216A.107 Family development and self-sufficiency — council and grant program.

1. A family development and self-sufficiency council is established within the department of human rights. The council shall consist of the following persons:

a. The director of the department of human services or the director’s designee.

b. The director of the department of public health or the director’s designee.

c. The administrator of the division of community action agencies of the department of human rights or the administrator’s designee.

d. The director of the school of social work at the university of Iowa or the director’s designee.

e. The dean of the college of human sciences at Iowa state university or the dean’s designee.

f. Two recipients or former recipients of the family investment program, selected by the other members of the council.

g. One recipient or former recipient of the family investment program who is a member of a racial or ethnic minority, selected by the other members of the council.

h. One member representing providers of services to victims of domestic violence, selected by the other members of the council.

i. The head of the department of design, textiles, gerontology, and family studies at the university of northern Iowa or that person’s designee.

j. The director of the department of education or the director’s designee.

k. The director of the department of workforce development or the director’s designee.

l. Two persons representing the business community, selected by the other members of the council.

m. Two members from each chamber of the general assembly serving as ex officio, nonvoting members. The two members of the senate shall be appointed one each by the majority leader and the minority leader of the senate. The two members of the house of representatives shall be appointed one each by the speaker and the minority leader of the house of representatives.

2. Unless otherwise provided by law, terms of members, election of officers, and other procedural matters shall be as determined by the council. A quorum shall be required for the conduct of business of the council, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the currently appointed voting members is necessary for any substantive action taken by the council. A member shall not vote on any action if the member has a conflict of interest on the matter, and a statement by the member of a conflict of interest shall be conclusive for this purpose.

3. The family development and self-sufficiency council shall do all of the following:

a. Identify the factors and conditions that place Iowa families at risk of dependency upon the family investment program. The council shall seek to use relevant research findings and national and Iowa-specific data on the family investment program.

b. Identify the factors and conditions that place Iowa families at risk of family instability. The council shall seek to use relevant research findings and national and Iowa-specific data on family stability issues.

c. Subject to the availability of funds for this purpose, award grants to public or private organizations for provision of family development services to families at risk of dependency on the family investment program or of family instability. Not more than five percent of any funds appropriated by the general assembly for the purposes of this lettered paragraph may be used for staffing and administration of the grants. Grant proposals for the family development and self-sufficiency grant program shall include the following elements:

(1) Designation of families to be served that meet one or more criteria for being at risk of dependency on the family investment program or of family instability, and agreement to serve clients that are referred by the department of human services from the family investment program which meet the criteria. The criteria may include but are not limited to factors such as educational level, work history, family structure, age of the youngest child in the family, previous length of stay on the family investment program, and participation in the family investment program or the foster care program while the head of a household was a child. Grant proposals shall also establish the number of families to be served under the grant.

(2) Designation of the services to be provided for the families served, including assistance regarding job-seeking skills, family budgeting, nutrition, self-esteem, methamphetamine education, health and hygiene, child rearing, child education preparation, and goal setting. Grant proposals shall indicate the support groups and support systems to be developed for the families served during the transition between the need for assistance and self-sufficiency.

(3) Designation of the manner in which other needs of the families will be provided for, including but not limited to child care assistance, transportation, substance abuse treatment, support group counseling, food, clothing, and housing.

(4) Designation of the process for training of the staff which provides services, and the appropriateness of the training for the purposes of meeting family development and self-sufficiency goals of the families being served.

(5) Designation of the support available within the community for the program and for meeting subsequent needs of the clients, and the manner in which community resources will be made available to the families being served.

(6) Designation of the manner in which the program will be subject to audit and to evaluation.

(7) Designation of agreement provisions for tracking and reporting performance measures developed pursuant to paragraph “d”.

d. Develop appropriate performance measures for the grant program to demonstrate how the program helps families achieve self-sufficiency.

e. Seek to enlist research support from the Iowa research community in meeting the duties outlined in paragraphs “a” through “d”.

f. Seek additional support for the funding of grants under the program, including but not limited to funds available through the federal government in serving families at risk of long-term welfare dependency, and private foundation grants.

g. Make recommendations to the governor and the general assembly on the effectiveness of programs in Iowa and throughout the country that provide family development services that lead to self-sufficiency for families at risk of welfare dependency.

4. a. The division shall administer the family development and self-sufficiency grant program. The department of human services shall disclose to the division confidential information pertaining to individuals receiving services under the grant program, as authorized under section 217.30. The division and the department of human services shall share information and data necessary for tracking performance measures of the family development and self-sufficiency grant program, for referring families participating in the promoting independence and self-sufficiency through employment job opportunities and basic skills (PROMISE JOBS) program under section 239B.17 and related activities and programs to the grant program, and for meeting federal reporting requirements. The division and the department of human services may by mutual agreement, as specified in the memorandum of agreement entered into in accordance with paragraph “b”, add to or delete from the initial shared information items listed in this lettered paragraph. The initial shared information shall include but is not limited to all of the following:

(1) Family enrollments and exits to and from each of the programs.

(2) Monthly reports of individual participant activity in PROMISE JOBS components that are countable work activities according to federal guidelines applicable to those components.

(3) Aggregate grant program participant activity in all PROMISE JOBS program components.

(4) Work participation rates for grant program participants who were active family investment program participants.

(5) The average hourly wage of grant program participants who left the family investment program.

(6) The percentage of grant program participants who exited from the grant program at or after the time family investment program participation ended and did not reenroll in the family investment program for at least one year.

b. The division shall develop a memorandum of agreement with the department of human services to share outcome data and coordinate referrals and delivery of services to participants in the family investment program under chapter 239B and the grant program and other shared clients and shall provide the department of human services with information necessary for compliance with federal temporary assistance for needy families block grant state plan and reporting requirements, including but not limited to financial and data reports.

c. To the extent that the family development and self-sufficiency grant program is funded by the federal temporary assistance for needy families block grant and by the state maintenance of efforts funds appropriated in connection with the block grant, the division shall comply with all federal requirements for the block grant. The division is responsible for payment of any federal penalty imposed that is attributable to the grant program and shall receive any federal bonus payment attributable to the grant program.

d. The division shall ensure that expenditures of moneys appropriated to the department of human services from the general fund of the state for the family development and self-sufficiency grant program are eligible to be considered as state maintenance of effort expenditures under federal temporary assistance for needy families block grant requirements.

e. The commission shall consider the recommendations of the council in adopting rules pertaining to the grant program.

f. The division shall submit to the governor and general assembly on or before November 30 following the end of each state fiscal year, a report detailing performance measure and outcome data evaluating the family development and self-sufficiency grant program for the fiscal year that just ended.

2008 Acts, ch 1072, §1; 2010 Acts, ch 1031, §135, 170

Referred to in §232.69, 239B.8

Legislative appointments, see §69.16B