[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3616 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3616

     To amend the Job Training Partnership Act to provide for the 
     establishment of standards to ensure long-term economic self-
  sufficiency for participants in adult training programs carried out 
     under part A of title II of that Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 1996

 Ms. Woolsey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
          Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Job Training Partnership Act to provide for the 
     establishment of standards to ensure long-term economic self-
  sufficiency for participants in adult training programs carried out 
     under part A of title II of that Act, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Self-Sufficiency Standard Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the principle objective of programs under part A of 
        title II of the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et 
        seq.) is to move economically disadvantaged adults into 
        permanent, unsubsidized employment that pays a wage that 
        enables such adults to achieve long-term economic self-
        sufficiency for themselves and their dependents;
            (2) current measures of success of such programs do not 
        accurately assess the degree to which participants achieve 
        long-term economic self-sufficiency;
            (3) in order to ensure that such programs result in long-
        term economic self-sufficiency for participants, performance 
        standards must focus both on the wage and benefits a 
        participant receives relative to the participant's family size 
        and needs, and on the duration and stability of the 
        participant's employment; and
            (4) the wage and benefits needed to achieve long-term 
        economic self-sufficiency will vary by family size and local 
        market conditions governing prices of essential goods and 
        services.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to provide for the establishment and use of local 
        economic self-sufficiency standards tables to accurately 
        measure the effectiveness of adult training programs carried 
        out under part A of title II of the Job Training Partnership 
        Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); and
            (2) to provide grants to States to develop demonstration 
        and exemplary programs to increase the number of participants 
        under such programs who are trained and placed in jobs that 
        yield long-term economic self-sufficiency using the local 
        economic self-sufficiency standards tables.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

