A. All agencies that receive funds from any state department or division must provide at least one workforce- MaineServe opportunity for an ASPIRE-TANF participant.

B. All state agencies that provide funding for child care or transportation services must require that recipients of TANF be given priority for those services.

C. All agencies that receive funds from any state agency for the treatment of drug or alcohol abuse must require that recipients of TANF be given priority for those services.

The department shall work with and shall contract with agencies to work with families in which there are multiple barriers to achieving employment and shall provide those agencies incentives for working with the families to achieve employment. For each family placed with an agency, the department shall pay a fee. For each family member placed in full-time employment, the department shall pay a premium. For each family member placed in full-time employment in a job that provides health care benefits, the department shall pay an additional bonus payment. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this subsection.

Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §3788, sub-§14, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 530, Pt. A, §26, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3789-B, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 2, §75, is repealed.

Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §3789-C, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 418, Pt. A, §36, is repealed.

SUMMARY

This bill accomplishes the following:

1. It clarifies that participants in the Parents as Scholars Program are not limited to a maximum of 24 months of education, training and treatment in the ASPIRE-TANF program;

2. It eliminates a never-used provision for contracting with agencies to eliminate multiple barriers to achieving employment;