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52 North Carolina

services, substance use treatment, childcare, transportation, and other activities promoting self-sufficiency for families. In addition, federal TANF funds will be used for the services previously included in the AFDC-Emergency Assistance (EA) plan as specified in Appendix F.

Federal TANF funds may be spent as follows and in accordance with federal law and regulations.

• Work First Cash Assistance and Work First Services. • Child care and early education. • Supportive services, including, but not limited to work-related expenses and transportation. Educational activities intended to increase self-sufficiency, job training, and work, excluding any expenditure for public education in the state except expenditures that involve the provision of services or assistance to a member of an eligible family that is not generally available to other people. • Administrative costs (which may not exceed 15% of the total funds spent for purposes under Title I of the federal block grant) are defined as costs associated with office directors, policy, fiscal, budget, personnel, purchasing, legal, clerical support, and direct, indirect, and allocated costs in support of these positions. Program supervisors, program clerical staff, and support costs of program staff are services costs rather than administrative costs. Staff time spent solely on determining financial eligibility, including evaluating assets, is counted as administrative. • Case management staff and services, including outreach and follow-up activities. • Expansion of child support efforts, including fatherhood initiatives, and training for eligible non-custodial parents. TANF funds or MOE will be used to fund a concentrated plan to increase the level of child support collections for eligible families. • Cost-sharing requirements under the Job Access program under Section 3037 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (P.L. 105-178). • Automation • Other uses that can be expected to enable families to care for children in their homes; promote job preparation, work, and marriage; that prevent or reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and encourage parents to marry and remain married. • Any purpose for which the state was authorized to use funds received under Parts A and F of Title IV of the Social Security Act that were in effect on September 30, 1995. North Carolina will continue, as it has since 1995, to provide services (including child welfare services) to at-risk children as was approved in the Title IV-A State Plan as of September 30, 1995. A description of these services is in Appendix D.

If federal TANF funds are insufficient to cover cash assistance costs in the event of economic downturns, other federal, state, and county funds may be used to meet the costs of assisting needy families. Counties can retain partial collections made on overpayments to recipients not due to agency error, including child care overpayments.