95-14571. New and Pending Demonstration Project Proposals Submitted Pursuant to Section 1115(a) of the Social Security Act: May 1995

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31312-31315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14571]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families


New and Pending Demonstration Project Proposals Submitted 
Pursuant to Section 1115(a) of the Social Security Act: May 1995

AGENCY: Administration for Children and Families, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice lists new proposals for welfare reform and 
combined welfare reform/Medicaid demonstration projects submitted to 
the Department of Health and Human Services for the month of May, 1995. 
Federal approval for the proposals has been requested pursuant to 
section 1115 of the Social Security Act. This notice also lists 
proposals that were previously submitted and are still pending a 
decision and projects that have been approved since May 1, 1995. The 
Health Care Financing Administration is publishing a separate notice 
for Medicaid only demonstration projects.

COMMENTS: We will accept written comments on these proposals. We will, 
if feasible, acknowledge receipt of all comments, but we will not 
provide written responses to comments. We will, however, neither 
approve nor disapprove any new proposal for at least 30 days after the 
date of this notice to allow time to receive and consider comments. 
Direct comments as indicated below.

ADDRESSES: For specific information or questions on the content of a 
project contact the State contact listed for that project.
    Comments on a proposal or requests for copies of a proposal should 
be addressed to: Howard Rolston, Administration for Children and 
Families, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Aerospace Building, 7th Floor 
West, Washington, DC 20447. FAX: [phone] PHONE: [phone]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act (the Act), the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) may approve research and 
demonstration project proposals with a broad range of policy 
objectives.
    In exercising her discretionary authority, the Secretary has 
developed a number of policies and procedures for reviewing proposals. 
On September 27, 1994, we published a notice in the Federal Register 
(59 FR 49249) that specified (1) The principles that we ordinarily will 
consider when approving or disapproving demonstration projects under 
the authority in section 1115(a) of the Act; (2) the procedures we 
expect States to use in involving the public in the development of 
proposed demonstration projects under section 1115; and (3) the 
procedures we ordinarily will follow in reviewing demonstration 
proposals. We are committed to a thorough and expeditious review of 
State requests to conduct such demonstrations.

II. Listing of New and Pending Proposals for the Month of May, 1995

    As part of our procedures, we are publishing a monthly notice in 
the Federal Register of all new and pending proposals. This notice 
contains proposals for the month of May, 1995.
    Project Title: California--Work Pays Demonstration Project 
(Amendment).
    Description: Would amend Work Pays Demonstration Project by adding 
provisions to: reduce benefit levels by 10% (but retaining the need 
level); reduce benefits an additional 15% after 6 months on assistance 
for cases with an able-bodied adult; time-limit assistance to able-
bodied adults to 24 months, and not increase benefits for children 
conceived while receiving AFDC.
    Date Received: 3/14/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Glen Brooks, [phone].


[[Page 31313]]

    Project Title: California--Assistance Payments Demonstration 
Project (Amendment).
    Description: Would amend the Assistance Payments Demonstration 
Project by: exempting certain categories of AFDC families from the 
State's benefit cuts; paying the exempt cases based on grant levels in 
effect in California on November 1, 1992; and renewing the waiver of 
the Medicaid maintenance of effort provision at section 1902(c)(1) of 
the Social Security Act, which was vacated by the Ninth Circuit Court 
of Appeals in its decision in Beno v. Shalala.
    Date Received: 8/26/94.
    Type: Combined AFDC/Medicaid.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Michael C. Genest, [phone].

    Project Title: California--Work Pays Demonstration Project 
(Amendment).
    Description: Would amend the Work Pays Demonstration Project by 
adding provisions to not increasing AFDC benefits to families for 
additional children conceived while receiving AFDC.
    Date Received: 11/9/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Eloise Anderson, [phone].

    Project Title: California--School Attendance Demonstration Project.
    Description: In San Diego County, require AFDC recipients ages 16-
18 to attend school or participate in JOBS.
    Date Received: 12/5/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Michael C. Genest [phone].

