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TANF POLICY MANUAL

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Placements in unpaid positions are for the express purpose of providing participants with the experience of work so they may acquire the general skills, training, knowledge, and work habits necessary to obtain employment.

A Work Experience Program placement is daily supervised training that is based on a participant's vocational objective. Work Experience assignments can be at public, private non-profit and private for-profit agencies, businesses or institutions.

Although Work Experience Programs are unsalaried, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that welfare recipients who are required to participate in a Work Experience Program be compensated for the hours of participation. FLSA allows compensation to be provided in the form of certain needs-based benefits.

Work Experience Program participants will be paid a Work Experience Training Allowance (WTA) if the number of monthly hours of Work Experience participation multiplied by the federal minimum wage exceeds the combined dollar value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and TANF benefits for the month of Work Experience Program participation. South Carolina implemented a simplified Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Program effective October 1, 2006. Work Experience Program participants who sustain an injury at a work site are subject to established workers' compensation guidelines.

A. Countable Hours Actual hours of participation in work experience will be countable. Hours will be documented biweekly by the work experience supervisor. Work experience participants may also be eligible for unpaid holidays or excused absences as determined by DSS policy.

B. Verification of Hours The Work Experience Program site supervisor will submit a Work Experience Attendance and Performance Record to DSS bi-weekly. This document will serve as verification of hours worked. Acceptable forms of documentation are: 1. Work Experience Attendance and Performance Record 2. Worksite/Supervisor Records

C. Method of Supervision Participants will be supervised daily by a Work Experience Program site supervisor. Documentation of attendance and performance will be submitted bi-weekly on an individual attendance sheet. The requirement for daily supervision is part of a formal agreement between the DSS and a work experience provider.

The Work Experience provider agrees to notify the DSS immediately if the individual does not perform satisfactorily and/or fails to arrive at the work site at the agreed upon time. In addition, the work experience provider agrees to notify the TANF case manager at any point if barriers to employment, such as problems with child care or the need for accommodations, become apparent.