of an act passed by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, entitled: "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193)," and known as the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

(2) The Department of Human Services shall have all necessary authority to cooperate with the federal government in the administration of Public Law 104-193 and all subsequent federal amendments thereto, to administer any legislation pursuant thereto enacted by the State of Mississippi, and to administer the funds provided by the federal government and the State of Mississippi under the provisions of Section 43-17-1 et seq., for providing temporary assistance for needy families with minor children. The Department of Human Services shall have full authority to formulate state plans consistent with state law as necessary to administer and operate federal grant funds which provide temporary assistance for needy families with minor children under Title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act. The Department of Human Services shall identify in any state plan submitted to implement the TANF program those requirements or restrictions, including persons excluded from program participation which are required under federal law, and those program requirements or restrictions which the federal law authorizes but does not require.

(3) Any funds received by the State of Mississippi under the provisions of Public Law 104-193 shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature and consistent with the terms and conditions required under such appropriation.

(4) The purpose of the Mississippi Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program shall be to:

(a) Provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives when such care is beneficial and may be monitored on a random basis by the Department of Human Services or the State Department of Health;

(b) End the dependence of needy families on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage through, among other things, job placement, job training and job retention;

(c) Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies;

(d) Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families; and

(e) Prevent program fraud and abuse.

(5) The Department of Human Services shall develop outcome and output indicators for each program established under the authority of this section. These measures shall provide legislators and administrators with information which measures the success or failure of the department in implementing the programs implemented under the authority of this section. The department shall annually report to the Legislature the outputs and outcomes of these programs, with the first report due by December 15, 1997. Such reports shall include recommendations for making programs more effective or efficient which can be effected in accordance with federal law.

(6) Assistance may be granted under this chapter to any dependent child and a caretaker relative who are living in a suitable family home meeting the standards of care and health and work requirements fixed by the laws of this state, and the rules and regulations of the State Department of Human Services. The eligibility of any person who participates in the program authorized under Section 1 of this act shall be determined under the standards of that section and any applicable federal waivers.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.