    Project Title: California--Incentive to Self-Sufficiency 
Demonstration.
    Description: Statewide, would require 100 hours CWEP participation 
per month for JOBS mandatory individuals who have received AFDC for 22 
of the last 24 months and are working fewer than 15 hours per week 
after two years from JOBS assessment and: have failed to comply with 
JOBS without good cause, have completed CWEP or are in CWEP less than 
100 hours per month, or have completed or had an opportunity to 
complete post-assessment education and training; provide Transitional 
Child Care and Transitional Medicaid to families who become ineligible 
for AFDC due to increased assets or income resulting from marriage or 
the reuniting of spouses; increase the duration of sanctions for 
certain acts of fraud.
    Date Received: 12/28/94.
    Type: Combined AFDC/Medicaid.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Michael C. Genest [phone].

    Project Title: Georgia--Work for Welfare Project.
    Description: Work for Welfare Project. In 10 pilot counties would 
require every non-exempt recipient and non-supporting parent to work up 
to 20 hours per month in a state, local government, federal agency or 
nonprofit organization; extends job search; and increases sanctions for 
JOBS noncompliance. On a statewide basis, would increase the automobile 
exemption to $4,500 and disregard earned income of children who are 
full-time students.
    Date Received: 6/30/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Nancy Meszaros, [phone].

    Project Title: Hawaii--Families Are Better Together
    Description: Statewide, would eliminate 100-hour, attachment to the 
work force, 30 day unemployment and principal wage earner criteria for 
AFDC-UP families.
    Date Received: 5/22/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: New.
    Contact Person: Patricia Murakami, [phone].

    Project Title: Kansas--Actively Creating Tomorrow for Families 
Demonstration
    Description: Would, after 30 months of participation in JOBS, make 
adults ineligible for AFDC for 3 years; replace $30 and \1/3\ income 
disregard with continuous 40% disregard; disregard lump sum income and 
income and resources of children in school; count income and resources 
of family members who receive SSI; exempt one vehicle without regard 
for equity value if used to produce income; allow only half AFDC 
benefit increase for births of a second child to families where the 
parent is not working and eliminate increase for the birth of any child 
if families already have at least two children; eliminate 100-hour rule 
and work history requirements for UP cases; expand AFDC eligibility to 
pregnant women in 1st and 2nd trimesters; extend Medicaid transitional 
benefits to 24 months; eliminate various JOBS requirements, including 
those related to target groups, participation rate of UP cases and the 
20-hour work requirement limit for parents with children under 6; 
require school attendance; require minors in AFDC and NPA Food Stamps 
cases to live with a guardian; make work requirements and penalties in 
the AFDC and Food Stamp programs more uniform; and increase sanctions 
for not cooperating with child support enforcement activities.
    Date Received: 7/26/94.
    Type: Combined AFDC/Medicaid.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Faith Spencer, [phone].

    Project Title: Maine--Project Opportunity.
    Description: Increase participation in Work Supplementation to 18 
months; use Work Supplementation for any opening; use diverted grant 
funds for vouchers for education, training or support services; and 
extend transitional Medicaid and child care to 24 months.
    Date Received: 8/5/94.
    Type: Combined AFDC/Medicaid.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Susan L. Dustin, [phone].

