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1000.2 TANF MANUAL 10/23 Page 10

1000.2 PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

A. VIEW Program Requirements

The participation requirements that govern the VIEW program are:

• 35 hours per week per VIEW participant, or 30 hours if the participant is employed full time, including employment in an On the Job Training (OJT) position.

Note: Refugee families receiving TANF or TANF-UP payments are subject to VIEW participation requirements. (Refugee families who are not eligible for TANF or TANF-UP, but who receive Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), are not eligible to participate in VIEW.)

The participation requirements are designed to meet the needs of participants, assist participants in achieving self-sufficiency and to meet the federal work participation rate. In some respects, the VIEW requirements are different from the federal requirements regarding work participation rate calculations.

1. VIEW participation is optional for postsecondary students.

TANF recipients enrolled full-time in an accredited public institution of higher education or other postsecondary school licensed or certified by the Board of Education or the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and taking courses as part of a curriculum that leads to a postsecondary credential, such as a degree or an industry-recognized credential, certification, or license may have the option to be exempted from mandatory participation in VIEW (see House Bill 484). The choice to not participate in VIEW will make the recipient ineligible to receive supportive services.

Note: Individuals with an educational exemption would remain exempt from VIEW until they verify that they are no longer enrolled full-time in a postsecondary school. The exemption includes any breaks between their semesters, trimesters and quarter sessions.

B. Federal Work Participation Rate Requirements

A participation rate is a ratio. The federal work participation rate represents who is participating in work activities out of all those expected to participate. To count toward the numerator of the monthly participation rate, a TANF recipient must be in an allowable activity for at least a minimum average number of hours per week:

• 20 hours per week for single parents with children under 6, • 35 hours per week for two-parent families (55 hours if child care is provided), • 30 hours per week for all other families.

Each State must meet two separate work participation rates:

• the two-parent rate--based on how well it succeeds in helping adults in TANF-UP families participate in work activities, and • the overall rate--based on how well it succeeds in placing adults in both TANF and TANF-UP families in work activities. Each State must achieve an overall participation rate of 50% and a two- parent rate of 90%.

If the state fails to meet either minimum work participation rate for a fiscal year, it is subject to a severe financial penalty. The state loses 5% of the TANF block grant ($7.9 million) for failing to meet the rate. In addition, the state must increase state spending to make up the loss of federal funds and such spending does not count toward the state’s spending requirement. Additionally, the state’s spending requirement increases by $8.5 million. Local funding for VIEW will be impacted if the state is penalized.

Transmittal 77