239B.8 Family investment agreements.

The department shall establish a policy regarding the implementation of family investment agreements which limits the period of eligibility for the family investment program based upon the requirements of a family’s plan for self-sufficiency. The policy shall require a family’s plan to be specified in a family investment agreement between the family and the department. The department shall adopt rules to administer the policy. The components of the policy shall include but are not limited to all of the following:

1. Participation — exemptions. A parent living in a home with a child for whom an application for family investment program assistance has been made or for whom the assistance is provided, and all other individual members of the family whose needs are included in the assistance shall be subject to a family investment agreement unless exempt under rules adopted by the department or unless any of the following conditions exists:

a. The individual is less than sixteen years of age and is not a parent.

b. The individual is sixteen through eighteen years of age, is not a parent, and is attending elementary or secondary school, or the equivalent level of vocational or technical education program, on a full-time basis. If an individual loses exempt status under this paragraph and the individual has signed a family investment agreement, the individual shall remain subject to the terms of the agreement until the terms are completed.

c. The individual is not a United States citizen and is not a qualified alien as defined in 8 U.S.C. §1641.

2. Agreement options. A family investment agreement shall require an individual who is subject to the agreement to engage in one or more work or training options. An individual’s level of engagement in one or more of the work or training options shall be equivalent to the level of commitment required for full-time employment or shall be significant so as to move the individual’s level of engagement toward that level. The department shall adopt rules defining option requirements and establishing assistance provisions for child care, transportation, and other support services. A leave from engagement in work or training options shall be offered to a participant parent to address the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the participant parent for adoption or foster care. If such a leave is requested by the parent the combined duration of the leave shall not exceed the minimum leave duration, as outlined in the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, §102(a) and (b)(1), as codified in 29 U.S.C. §2612(a) and (b)(1). The terms of the leave shall be incorporated into the family investment agreement. The work or training options shall include but are not limited to all of the following:

a. Employment. Full-time or part-time employment.

b. Employment search. Active job search.

c. JOBS. Participation in the JOBS program.

d. Education. Participation in other education or training programming.

e. Family development. Participation in a family development and self-sufficiency grant program under section 216A.107 or other family development program.

f. Work experience. Work experience placement.

g. Community service. Unpaid community service.

h. Parenting skills. Participation in an arrangement which would strengthen the individual’s ability to be a better parent, including but not limited to participation in a parenting education program.

i. Family or domestic violence. Participation in a safety plan to address or prevent family or domestic violence. The safety plan may include a temporary waiver period from required participation in the JOBS program or other employment-related activities, as appropriate for the situation of the applicant or participant. All applicants and participants shall be informed regarding the existence of this option. Participation in this option shall be subject to review in accordance with administrative rule.

j. Incremental family investment agreements. If an individual participant or the entire family has an acknowledged barrier, the plan for self-sufficiency may be specified in one or more incremental family investment agreements.

3. Limited benefit plan. If a participant fails to comply with the provisions of the participant’s family investment agreement during the period of the agreement, the limited benefit plan provisions of section 239B.9 shall apply.

4. Completion of agreement.

a. Upon the completion of the terms of the agreement, family investment program assistance to a participant family covered by the agreement shall cease or be reduced in accordance with rules.

b. However, if the period in which a participant family is without cash assistance is one month or less and the participant family has not become exempt from JOBS program participation at the time the participant family reapplies for cash assistance, the participant family’s family investment agreement shall be reinstated at the time the participant family reapplies. The reinstated agreement may be revised to accommodate changed circumstances present at the time of reapplication.

c. The department shall adopt rules to administer this subsection and to determine when a family is eligible to reenter the family investment program.

5. Contracts. The department may contract with the department of workforce development, economic development authority, or any other entity to provide services relating to a family investment agreement.

6. Confidential information disclosure. If approved by the director of human services or the director’s designee pursuant to a written request, the department shall disclose confidential information described in section 217.30, subsection 1, to other state agencies or to any other entity which is not subject to the provisions of chapter 17A and is providing services to a participant family who is subject to a family investment agreement, if necessary in order for the participant family to receive the services. The department shall adopt rules establishing standards for disclosure of confidential information if disclosure is necessary in order for a participant to receive services.

97 Acts, ch 41, §9, 34; 98 Acts, ch 1218, §52; 99 Acts, ch 192, §33; 2000 Acts, ch 1088, §3; 2001 Acts, ch 128, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 191, §41; 2004 Acts, ch 1043, §2, 3; 2005 Acts, ch 121, §10; 2007 Acts, ch 124, §5; 2008 Acts, ch 1072, §4, 5; 2011 Acts, ch 118, §85, 89; 2016 Acts, ch 1108, §23

Referred to in §239B.1, 239B.2, 239B.9, 239B.18