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2018 SB 270: An Act Concerning Work And Community Service Requirements For Recipients Of Certain Public Assistance Programs.
Bill Text
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) In accordance with the provisions of section 17b-8 of the general statutes, the Commissioner of Social Services shall apply for a Medicaid waiver, pursuant to Section 1115 of the Social Security Act, for the purpose of requiring able-bodied, adult recipients of Medicaid benefits to work or engage in community service. For purposes of this section, (1) "work" means employment or job training approved by the commissioner of not less than twenty hours per week, and (2) "community service" means uncompensated labor of not less than twenty hours per week for a nonprofit community service provider approved by the commissioner.
(b) The waiver application shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions requiring: (1) Suspension of Medicaid benefits to any nonexempt, able-bodied adult who does not provide verification of meeting the work and community service requirements for two consecutive months; (2) resumption of such benefits on the first day of the month after the suspended Medicaid recipient verifies proof of compliance with the work and community service requirements; (3) exemptions from work and community service requirements for a Medicaid recipient who is (A) under the age of eighteen, (B) over the age of sixty-four, (C) a person with disabilities, as defined in section 17b-608 of the general statutes, (D) a pregnant woman, (E) the sole caretaker of a dependent child or person with disabilities, or (F) a student enrolled full-time in either a secondary school or a postsecondary school; and (4) an extension for not more than nine months of benefits to any noncompliant Medicaid recipient who (A) lives in a community where the unemployment rate is not less than twenty per cent above the national average, and (B) demonstrates an inability to find, or to afford transportation to, work or community service in his or her community or a surrounding community. A Medicaid recipient may verify an inability to find, or to afford transportation to, work or community service by providing (i) evidence of work or community service applications, (ii) the date and time of work or community service interviews, (iii) contact information for persons who conducted job interviews, (iv) the cost of transportation to work and community service opportunities, and (v) proof of income.
(c) Not later than December 31, 2018, the commissioner shall report on the status of the waiver application, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services. If the application is approved in accordance with the provisions of section 17b-8 of the general statutes, the commissioner shall report to the committee at least annually on: (1) The number of Medicaid recipients working or participating in community service, (2) any increase in work or community service participation by Medicaid recipients, (3) any decrease in Medicaid enrollment as a result of higher incomes related to the requirements, and (4) recommendations for improving work and community service opportunities for Medicaid recipients.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Social Services, in consultation with the Labor Commissioner, shall develop an integrated work and community service opportunity system within available appropriations that includes, but is not limited to: (1) A data bank of work and community service opportunities, (2) support services, including, but not limited to, job counseling and educational and transportation assistance, and (3) a compliance monitoring platform that requires, not less than monthly, verification by a Medicaid recipient that such recipient is fulfilling work and community service requirements.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 17b-105a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall seek a waiver from federal law to allow persons who live in an area in which (1) the unemployment rate is greater than ten per cent, or (2) there is an insufficient number of jobs to provide such persons with employment, not apply for or implement any federal waiver allowing an able-bodied adult recipient not otherwise exempted under federal law to be exempt from the three-month participation limit of the supplemental nutrition assistance program implemented pursuant to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
To require work and community service by able-bodied, adult recipients of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.