    Section 4 of the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1503) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(41) The term `economic self-sufficiency' means the 
        ability of an individual to meet the following basic needs for 
        the individual and such individual's family:
                    ``(A) Housing.
                    ``(B) Child care.
                    ``(C) Adult dependent care.
                    ``(D) Food.
                    ``(E) Transportation.
                    ``(F) Health care.
                    ``(G) Work-related expenses.''.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR ADULT 
              TRAINING PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 106(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(9) Economic self-sufficiency standards for adult 
        programs.--
                    ``(A) Formula developed by the secretary.--(i)(I) 
                Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment 
                of this paragraph, the Secretary shall develop and 
                publish in the Federal Register a proposed formula 
                which measures the minimum amount of wages and 
                employment benefits that a participant enrolled in a 
                program under part A of title II should receive after 
                termination from such program to ensure the long-term 
                economic self-sufficiency of such participant.
                    ``(II) The Secretary shall provide for public 
                review and comment of the proposed formula described in 
                subclause (I) within the 60-day period beginning on the 
                date such formula is published in the Federal Register. 
                Not later than 4 months after the end of such 60-day 
                period, the Secretary shall develop and publish in the 
                Federal Register a final formula.
                    ``(ii) The Secretary shall base the formula 
                described in clause (i) on appropriate factors, which 
                shall include--
                            ``(I) the participant's family size and 
                        composition, including the number and age of 
                        dependent adults and children;
                            ``(II) 100 percent of the average housing 
                        costs, which shall be based on the fair market 
                        rental in effect for the market area in which 
                        the participant resides, as established by the 
                        Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
                        pursuant to section 8(c) of the United States 
                        Housing Act of 1937;
                            ``(III) 100 percent of the average child 
                        care costs (differentiated by the age of each 
                        child), which may be based on the actual cost 
                        of such care established under section 
                        402(g)(1)(C)(i)(I) the Social Security Act or 
                        the applicable local market rate established 
                        under clause (ii) of such section;
                            ``(IV) 100 percent of the average adult 
                        dependent care costs, which may be based on 
                        local surveys or the local average of such 
                        costs;
                            ``(V) 100 percent of the average health 
                        care costs, which shall include costs incurred 
                        for full family health care coverage (including 
                        premiums, deductibles, and co-payments), and 
                        which may be based on local surveys or the 
                        local average of such costs;
                            ``(VI) 100 percent of the average 
                        transportation costs, which may be based on 
                        local surveys or the local average of such 
                        costs;
                            ``(VII) 100 percent of the food costs, 
                        which shall be equal to \1/3\ of the official 
                        poverty line (as defined by the Office of 
                        Management and Budget, and revised annually in 
                        accordance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus 
                        Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 
                        9902(2)); and
                            ``(VIII) 100 percent of the average work-
                        related costs, which shall include the cost of 
                        uniforms, tools, and other appropriate work-
                        related costs.
                    ``(iii) The Secretary shall also designate, from 
                among the needs identified through the needs assessment 
                conducted under this Act, those needs which shall be 
                used by a service delivery area to develop the summary 
                needs table under section 104(b)(14)(B).
                    ``(B) Local economic self-sufficiency standards 
                tables developed by service delivery areas.--(i) Not 
                later than 12 months after the date on which the 
                Secretary publishes the final formula in the Federal 
                Register under subparagraph (A)(i)(II), each service 
                delivery area shall, in accordance with such formula, 
                develop and submit to the Governor a local economic 
                self-sufficiency standards table which measures the 
                minimum amount of wages and employment benefits that a 
                participant enrolled in a program under part A of title 
                II in such area should receive after termination from 
                such program to ensure the long-term economic self-
                sufficiency of such participant.
                    ``(ii) The Secretary shall provide technical 
                assistance to States and service delivery areas for the 
purpose of assisting such service delivery areas to develop the local 
economic self-sufficiency standards tables under clause (i).
                    ``(C) Approval and disapproval of table.--(i) Not 
                later than 30 days after the date on which the Governor 
                receives a local economic self-sufficiency standards 
                table submitted by a service delivery area under 
                subparagraph (B)(i), the Governor shall review such 
                table and approve or disapprove such table in 
                accordance with this subparagraph.
                    ``(ii) The Governor shall approve each local 
                economic self-sufficiency standards table only if--
                            ``(I) such table accounts for the full 
                        range of variations of family size and 
                        composition described in subclause (I) of 
                        subparagraph (A)(ii);
                            ``(II) such table accounts for 100 percent 
                        of each of the costs described in subclauses 
                        (II) through (VIII) of subparagraph (A)(ii);
                            ``(III) the methodology used to determine 
                        such costs accurately represent such costs; and
                            ``(IV) such table complies with all other 
                        provisions of the formula developed by the 
                        Secretary under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(iii) If the Governor determines that the table 
                does not meet the requirements of clause (ii) or is 
                otherwise incomplete or unsatisfactory, the Governor 
                shall, before the end of the period referred to in 
                clause (i)--
                            ``(I) notify the service delivery area of 
                        the reasons for the failure to approve the 
                        table;
                            ``(II) notify the service delivery area 
                        that the table may be resubmitted during the 
                        period referred to in subclause (III); and
                            ``(III) permit the service delivery area to 
                        resubmit a corrected or amended table during 
                        the 30-day period beginning on notification 
                        under this clause.
                    ``(iv) The Governor shall review and approve or 
                disapprove any table resubmitted under clause (iii) 
                beginning before the expiration of the 30-day period 
                beginning upon such resubmission.
                    ``(D) Annual updates.--Each service delivery area 
                shall update the local economic self-sufficiency 
                standards table developed by such area on an annual 
                basis and shall submit to the Governor a description of 
                the updated version of such table.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (3) of section 106(b) of such 
Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)(3)) is amended by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
inserting ``In addition to the standards under local economic self-
sufficiency standards tables developed pursuant to paragraph (9), the 
Secretary''.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF INCENTIVE GRANTS TO SERVICE DELIVERY AREAS THAT 
              DO NOT HAVE IN EFFECT AN APPROVED LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-
              SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS TABLE.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (7) of section 106(b) of such Act (29 
U.S.C. 1516(b)(7)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``From funds available'' and inserting 
        ``(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), from funds available'';
            (2) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph 
        (D) as subclauses (I) and (II), respectively;
            (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (E) of such 
        paragraph as clauses (i) through (v), respectively; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(B) A Governor shall not award incentive grants for 
        programs under part A of title II to service delivery areas 
        that do not have in effect a local economic self-sufficiency 
        standards table approved under paragraph (9)(C).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. INCLUSION OF LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS TABLE 
              AND RELATED REPORTS IN JOB TRAINING PLAN.

