Page 15

North Carolina

12  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). [Administration is 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. The costs of staff that provide case management, program supervisors, program clerical staff, and support costs of program staff are services costs rather than administrative costs. The staff time spent solely on determining financial eligibility, including evaluating assets, is counted as administration.]  Case management services, including outreach and follow-up activities.  Expansion of child support efforts, including fatherhood initiatives, training for eligible non-custodial parents. TANF funds or MOE will be used to fund a concentrated plan to increase the level of collections for eligible families.  Federal funds may also be used to help meet cost-sharing requirements under the Job Access program under Section 3037 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (P.L. 105-178).  Automating the provisions of the law.  Other uses that reasonably can be expected to enable families to care for children in their homes; that promote job preparation, work, and marriage; that prevent or reduce the incidence of out of wedlock pregnancies; and that 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 as they were in effect on September 30, 1995. This means that 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 located in Appendix F.

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 are able to retain partial collections made on overpayments to recipients not due to agency error, including child care overpayments.

MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT

Under State law, both the counties and the State provide Maintenance of Effort funds. County spending is generally through the County Work First Block Grant. This Block Grant contains an allocation of Federal funds to be used for those services that meet the requirements for TANF funds. It also contains state and county funds that are used to meet the Maintenance of Effort requirements. Additional State funds for Maintenance of Effort are spent on such items as child care, State administrative costs and automation.

Maintenance of Effort funds may be used for the activities listed below.