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STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA FFY 2024 STATE PLAN FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES

and costs of employing a recipient. West Virginia implemented the Employment Subsidy Program (ESP). The ESP is a statewide subsidized employment placement program. Eligible WV WORKS participants will be referred by local WV WORKS staff to employers for placement in full-time private or public subsidized employment positions. Priority is to be given to those WV WORKS participants who require necessary work experience and job skills in order to enter unsubsidized employment. ESP placements will be for up to six months with the expectation that the employer will retain the employee at the completion of the contract period. All ESP placements will be at least 30 hours per week. Reimbursement will be 100% of the individual’s wage limited to 40 hours weekly. This program will be funded with Federal TANF Funds.

● On-the-Job Training (OJT) means training in the public or private sector that is given to a paid employee while he or she is engaged in productive work that provides knowledge and skills essential to the full and adequate performance on the job. West Virginia currently operates only one type of supported OJT, the Employer Incentive Program (EIP).

● In West Virginia, Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance are limited to six weeks in any 12-month period, no more than four of these may be consecutive. The 4-week limit is converted to hours (80 hours for families with a requirement of 20 hours per week or 120 hours for a family with a requirement of 30 hours per week). The 6-week limit is converted to hours (120 hours for families with a requirement of 20 hrs per week or 180 hours for a family with a requirement of 30 hrs per week).

The limit is 6 weeks for the last 12-month period. For Job Search and Job Readiness, a week of participation may begin any time and ends 20 or 30 hours later, regardless of the number of days the individual participated during those hours. For a single parent with a child under age six, a week is equivalent to 20 hours. For all other work-eligible individuals, a week is equivalent to 30 hours. Each parent in a two-parent household has his own limit. Changes in the hourly requirement due to the child’s age or changes in household composition are effective the month after the change occurs. West Virginia does not allow participation in unstructured job search activities.

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