    (a) Local Economic Self-Sufficiency Standards Table.--Subparagraph 
(B) of section 104(b)(5) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1514(b)(5)(B)) is 
amended by inserting ``, including the local economic self-sufficiency 
standards table developed pursuant to subsection (b)(9) of such 
section'' after ``section 106''.
    (b) Annual Reports.--Subsection (b) of section 104 of such Act (29 
U.S.C. 1514(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``; and'' and inserting 
        a semi-colon;
            (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end of 
        such paragraph and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(14) procedures for the preparation and submission of an 
        annual report to the Governor, which shall include--
                    ``(A) with respect to each participant who has 
                completed training under a program carried out under 
                part A of title II in the service delivery area, 
                information relating to--
                            ``(i) the type and amount of services 
                        provided to such participant under the program;
                            ``(ii) the subsequent employment of the 
                        participant, where appropriate, including the 
                        amount of wages and employment benefits 
                        received by the participant under such 
                        employment; and
                            ``(iii) the degree of long-term economic 
                        self-sufficiency which the participant has 
                        achieved as a result of the training received 
                        by the participant under the program based upon 
                        the local economic self-sufficiency standards 
                        table; and
                    ``(B) a summary needs table which--
                            ``(i) ranks and places participants into at 
                        least 4 categories of equal size based upon the 
                        needs designated by the Secretary under section 
                        106(b)(9)(A)(iii);
                            ``(ii) includes a description of the level 
                        of measurements used to place the participants 
                        into such categories; and
                            ``(iii) includes a description of the 
                        degree to which participants in each category 
                        achieved long-term economic self-sufficiency 
                        after termination from a program under part A 
                        of title II.''.

SEC. 7. INCLUSION OF LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS TABLES 
              AND RELATED REPORTS IN GOVERNOR'S COORDINATION AND 
              SPECIAL SERVICES PLAN.

    Subsection (b) of section 121 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1531(b)) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs 
        (7) and (8), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(6) The plan shall include--
                    ``(A) the local economic self-sufficiency standards 
                table developed by each service delivery areas pursuant 
                to section 106(b)(9);
                    ``(B) a compilation of the reports received by the 
                Governor under section 104(b)(14); and
                    ``(C) a description of goals and objectives to 
                assist participants enrolled in programs under part A 
                of title II achieve long-term economic self-
                sufficiency.''.

SEC. 8. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS TO IMPLEMENT LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-
              SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS TABLES.