    Project Title: Maryland--Welfare Reform Project.
    Description: Statewide, require minor parents to reside with a 
guardian; eliminate increased AFDC benefit for additional children 
conceived while receiving AFDC, with provision for third party payment 
or voucher/vendor payment for amount of the difference make rent vendor 
payments to local housing authority when delinquency exceeds 30 days; 
and issue AFDC benefits 14 days after date of application. In pilot 
sites, eliminate JOBS exemptions for having a child under age 3 and for 
having a medical disability of more than 12 months, unless the 
recipient applies for SSI; require able-bodied recipients who have 
received AFDC for 3 months to meet a work requirement (unless there is 
good cause) which will consist of full-time unsubsidized employment, 30 
hours of subsidized employment, or a total of at least 20 hours of 
community service and employment; impose full-family sanction when JOBS 
non-exempt parent fails to comply with JOBS for 6 months and require 
parent to comply with JOBS for 30 days before reopening case; provide 
three more months of aid through a third party payment after full-
family sanction is imposed; eliminate work supplementation program 
restriction from filling unfilled positions; eliminate work history and 
100-hour rule requirements for AFDC-UP; require minimum of 20 hours of 
CWEP after three months of benefit receipt; disregard stepparent income 
if below 100% of poverty, reduce grant by 50 percent of need standard 
if income is between 100 and 150% of poverty, and make case ineligible 
if income is 

[[Page 31314]]
above 150% of poverty; base grant for families with earnings at 85 
percent of difference between need standard and earnings; increase both 
auto and resource limits to $5000; disregard income of dependent 
children; provide one-time payment in lieu of AFDC benefits; require 
teen parents to attend family health and parenting classes; extend JOBS 
services to unemployed non-custodial parents; and cash-out food stamps 
for work supplementation cases.
    Date Received: 3/1/94 and 5/16/95 (Amendments).
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: New (Amendments).
    Contact Person: Katherine L. Cook, [phone].

    Project Title: Massachusetts--Welfare Reform '95.
    Description: Statewide, would limit AFDC assistance to 24 months in 
a 60-month period, with provisions for extensions, for all non-exempt 
recipients; reduce benefits for non-exempt recipients by 2.75 percent, 
while increasing earned income disregard to $30 and one-half 
indefinitely; establish the Work Program designed to end cash 
assistance to non-exempt families, requiring recipients who cannot find 
at least 20 hours per week of paid employment after 60 days of AFDC 
receipt to do community service and job search to earn a cash 
``subsidy'' that would make family income equal to applicable payment 
standard; fund subsidized jobs from value of AFDC grant plus cash value 
of Food Stamps for limited number of volunteer recipients; sanction 
individuals who fail to comply with the Work Program by a reduction in 
assistance equal to the parent's portion of the grant; establish an 
Employment Development Plan (EDP) for non-exempt participants not 
required to participate in the Work Program, requiring community 
service for second failure to comply with EDP and full-family sanction 
for second failure to comply with community service; require teen 
parents to live with guardian or in supportive living arrangements and 
attend school; require children under age 14 to attend school; 
eliminate grandparent-deeming; strengthen paternity establishment 
requirements and allow the IV-D agency to determine if participants are 
cooperating; allow courts to order parents unable to pay child support 
to community service programs; exclude from the grant calculation 
children born to mothers while on AFDC; require child immunization; pay 
rent directly to landlords where caretaker has fallen behind six weeks 
in payments; increase asset level to $2,500; increase equity value of a 
vehicle to $5,000; establish wage assignment in cases of fraud or other 
overpayments; increased penalties for individuals who commit fraud, 
release AFDC fraud conviction information to Department of Revenue and 
the Social Security Administration for cross-check, and deny benefits 
to individuals with an outstanding default warrant issued by a State 
court; allow State to issue a clothing allowance voucher for each 
child; disregard the first $600 of lump sum income; require direct 
deposit of benefits for recipients with bank accounts; and disregard 
the 100-hour rule for eligibility for two-parent families.
    Date Received: 4/4/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Valerie Foretra, [phone].

    Project Title: Mississippi--A New Direction Demonstration Program--
Amendment.
    Description: Statewide, would amend previously approved New 
Direction Demonstration Program by adding provision that a family's 
benefits would not increase as a result of additional children 
conceived while receiving AFDC.
    Date Received: 2/17/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Larry Temple, [phone].

    Project Title: New Hampshire--Earned Income Disregard Demonstration 
Project.
    Description: AFDC applicants and recipients would have the first 
$200 plus \1/2\ the remaining earned income disregarded.
    Date Received: 9/20/93.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Avis L. Crane, [phone].

