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(a) (1) The department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, shall develop an allocation methodology to distribute additional funding for expanded subsidized employment programs for CalWORKs recipients, or individuals described in Section 11320.15 who have exceeded the time limits specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11454.
(2) Funds allocated pursuant to this section may be utilized to cover all expenditures related to the operational costs of the expanded subsidized employment program, including the cost of overseeing the program, developing work sites, and providing training to participants, as well as wage and nonwage costs.
(3) The department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, shall determine the amount or proportion of funding allocated pursuant to this section that may be utilized for operational costs, consistent with the number of employment slots anticipated to be created and the funding provided.
(b) Funds allocated for expanded subsidized employment shall be in addition to, and independent of, the county allocations made pursuant to Section 15204.2.
(c) (1) A county that accepts additional funding for expanded subsidized employment in accordance with this section shall continue to expend no less than the aggregate amount of funding received by the county pursuant to Section 15204.2 that the county expended on subsidized employment in the 2012–13 fiscal year pursuant to Section 11322.63, as that section read on June 30, 2016.
(2) This subdivision shall not apply for any fiscal year in which the total CalWORKs caseload is projected by the department to increase by more than 5 percent of the total actual CalWORKs caseload in the 2012–13 fiscal year.
(d) (1) Each participating county shall submit to the department, at least once every two years, a plan or an amendment to an existing plan that specifies how the county intends to carry out all of the following:
(A) Utilize the funds allocated pursuant to this section.
(B) Prioritize subsidized employment placements that offer opportunities for participants to obtain skills and experiences in their fields of interest.
(2) If a county has no changes to an existing plan or amendment to report to the department pursuant to paragraph (1), the county shall submit a confirmation of no change to the department.
(3) Participating counties shall submit the plans described in paragraph (1) beginning January 1, 2025, or four months after the department issues guidance on how to implement this subdivision, whichever is later.
(e) (1) Participation in subsidized employment pursuant to this section shall be limited to a maximum of six months for each participant.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a county may extend participation beyond the six-month limitation described in paragraph (1) for up to an additional three months at a time, to a maximum of no more than 12 total months. Extensions may be granted pursuant to this paragraph if the county determines that the additional time will increase the likelihood of either of the following:
(A) The participant obtaining unsubsidized employment with the participating employer.
(B) The participant obtaining specific skills and experiences relevant for unsubsidized employment in a particular field.
(f) A county may continue to provide subsidized employment funded under this section to individuals who become ineligible for CalWORKs benefits in accordance with Section 11323.25.
(g) A county may use existing funds provided under this section to provide employment services for noncustodial parents of children receiving benefits under the CalWORKs program.
(h) Upon application for CalWORKs assistance after a participant’s subsidized employment ends, if an assistance unit is otherwise eligible within three calendar months of the date that subsidized employment ended, the income exemption requirements contained in Section 11451.5 and the work requirements contained in subdivision (c) of Section 11201 shall apply. If aid is restored after the expiration of that three-month period, the income exemption requirements contained in Section 11450.12 and the work requirements contained in subdivision (b) of Section 11201 shall apply.
(i) Beginning April 1, 2025, the department shall include all of the following information for the prior fiscal year regarding the implementation of this section in the CalWORKs Annual Summary to the extent the data is available and reportable:
(1) The number of CalWORKs participants who participated in subsidized employment for at least three months, by county, and a complete list of participating employers, by county.
(2) The number of CalWORKs participants described in paragraph (1) who obtained unsubsidized employment in the quarter following the end of the subsidy, by county, based on wage data and supplemental records available to the Employment Development Department.
(3) The average earnings of the CalWORKs participants described in paragraph (1) in the quarter prior to their participation in the program, to the extent the data is available. The data required by this paragraph shall be broken down by county and by industry sector. The industry sector data shall also be further broken down by county.
(4) The average earnings of the CalWORKs participants described in paragraph (1) in the quarter following the end of the subsidy, to the extent the data is available. The data required by this paragraph shall be broken down by county and by industry sector. The industry sector data shall also be further broken down by county.
(j) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement, interpret, or make specific the changes made by the act that added this subdivision through all-county letters without taking regulatory action.