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IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART V: PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND SANCTIONS
CHAPTER 1: WORK REQUIREMENTS
This chapter applies only to TANF and FS. It details federal and District regulations for work and work-related activities that applicants/recipients must meet to be eligible for TANF and FS programs. This chapter also describes the consequences of an applicant/recipient voluntarily quitting a job without good cause.
Applicants/recipients who do not meet the work requirements will be sanctioned. Individuals who voluntarily quit a job without good cause are sanctioned differently from those who fail to comply with work activity requirements.
District and/or federal TANF and FS rules place work-related requirements on applicants/recipients. In addition, federal TANF law mandates that the Department meet specified work participation rates. That is, federal law mandates that a certain proportion of adult TANF recipients participate in certain work activities.
Where appropriate, this chapter provides information on applicant, recipient, and Department requirements within each section. Under both TANF and FS, applicants/recipients may be exempted from work and work-related activities or may establish that they have a good cause reason for failing to participate. Individuals who are exempt are not required to participate in work activities, and, thus, are not subject to work-related sanctions. Individuals who fail to participate with good cause are not sanctioned for failing to comply with work requirements.
In TANF, the head of household who is non-exempt is subject to work requirements. In a TANF two-parent household, both parents are subject to work requirements if neither qualifies for an exemption.
In FS, all adults in the household who are non-exempt are subject to work activity requirements.
A Preliminary Assessment for TANF Applicants must be completed along with the Combined Application (CA). The purpose of the Preliminary Assessment is to assist IMA staff in determining whether the individual should be exempt from work activities, recommended for the Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibility (POWER) or mandated to participate in TANF work activities.
| Work Requirements |
D.C. Code 4-205.19, 4-250.50, 4-
250.65; 29 DCMR
5804 - 5809, 5811, 5813
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45 CFR 261, Subparts A, B, C
FS: 7 USC 2015(d); 7 CFR 273.7 |
| Sanctions |
D.C. Code 4-205.19f;
29 DCMR 5810, 5811, 5812 |
TANF: 45 CFR 261.13-16; 261.56
FS: 7 USC 2015(d); 7 CFR 273.7 |
| TANF |
Applicant Requirements
All non-exempt applicants who are single-parent heads of household or parents in a two-parent household will be required to participate in work activities as a condition of eligibility (see Section 1.6: Exemptions from Work Requirements in this Chapter).
TANF applicants awaiting eligibility approval are referred by the SSR to a Job Club operated by the Office of Work Opportunity (OWO), unless they are exempt from work requirements or have reported medical problems that may indicate eligibility for POWER . The Job Club is a six-week job readiness program that offers intensive and interactive instructional experiences and activities related to employment. The OWO will report if the applicant is not participating in the Job Club.
Recipient Requirements
Non-exempt TANF recipients must participate in work activities. Most non-exempt TANF recipients will fulfill their work requirement by participating in work programs operated by private entities referred to as "vendors." These vendors have the contractual responsibility for assisting recipients to prepare for, find, and retain unsubsidized employment.
Each TANF recipient who is referred to a vendor to participate in countable work activities shall be required by the vendor to sign an Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP) which sets forth both recipient and Department/vendor responsibilities for assisting the recipient in attaining unsubsidized employment. Some TANF recipients will be assigned or permitted to participate in alternate work-related activities including:
- the Paving Access to Higher Security (PATHS) program run by the University of the District of Columbia (UDC),
- the Project Empowerment program run by the Department of Employment Services (DOES)
- self-initiated training activities,
- post-secondary education with scholarships funded by the Department Tuition Assistance Program in TANF (TAPIT program), and
- adult basic education programs funded in whole or part through the Department.
Department Requirements
The Department has certain obligations for carrying out the work activity portion of the TANF program. They include:
- providing oversight of vendors who hold contracts with the District to assist recipients prepare for, find, and retain employment;
- determining who is required to participate in activities;
- referring customers to work programs;
- making final determinations about when sanctions should be applied for failure to comply with work activities;
- providing notice of case actions; and
- performing fair hearings and administrative review
In addition, the Department has the obligation to meet the following federally-mandated work participation standards. Each state and the District must meet two separate work participation rates. One is the overall rate based on the number of adults participating in work activities, and the other is the two-parent rate based on the number of adults in two-parent families who participate in work activities. Following are the mandated work participation rates:
- Work Participation Rates for All Families:
- FY 2000 - 40%
- FY 2001 - 45%
- FY 2002 and beyond - 50%
- Work Participation Rates for Two-Parent Families:
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| FS |
Applicant Requirements
Each applicant household member who is not exempt will register for FSET at the time of application and every 12 months after initial registration as a condition of eligibility (see Section 1.6: Exemptions from Work Requirements in this Chapter). The registration form can be completed by someone other than the recipient. Applicants who report a condition that indicates they are exempt such as medical unfitness, but fail to verify, when required, their exempt status, must register for FSET.
Strikers who are applying for assistance and whose households are eligible will be subject to work registration unless exempt on the day of application (see Chapter 11: Strikers in Part IV).
Recipient Requirements
Non-exempt recipients must work register annually. At each 12-month recertification, the SSR must determine which group members are required to participate in FSET and which are exempt.
Recipients who are not exempt must register for FSET which can include job search, work experience, and programs to improve employability of household members (see Section 1.6: Exemptions from Work Requirements in this Chapter for a full listing of exemptions).
To comply with FSET work registration requirements, recipients must commit to the following activities:
- respond to requests from the employment and training component for information regarding employment status or availability for work;
- participate in work activities upon notification to do so by the Department;
- report to an employer, to whom they are referred, if the potential employment is at a wage equal to or greater than the applicable minimum wage; and
- accept a bona fide offer of suitable employment at a wage equal to or greater than the applicable minimum wage
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