    Waiver Title: New Mexico--Untitled Project.
    Description: Would increase vehicle asset limit to $4,500; 
disregard earned income of students; develop an AFDC Intentional 
Program Violation procedure identical to Food Stamps; and allow one 
individual to sign declaration of citizenship for entire case.
    Date Received: 7/7/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Scott Chamberlin, [phone].

    Project Title: North Dakota--Training, Education, Employment and 
Management Project.
    Description: Would require families to develop a social contract 
specifying time-limit for becoming self-sufficient; combine AFDC, Food 
Stamps and LIHEAP into single cash payment with simplified uniform 
income, expense and resource exclusions; increase income disregards and 
exempt stepparent's income for six months; increase resource limit to 
$5,000 for one recipient and $8,000 for families with two or more 
recipients; exempt value of one vehicle; eliminate 100-hour rule for 
AFDC-UP; impose a progressive sanction for non-cooperation in JOBS or 
with child support; require a minimum of 32 hours of paid employment 
and non-paid work; require participation in EPSDT; and eliminate child 
support pass-through.
    Date Received: 9/9/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Kevin Iverson, [phone].

    Project Title: Oregon--Expansion of the Transitional Child Care 
Program.
    Description: Provide transitional child care benefits without 
regard to months of prior receipt of AFDC and provide benefits for 24 
months.
    Date Received: 8/8/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Jim Neely, [phone].

    Waiver Title: Oregon--Increased AFDC Motor Vehicle Limit.
    Description: Would increase automobile asset limit to $9,000.
    Date Received: 11/12/93.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Jim Neely, [phone].

    Project Title: Pennsylvania--School Attendance Improvement Program.
    Description: In 7 sites, would require school attendance as 
condition of eligibility.
    Date Received: 9/12/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Patricia H. O'Neal, [phone].

    Project Title: Pennsylvania--Savings for Education Program.
    Description: Statewide, would exempt as resources college savings 
bonds and funds in savings accounts earmarked for vocational or 
secondary education and disregard interest income earned from such 
accounts.
    Date Received: 12/29/94.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Patricia H. O'Neal, [phone].

 
[[Page 31315]]

    Project Title: Texas--Promoting Child Health in Texas.
    Description: Statewide, would require that children age 5 and under 
be immunized.
    Date Received: 4/11/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Kent Gummerman [phone].

    Project Title: Utah--Single Parent Employment Demonstration Program 
(Amendments).
    Description: In designated pilot sites, would amend previously 
approved Single Parent Employment Demonstration Project by applying 
full-family sanction for repeated non-participation in JOBS; and, for 
two years after leaving AFDC, provide transitional JOBS support 
services, expanded income disregards and auto equity limits for Food 
Stamps, and optional Food Stamp cash-out.
    Date Received: 5/17/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: New.
    Contact Person: Bill Biggs, [phone].

    Project Title: Virginia--Virginia Independence Program.
    Description: Statewide, would provide one-time diversion payments 
to qualified applicants instead of AFDC; change first time JOBS non-
compliance sanction to at least one month continuing until compliance 
and remove conciliation requirement; make paternity establishment 
within 6 months a condition of eligibility; suspend grant if mother is 
not cooperating in paternity establishment; require minor parents to 
live with adult guardian; eliminate benefit increase for children born 
while a family receives AFDC; require AFDC caretakers without a high 
school diploma, aged 24 and under, and children, aged 18 and under, to 
attend school; require child immunization; allow $5,000 resource 
exemption for savings for starting business; increase Transitional 
Child Care and Transitional Medicaid eligibility; and eliminate deeming 
requirement for aliens when their sponsor receives food stamps. Also, 
VIP would phase in statewide over 4 years a work component (VIEW) that 
will require participants to sign an Agreement of Personal 
Responsibility as a condition of eligibility; assign participants to a 
work activity within 90 days of benefit receipt; time-limit AFDC 
benefits to 24 consecutive months; increase earned income disregards 
for continued eligibility up to the federal poverty level; disregard 
value of one vehicle up to $7,500; provide 12 months transitional 
transportation assistance; modify current JOBS participation exemption 
criteria; eliminate limitation on job search; assign participants 
involuntarily to subsidized work placements; apply full-family sanction 
for refusal to cooperate with work programs; subject unemployed parents 
to same work requirements as single recipients; and provide employer 
subsidies from AFDC plus the value of Food Stamps.
    Date Received: 12/2/94 and 3/28/95 (Amendments).
    Type: Combined AFDC/Medicaid.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Barbara Cotter, [phone].

