1.This Act may be cited as the
Promoting Fair Work Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities Act
.
2.Authorization of modified employability
plan for individuals with disabilities
(a)Section 407(c)(2) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(E)Individuals with disabilities complying
with a modified employability plan deemed to be meeting work participation
requirements
(i)Modified employability planA State may develop a modified
employability plan for an adult or minor child head of household recipient of
assistance who has been determined by a qualified medical, mental health,
addiction, or social services professional (as determined by the State) to have
a disability, or who is caring for a family member with a disability (as so
determined). The modified employability plan shall—
(I)include a determination that, because of
the disability of the recipient or the individual for whom the recipient is
caring, reasonable modification of work activities, hourly participation
requirements, or both, is needed in order for the recipient to participate in
work activities;
(II)set forth the modified work activities in
which the recipient is required to participate;
(III)set forth the number of hours per week for
which the recipient is required to participate in such modified work activities
based on the State's evaluation of the family's circumstances;
(IV)set forth the services, supports, and
modifications that the State will provide to the recipient or the recipient's
family;
(V)be developed in cooperation with the
recipient; and
(VI)be reviewed not less than every 6
months.
(ii)Inclusion in monthly participation
ratesFor the purpose of
determining monthly participation rates under subsection (b)(1)(B)(i), and
notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (2)(A), (2)(B), (2)(C), and (2)(D) of this
subsection and subsection (d) of this section, a recipient is deemed to be
engaged in work for a month in a fiscal year if—
(I)the State has determined that the recipient
is in substantial compliance with activities and hourly participation
requirements set forth in a modified employability plan that meets the
requirements set forth in clause (i); and
(II)the State complies with the reporting
requirement set forth in clause (iii) for the fiscal year in which the month
occurs.
(iii)
(I)With respect to any fiscal year for which a
State counts a recipient as engaged in work pursuant to a modified
employability plan, the State shall submit a report entitled Annual
State Report on TANF Recipients Participating in Work Activities Pursuant to
Modified Employability Plans Due to Disability
to the Secretary not
later than March 31 of the succeeding fiscal year. The report shall provide the
following information:
- (aa)The aggregate number of recipients with
modified employability plans due to a disability.
- (bb)The percentage of all recipients with
modified employability plans who substantially complied with activities set
forth in the plans each month of the fiscal year.
- (cc)Information regarding the most prevalent
types of physical and mental impairments that provided the basis for the
disability determinations.
- (dd)The percentage of cases with a modified
employability plan in which the recipient had a disability, was caring for a
child with a disability, or was caring for another family member with a
disability.
- (ee)A description of the most prevalent types
of modification in work activities or hours of participation that were included
in the modified employability plans.
- (ff)A description of the qualifications of the
staff who determined whether individuals had a disability, of the staff who
determined that individuals needed modifications to their work requirements,
and of the staff who developed the modified employability plans.
(II)The Secretary shall submit an annual report
to Congress entitled Efforts in State TANF Programs to Promote and
Support Employment for Individuals with Disabilities
not later than
July 31 of each fiscal year that includes information on State efforts to
engage individuals with disabilities in work activities for the preceding
fiscal year. The report shall include the following:
- (aa)The number of individuals for whom each
State has developed a modified employability plan.
- (bb)The types of physical and mental
impairments that provided the basis for the disability determination, and
whether the individual with the disability was an adult recipient or minor
child head of household, a child, or a non-recipient family member.
- (cc)The types of modifications that States have
included in modified employability plans.
- (dd)The extent to which individuals with a
modified employability plan are participating in work activities.
- (ee)An analysis of the extent to which the
option to establish such modified employability plans was a factor in States'
achieving or not achieving the minimum participation rates under subsection (a)
for the fiscal year.
(iv)
(I)For purposes of this subparagraph, the term
disability means a mental or physical impairment, including
substance abuse or addiction, that—
- (aa)constitutes or results in a substantial
impediment to employment; or
- (bb)substantially limits one or more major life
activities.
(II)For purposes of this subparagraph, the term
modified work activities means activities the State has determined
will help the recipient become employable and which are not subject to and do
not count against the limitations and requirements under the preceding
provisions of this subsection and of subsection
(d).
.
(b)The amendment made by
this section shall take effect on October 1, 2010.
3.State option to exclude SSI applicants in
work participation rate
(a)Section 407(b)(5) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 607(b)(5)) is amended by striking at its option, not
require an individual
and all that follows and
inserting
at its
option—(A)not require an individual who is a single
custodial parent caring for a child who has not attained 12 months of age to
engage in work, and may disregard such an individual in determining the
participation rates under subsection (a) of this section for not more than 12
months;
(B)disregard for purposes of determining such
rates for any month, on a case-by-case basis, an individual who is an applicant
for or a recipient of supplemental security income benefits under title XVI or
of social security disability insurance benefits under title II, if—
(i)the State has determined that an
application for such benefits has been filed by or on behalf of the
individual;
(ii)the State has determined that there is a
reasonable basis to conclude that the individual meets the disability or
blindness criteria applied under title II or XVI;
(iii)there has been no final decision (including
a decision for which no appeal is pending at the administrative or judicial
level or for which the time period for filing such an appeal has expired)
denying benefits; and
(iv)not less than every 6 months, the State
reviews the status of such application and determines that there is a
reasonable basis to conclude that the individual continues to meet the
disability or blindness criteria under title II or XVI; and
(C)disregard for purposes of determining such
rates for any month, on a case-by-case basis, an individual who the State has
determined would meet the disability criteria for supplemental security income
benefits under title XVI or social security disability insurance benefits under
title II but for the requirement that the disability has lasted or is expected
to last for a continuous period of not less than 12
months.
.
(b)The amendment made by
this section shall take effect on October 1, 2010.