Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3763, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:

2-A.__Persons with disabilities.__TANF recipients who care for a household member that has a physical or mental health problem requiring care are considered to be fully meeting the participation requirements of ASPIRE-TANF.__The department shall make ASPIRE-TANF services under chapter 1054-A and Parents as Scholars Program services under chapter 1054-B available on a voluntary basis to TANF recipients who care for such a household member.__If a parent or caretaker relative receiving TANF has a physical or mental health problem that imposes a limitation on that person's ability to work, that person must be offered ASPIRE-TANF and Parents as Scholars Program services on a voluntary basis.__ASPIRE-TANF and Parents as Scholars Program services must be made available under this subsection to the same extent they are made available to other ASPIRE-TANF or Parents as Scholars Program participants.__No person in a household that includes a person with a physical or mental health problem described in this subsection may be sanctioned for failing to comply with the rules of ASPIRE-TANF.__All participants in ASPIRE-TANF and the Parents as Scholars Program must be notified, in clear and prominent writing, of the provisions of this subsection at the TANF orientation and each time they renew their family contract.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that TANF recipients who care for a household member with a physical or mental health problem be considered by the Department of Human Services to fully meet their ASPIRE-TANF participation requirements. TANF recipients who have physical or mental health problems that limit their ability to work must be offered the opportunity to participate in ASPIRE-TANF or the Parents as Scholars Program on a voluntary basis. The department is prohibited from sanctioning households that include members with these physical or mental health problems. The department is required to notify ASPIRE-TANF and Parents as Scholars Program recipients of these provisions at their orientation and each time their family contract is renewed.