    Project Title: Washington--Success Through Employment Program.
    Description: Statewide, would eliminate the 100-hour rule for AFDC-
UP families; impose a 10 percent grant reduction for AFDC recipients 
who have received assistance for 48 out of 60 months, and impose an 
additional 10 percent grant reduction for every additional 12 months 
thereafter, and budget earnings against the original payment standard; 
and hold the food stamp benefit level constant for cases whose AFDC 
benefits are reduced due to length of stay on assistance.
    Date Received: 2/1/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Liz Begert Dunbar, [phone].

    Project Title: West Virginia--Joint opportunities for independence 
(JOIN).
    Description: Statewide, would require one parent in an unemployed 
AFDC-UP applicant or recipient case, with exceptions, to participate 38 
hours per week in work and job search activities; sanction the entire 
family when an individual does not comply; deny Food Stamps to 
sanctioned families and deny Medicaid to sanctioned adults, except for 
pregnant women; and freeze the level of Food Stamps benefits for 
sanctioned families at the pre-sanction level.
    Date Received: 4/11/95.
    Type: Combined AFDC/Medicaid.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Sharon Paterno [phone].

    Project Title: Wisconsin--Self Sufficiency First (SSF).
    Description: Statewide, would require applicant adults, as a 
condition of eligibility, to meet with a financial planning resource 
specialist prior to completing an application to examine alternatives 
to welfare; with some exceptions. If the applicant still wants to apply 
for assistance, as a condition of eligibility, individual must engage 
in at least 60 hours of JOB search activities during the 30 day 
application period. Would also limit JOBS exemptions.
    Date Received: 4/18/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Jean Sheil [phone].

    Project Title: Wisconsin--Pay for Performance (PFP).
    Description: Statewide, adult recipients will be required to 
participate in JOBS up to 40 hours per week; for each hour of non-
participation the AFDC grant will be reduced by the federal minimum 
wage rate; if the AFDC grant is fully exhausted then the remaining 
sanction will be taken against the Food Stamp (FS) allotment; FS 
allotments will not be adjusted to account for AFDC reductions 
resulting from not participating in JOBS activities; if hours of 
participation fall below 25% of assigned hours without good cause then 
no AFDC grant will be awarded and the FS amount will be $10. Would also 
limit JOBS exemptions.
    Date Received: 4/18/95.
    Type: AFDC.
    Current Status: Pending.
    Contact Person: Jean Sheil [phone].

III. Listing of Approved Proposals Since May 1, 1995

    Project Title: Arizona--Employing and Moving People Off Welfare and 
Encouraging Responsibility Program.
    Contact Person: Elliot Hibbs, [phone].

    Project Title: Delaware: A Better Chance.
    Contact Person: Elaine Archangelo, [phone].

IV. Requests for Copies of a Proposal

    Requests for copies of an AFDC or combined AFDC/Medicaid proposal 
should be directed to the Administration for Children and Families 
(ACF) at the address listed above. Questions concerning the content of 
a proposal should be directed to the State contact listed for the 
proposal.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program, No. 93562; 
Assistance Payments--Research.)

    Dated: June 7, 1995.
Howard Rolston,
Director, Office of Policy and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 95-14571 Filed 6-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P