    (a) In General.--Part D of title IV of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1737 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 457. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Authorization.--
            ``(1) In general.--From funds available under this part for 
        the fiscal years 1997, 1998, and 1999, the Secretary shall use 
        $1,500,000 in each such fiscal year to provide grants to States 
        to establish and carry out demonstration and exemplary programs 
        to increase the number of participants in programs under part A 
        of title II who are trained and placed in jobs that yield long-
        term economic self-sufficiency in accordance with the local 
        economic self-sufficiency standards tables under section 
        106(b)(9).
            ``(2) Limitation.--The Secretary may provide no more than 6 
        grants in each fiscal year under paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Application.--The Secretary may provide a grant to a State 
under subsection (a) only if such State submits to the Secretary an 
application which contains such information as the Secretary may 
reasonably require.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State shall use amounts received from 
        a grant under subsection (a) to award grants to service 
        delivery areas and eligible service providers described in 
        paragraph (3) to develop and test strategies to train, place, 
        and retain participants in jobs that yield long-term economic 
        self-sufficiency in accordance with the local economic self-
        sufficiency standards tables under section 106(b)(9).
            ``(2) Appropriate level of services.--In providing grants 
        under paragraph (1), a State shall ensure that each service 
        delivery area or service provider provides for an appropriate 
        level of services, including supportive services, to 
        participants using the relevant local economic self-sufficiency 
        standards tables developed by the service delivery area.
            ``(3) Eligible service providers.--Eligible service 
        providers described in this paragraph are community-based 
        organizations, educational institutions, or any other service 
        providers in the State that have a demonstrated success in--
                    ``(A) providing occupational skills training to 
                participants for high-wage jobs; and
                    ``(B) ensuring that participants receive supportive 
                services in order to successfully complete such 
                training.
    ``(d) Administrative and Related Costs.--In any fiscal year in 
which a State receives amounts from a grant under subsection (a), the 
State may retain an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the grant amount 
to--
            ``(1) pay the administrative costs of programs established 
        and carried out under subsection (a);
            ``(2) facilitate the coordination of statewide approaches 
        to training and placing participants in jobs yielding long-term 
        economic self-sufficiency; and
            ``(3) provide technical assistance to service delivery 
        areas and service providers.
    ``(e) Selection.--In providing grants to States under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall consider--
            ``(1) the extent to which the State has demonstrated that 
        the coordination of services provided under this Act with 
        services provided by agencies and organizations addressing the 
        basic needs of low-income individuals, including housing, food, 
        transportation, dependent care, and health care, has resulted 
        in the prompt and efficient delivery of services to 
        participants under this Act;
            ``(2) the extent to which the State has demonstrated its 
        capability to ensure the provision of all needed supportive 
        services to participants in any job training program carried 
        out in the State for the duration of such participants' 
        enrollment;
            ``(3) the extent of private sector involvement in the 
        development and implementation of training programs that 
        increase opportunities for participants to achieve long-term 
        economic self-sufficiency under this Act in the State;
            ``(4) the extent to which the initiatives proposed by a 
        State in its application supplement or build upon existing 
        efforts in the State to train and place individuals in jobs 
        that increase opportunities for participants to achieve long-
        term economic self-sufficiency;
            ``(5) whether the proposed amount of the grant to be 
        provided under subsection (a) is sufficient to accomplish 
        measurable goals;
            ``(6) the extent to which the State is prepared to 
        disseminate information on its demonstration training programs 
        relating to training, placement, and other services; and
            ``(7) the extent to which the State is prepared to produce 
        materials that allow for replication of such State's 
        demonstration training programs.
    ``(f) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of 
the programs established and carried out under subsection (a), 
including evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs in--
            ``(1) assisting participants with varying needs in 
        achieving long-term economic self-sufficiency through training, 
        placement, and other services;
            ``(2) effectively implementing the use of local economic 
        self-sufficiency standards tables to increase the number of 
        participants achieving long-term economic self-sufficiency; and
            ``(3) developing and replicating approaches to assist 
        participants with varying needs in achieving long-term economic 
        self-sufficiency through training, placement, and other 
        services.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 456 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 457. Economic self-sufficiency demonstration grant program.''.

SEC. 9. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which the 
Secretary provides the 1st grant to a State under section 457(a)(1) of 
the Job Training Partnership Act and biennially thereafter, the 
Secretary of Labor shall submit to the Congress a report on--
            (1) the extent to which States, service delivery areas, and 
        other service providers have succeeded in training, placing, 
        and retaining participants enrolled in programs under part A of 
        title II of such Act in jobs yielding long-term economic self-
        sufficiency; and
            (2) the effectiveness of the demonstration programs 
        established under section 457 of such Act in developing and 
        replicating approaches to train, place, and retain participants 
        in such jobs, including a summary of activities performed by 
        grant recipients under the demonstration programs authorized 
        under such section.
    (b) Recommendations.--The report described in subsection (a) shall 
include recommendations on--
            (1) the need to continue, expand, or modify the 
        demonstration programs established under section 457 of the Job 
        Training Partnership Act;
            (2) legislative and administrative changes necessary to 
        increase opportunities for participants to achieve long-term 
        economic self-sufficiency; and
            (3) legislative and administrative action necessary to 
        institutionalize the use of local economic self-sufficiency 
        standards tables as the principal measure of performance for 
        programs carried out under part A of title II of the Job 
        Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) such that--
                    (A) the basic measure of performance for such 
                programs shall be the achievement of long-term economic 
                self-sufficiency resulting from participation in the 
                program;
                    (B) placements are evaluated according to whether 
                the wages and employment benefits meet the 
                participant's particular long-term economic self-
                sufficiency needs;
                    (C) both wages and the cash value of employment 
                benefits are used to determine whether a participant 
                has achieved the self-sufficiency standard for their 
                particular family size and composition;
                    (D) in order to ensure that participants with 
                varying needs are served equitably, the placements 
                shall be equitably distributed among the categories 
                contained in the summary needs table established by the 
                service delivery area in the job training plan prepared 
                under section 104(b)(14)(B) of the Job Training 
                Partnership Act; and
                    (E) incentive grants under section 106(b)(7) of 
                such Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)(7)) are provided to service 
                delivery areas based primarily on the extent to which 
                such areas exceed the standards under the local 
                economic self-sufficiency standards table for such 
                areas.
                                 <all>