i.
Any month of receipt of assistance by an individual who is not the head-of-household or married to the head-of-household.ii.
Any month of receipt of assistance by an adult while living in Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) or a Native Alaskan Village where at least 50 percent of the adults were not employed.iii.
Any month for which an individual receives only noncash assistance. If a state does not comply with the federal 60-month lifetime limit requirements, 45 CFR 264.2 provides that the State Family Assistance Grant (SFAG) will be reduced by 5 percent in the succeeding fiscal year. A state may avoid the penalty by demonstrating reasonable cause or correcting the violation under a corrective compliance plan. 45 CFR 264.3 (b) provides that a state may receive reasonable cause for failing to comply with the five-year limit on Federal assistance because it granted federally recognized good cause domestic violence waivers, within the meaning of 45 CFR 260.52 (c) and 45 CFR 260.55. Comparison to Rules in Adjacent States
Illinois
Participation in Illinois’ TANF program is limited to a cumulative total of 60 months in a lifetime. The criteria for an exception to the 60-month lifetime limit on the receipt of TANF cash benefits, include any of the following:
The client has an application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) pending and the Department determines the client is probably eligible for SSI.
The client has a medical barrier that prevents the client from obtaining or retaining employment of at least 30 hours per week.
The client is in an approved education and training program that will be completed in 6 months or less after the client's 60th month.
The client is in an intensive service program to help overcome a barrier to work and the client's involvement in the program precludes the ability to obtain or retain employment of at least 30 hours per week.
The client has a severely disabled child approved for a waiver under the Home & Community Based Care Program.
The client is the only adult in the assistance unit and is the primary caregiver for a child under age 18, or is the primary caregiver for his or her spouse and the demands of caregiving do not allow the caregiver to obtain or retain employment.Iowa
Participation in Iowa’s TANF program is limited to a cumulative total of 60 months in a lifetime. A family may receive TANF-funded assistance beyond the 60-month lifetime limit if the family qualifies for a hardship exemption. Iowa defines “Hardship” as a circumstance that prevents the family from being self-supporting, including any of the following:
Domestic violence. “Domestic violence” means that the family includes someone who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty.
Lack of suitable childcare.
Chronic or recurring medical conditions or mental health issues, or an accident or disease, when verified by a professional. The applicant or recipient must follow a treatment plan to address the condition or issue.
Housing situations that make it difficult or impossible to work.
Substance abuse issues. A family requesting a hardship exemption due to substance abuse shall be required to obtain clinical assessment and follow an intensive treatment plan.
Having a child whose circumstances require the parent to be in the home.
Other circumstances which prevent the family from being self-supporting.There is no limit to the number of extensions that may be approved.
Michigan
Participation in Michigan’s TANF program is limited to a cumulative total of 48 months in a lifetime. Michigan does not allow individuals to extend participation beyond the state lifetime benefit limit.
Minnesota
Participation in Minnesota’s TANF program is limited to a cumulative total of 60 months in a lifetime. The criteria for an extension to the 60-month lifetime limit on the receipt of TANF cash benefits, include any of the following:
Participants who are employed and are participating in work activities at least 30 hours per week or 55 hours per week for a two-parent family.
Participants who have verification from their health care provider that the number of hours they may work is limited due to illness or disability may qualify for a hardship extension as long as they work at least the number of hours specified by the health care provider.
Participants who are hard to employ, including all of the following:o
Persons who have conditions that limit their ability to obtain and retain employment, including developmental disability, mental illness, learning disability, and IQ below 80.o
Persons who are otherwise unemployable. o
Persons who have family violence waiver.
Participants with an illness, injury, or incapacity that is expected to last more than 30 days that severely limits the participant’s ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment. Also, participants who are needed to care for a person in their family who meets this criteria.Analysis Used to Determine Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of Economic Impact Analysis
The impact of the proposed rule is limited to agencies administering the Wisconsin works program and families and individuals participating in the Wisconsin works program. No current Wisconsin works agency is a small business as defined s. 227.114 (1), Stats. The primary impact of the proposed rule is on applicants to, and participants in, the Wisconsin works program who are eligible to receive benefits and services. All reporting and compliance requirements apply only to agencies administering these programs and participants in these programs.
Effect on Small Business
The proposed rule does not affect small businesses under s. 227.114 (1), Stats. Agency Contact Person
Margaret McMahon, Director, Bureau of Working Families, Division of Family and Economic Security, Department of Children and Families, (608) 422-6273, margaret.mcmahon@wisconsin.gov.
