(a)

(1) Beginning July 1, 1998, the Department of Workforce Services shall not provide financial assistance to a family that includes an adult recipient who has received financial assistance for more than twenty-four (24) months, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(2) The number of months need not be consecutive and shall include the time a recipient receives financial assistance from another state.

(3) The Department of Workforce Services may by regulation establish other limitations on the receipt of financial assistance not inconsistent with state or federal law.

(b)

(1) The Department of Workforce Services shall certify to the Governor, the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor when the support services necessary for program recipients to obtain employment or participate in allowable work activities are available.

(2) The Department of Workforce Services may certify subsets of program recipients, including without limitation recipients in a certain geographical area or employment opportunity district or program recipients with a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma approved by the Department of Career Education.

(3) Prior to implementing the twenty-four-month cumulative limit on financial assistance, the Department of Workforce Services shall notify program recipients by direct mail or contact and by other means reasonably calculated to reach to current and potential program recipients, including, but not limited to, the posting of notices in county offices.

(c) The Department of Workforce Services shall exempt or temporarily defer within thirty (30) calendar days the following persons from the twenty-four-month cumulative limit on financial assistance:

(1) An individual, as determined by a Department of Workforce Services case manager, who cooperated and participated in activities, but was unable to obtain employment because of circumstances or barriers beyond his or her control;

(2) Child-only cases;

(3) An individual unable to obtain employment because of the lack of support services necessary to overcome barriers to employment;

(4) A parent or caregiver over sixty (60) years of age;

(5) A parent or caregiver who is caring for a disabled child relative or disabled adult relative, based upon criteria set forth in Department of Workforce Services regulations;

(6) A disabled parent or caregiver, based upon criteria set forth in Department of Workforce Services regulations;

(7) A parent less than eighteen (18) years old who resides in the home of a parent or in an approved adult-supervised setting and who participates in full-time education or training;

(8) An individual, who as determined by a Department of Workforce Services case manager, is unable to obtain employment due directly to the effects of domestic violence. All case manager determinations made under this subdivision (c)(8) shall be reviewed by a supervisor within five (5) days of the determination;

(9) Other individuals as determined by the Department of Workforce Services, including, but not limited to, a child when necessary to protect the child from the risk of neglect, as defined by § 12-18-103(14); and

(10) Individuals participating in education and training activities who have reached the end of their twenty-four-month cumulative limit on financial assistance, have complied with all transitional employment assistance regulations, are making satisfactory academic progress as determined by the academic institution or training program in which the individual is currently enrolled, and are expected to complete the requirements for the education or training program within a reasonable period of time as defined in regulations issued by the Department of Workforce Services.

(d)

(1) No months shall be counted toward a person's twenty-four-month cumulative limit on financial assistance while he or she is receiving a deferral or exemption.

(2) There shall be no limit on the length or the number of deferrals or exemptions granted each person as long as the person meets any of the criteria outlined in subdivisions (c)(1)-(10) of this section.

(3) The Department of Workforce Services shall periodically review each case to determine whether the person still meets any of the criteria outlined in subdivisions (c)(1)-(10) of this section.

(4)

(A) The Department of Workforce Services shall carry out an enhanced review of all cases six (6) months before the expiration of the time limit.

(B) The review shall assess the barriers that remain to the adult or adults in the case obtaining employment, what enhanced services can be provided to enable him or her to obtain employment, and whether the case should be given a six-month extension or be exempted from the time limit.

(C) The Department of Workforce Services shall make every reasonable effort to deliver the available services identified in subdivision (d)(4)(B) of this section.

(D) The Department of Workforce Services shall grant an extension at the time for review if the client meets one (1) of the grounds for extension.

(E) The Department of Workforce Services shall carry out a further review at the end of the extension period.

(e)

(1) A recipient who was eligible for Medicaid and loses his or her financial assistance due to earnings and whose income remains below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of the federal poverty level shall remain eligible for transitional Medicaid without reapplication during the immediately succeeding twelve-month period if private medical insurance is unavailable from the employer.

(2) A recipient who loses his or her financial assistance due to earnings and who is employed shall be eligible for:

(A) Child care assistance at no cost and without reapplication for a cumulative period of twelve (12) months; and

(B) Twenty-four (24) additional months of child care assistance provided on a sliding fee scale or other cost-sharing arrangement as determined by the Department of Workforce Services.

(3) The Department of Workforce Services may reduce the period of transitional child care to a total of twenty-four (24) months for recipients who lose assistance at a specified date after the Department of Workforce Services' decision to limit the assistance if the Department of Workforce Services certifies to the Governor and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State that the reduction is necessary to avoid overspending the biennial budget for child care.

(4) The transitional child care assistance available to former recipients shall not exceed the cumulative number of months provided under subdivisions (e)(2) and (3) of this section, regardless of whether the former recipient reenters the Transitional Employment Assistance Program.

(f)

(1) The Department of Workforce Services shall deny Medicaid, child care, and transportation assistance during the twelve-month period for any month in which the recipient's family does not include a dependent child.

(2) The Department of Workforce Services shall notify the recipient of transitional Medicaid, child care, and transportation assistance when the recipient is notified of the termination of cash assistance. The notice shall include a description of the circumstances in which the transitional Medicaid and child care assistance may be terminated.

(g)

(1) In order to assist current and former program recipients in continuing training and upgrading skills, transitional education or training may be provided to a recipient for up to one (1) year after the recipient is no longer eligible to participate in the program due to employment earnings.

(2) Education or training resources available in the community at no additional cost to the Department of Workforce Services shall be used whenever possible.

(3) Transitional education or training shall be employment-related and may include education or training to improve a recipient's job skills in the recipient's existing area of employment or may include education or training to prepare a recipient for employment in another occupation.

(4) The Department of Workforce Services may enter into an agreement with an employer to share the costs relating to upgrading the skills of recipients hired by the employer.

(h) Other extended support services may be available to recipients no longer eligible for financial assistance under transitional employment assistance.

(i)

(1) By August 1, 2001, the Department of Workforce Services shall develop a plan, subject to review and recommendation by the Arkansas Workforce Development Board, to monitor and protect the safety and well-being of the children within a family whose temporary assistance is terminated for any reason other than the family's successful transition to economic self-sufficiency.

(2)

(A) Actions required by the plan shall include at least one (1) home visit with the parents and children.

(B) Every reasonable effort shall be made to make contact with all families, including visits during evenings and on weekends.

(C) The first home visit shall occur within six (6) months after the termination of cash assistance.

(D) The purposes of the home visits shall include checking on the well-being of children in those families and determining whether the families need available services.

(3) The Department of Workforce Services may contract with other state agencies, private companies, local government agencies, or community organizations for the conducting of these visits.

(4) The board shall submit a report to the Governor and the chairs of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor that report on the outcomes of the home visits and provide separate information for families who left transitional assistance due to noncompliance and time limits.

(j) As part of the home visits, families shall be informed about the availability of Medicaid and ARKids First, food stamps, child care, housing assistance, any other supportive services offered by the Department of Workforce Services or the Department of Health designed to help meet the basic needs and well-being of children, federal and state earned income tax credits, individual development accounts, employment counseling services, and education and training opportunities designed to increase the future earnings and employment prospects of clients.