CHAPTER 338
H.P. 789 - L.D. 1033
An Act to Make Child Care More Accessible for Parents in Transition From Welfare to Work
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. S, §3, is further amended by amending subparagraph (6) to read:
(6) To provide a special housing allowance for TANF families whose shelter expenses for rent, mortgage or similar payments, homeowners insurance and property taxes equal or exceed 75% of their monthly income. The special housing allowance is limited to $50 per month for each family. For purposes of this subparagraph, "monthly income" means the total of the TANF monthly benefit and all income countable under the TANF program, plus child support received by the family, excluding the $50 pass-through payment; and
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. S, §3, is further amended by repealing and replacing subparagraph (7) to read:
(7) In determining benefit levels for TANF recipients who have earnings from employment, the department shall disregard from monthly earnings the following:
(a) One hundred and eight dollars;
(b) Fifty percent of the remaining earnings that are less than the federal poverty level; and
(c) All actual child care costs necessary for work, except that the department may limit the child care disregard to $175 per month per child or $200 per month per child under 2 years of age or with special needs;
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. S, §3, is further amended by enacting subparagraphs (8) to (11) to read:
(8) In cases when the TANF recipient has no child care cost, the monthly TANF benefit is the maximum payment level or the difference between the countable earnings and the standard of need established by rule adopted by the department, whichever is lower;
(9) In cases when the TANF recipient has child care costs, the department shall determine a total benefit package, including TANF cash assistance, determined in accordance with subparagraph (7) and additional child care assistance, as provided by rule, necessary to cover the TANF recipient's actual child care costs up to the maximum amount specified in section 3782-A, subsection 5. The benefit amount must be paid as provided in this subparagraph.
(a) Before the first month in which child care assistance is available to an ASPIRE-TANF recipient under this paragraph and periodically thereafter, the department shall notify the recipient of the total benefit package and the following options of the recipient: to receive the total benefit package directly; or to have the department pay the recipient's child care assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient and pay the balance of the total benefit package to the recipient.
(b) If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient notifies the department that the recipient chooses to receive the child care assistance directly, the department shall pay the total benefit package to the recipient.
(c) If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient does not respond or notifies the department of the choice to have the child care assistance paid directly to the child care provider from the total benefit package, the department shall pay the child care assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient. The department shall pay the balance of the total benefit package to the recipient;
(10) Child care assistance under this paragraph must be paid by the department in a prompt manner that permits an ASPIRE-TANF recipient to access child care necessary for work; and
(11) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375 to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subparagraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§16 is enacted to read:
16. Authorization of fund transfer. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the department is authorized to transfer to the TANF account any funds available in the ASPIRE-TANF account necessary to meet the purposes of TANF, including the purposes established in subsection 3, paragraph B.
Sec. 5. Implementation date. The Department of Human Services shall implement direct payment of child care under this Act as soon as reasonably possible, but no later than March 1, 2002.
Effective September 21, 2001, unless otherwise indicated.
| Revisor of Statutes Homepage | Subject Index | Search | Laws of Maine | Maine Legislature |