SECTION 1. DCF 101.09 (2) (n) is repealed and recreated to read:
DCF 101.09 (2) (n) The individual, or any other adult member of the individual’s Wisconsin works group, has not exceeded the lifetime limit on program participation or receipt of benefits under s. DCF 101.095. SECTION 2. DCF 101.095 is created to read:
DCF 101.095 Lifetime limit on program participation or receipt of benefits. (1) Lifetime limit of 48 months. Beginning on the date on which an individual has attained the age of 18, the total number of months in which the individual, or any other adult member of the Wisconsin works group, has participated in or received benefits under, any combination of the following may not exceed 48 months, whether or not consecutive, except as otherwise provided in this section:
(a) The JOBS program under s. 49.193, 1997 Stats., on or after October 1, 1996. (b) A Wisconsin works employment position.
(c) Any TANF-funded program in this state or any other state, if the individual received benefits attributable to funds provided by the federal government while in that program.
Note: Sections 49.148 (1m) (c), Stats., and DCF 101.18 specify the criteria for determining whether receipt of a custodial parent of an infant grant in a month is considered participation in a Wisconsin works employment position for that month. (2) Adult Wisconsin works group members. Except as provided in sub. (4), if an individual was an adult member of a Wisconsin works group during a month in which any member of the Wisconsin works group participated in a W-2 employment position, the W-2 agency shall include that month in the calculation of the total number of months of the individual’s participation or receipt of benefits for purposes of this section.
(3) Months included. A W-2 agency shall include a month in which a JOBS program participant or W-2 participant received a reduced monthly AFDC or W-2 benefit or no monthly AFDC or W-2 benefit due to a sanction under the JOBS program or s. DCF 101.18 (1) (b) or (c) or 101.21 in the calculation of the total number of months of the individual’s participation or receipt of benefits for purposes of this section. (4) Months excluded. When calculating the the total number of months of an individual’s participation or receipt of benefits for purposes of this section, a W-2 agency shall exclude, to the extent permitted under federal law, any month in which the individual was living on a federally recognized American Indian reservation, in an Alaskan Native village, or in Indian country, as defined in 18 USC 1151, occupied by an Indian tribe, if during that month, all of the following applied: (a) At least 1,000 individuals were living on the reservation or in the village or Indian country.
(b) At least 50 percent of the adults living on the reservation or in the village or Indian country were unemployed.
(5) Criteria for extension of the 48-month lifetime limit. A W-2 agency may, subject to subs. (6) and (7), extend the 48-month lifetime limit under sub. (1) if the agency determines that the individual meets the conditions in par. (a) or (b) as follows:
(a) Hardship. The individual is experiencing hardship due to any of the following:
1. The individual is unable to work due to a personal disability or incapacitation.
2. The individual needs to remain at home to care for a member of the individual’s Wisconsin works group whose incapacity is so severe that without in-home care provided by the individual the health and well-being of the Wisconsin works group member would be significantly affected.
3. The individual has significant limitations to employment such as any of the following:
a. Low achievement ability, learning disability, or emotional problems of such severity that they prevent the individual from obtaining or retaining unsubsidized employment but are not sufficient to meet the criteria for eligibility for supplemental security income under 42 USC 1383c or social security disability insurance under 42 USC 401 to 433. b. Family problems of such severity that they prevent the individual from obtaining or retaining unsubsidized employment.
4. The individual has made all appropriate efforts to find work and is unable to find employment because local labor market conditions preclude a reasonable job opportunity. In this subdivision, “reasonable job opportunity” means a job that pays at least minimum wage and conforms to all applicable federal and state laws. The W-2 agency shall document at least one of the following:
a. The inability of W-2 participants with similar skills, or engaged in job searches in similar geographic and occupational areas, to find unsubsidized jobs.
b. The unavailability of jobs in labor market sectors that match the individual’s skills, as supported by specific examples of layoffs in these labor market sectors or by labor market data published by the department of workforce development or the United States department of labor.
c. The unavailability of jobs in the labor market within a reasonable distance and travel time of the individual’s home, as supported by specific examples of layoffs in this labor market or by labor market data published by the department of workforce development or the United States bureau of labor statistics.
5. The individual is unable to work to due to current participation in a substance abuse treatment program certified to provide treatment for substance abuse under ss. DHS 75.10 to 75.15 or psychosocial rehabilitation services as approved by the department. (b) Battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. The individual’s Wisconsin works group includes a member who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty based on the fact that the member has been subjected to any of the following:
1. Physical acts that resulted in, or threatened to result in, physical injury to the individual.
2. Sexual abuse.
3. Sexual activity involving a dependent child.
4. Being forced as the caretaker relative of a dependent child to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts or activities.
5. Threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual abuse.
6. Mental abuse.
7. Neglect or deprivation of medical care.
