S0450.01I

SB 23 - This act outlines proposed policies which the State of Missouri should follow when enforcing the terms of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, also known as the 1996 Federal Welfare Reform Law.

The act states that Missouri will (1) operate a child support enforcement program; (2) will operate a foster care and adoption assistance program; (3) will designate the Missouri Department of Social Services to administer and supervise the Missouri Children and Family Assistance Program; (4) establish and enforce standards and procedures to ensure against program fraud; and (5) elect to establish and enforce standards to screen, identify, refer clients and to waive certain program requirements for individuals receiving assistance who have been victims of domestic violence or face other barriers to becoming self-sufficient.

The Department of Social Services will continue to operate the following waivers programs until their completion: (1) the

Missouri Families Mutual Responsibility Plan and (2) the Twenty-first Century Communities Demonstration Project.

The Department of Social Services shall ensure that: (1) needy children and families receive assistance; (2) Missouri maximizes its receipt of federal funds; (3) limited child care funds and funds for work, education & training programs are provided to families most likely to be able to move from welfare to work; (4) persons unemployed through no fault of their own are not penalized by Missouri's new welfare programs; (5) client privacy protection measures will be continued; and (6) uniform standards of eligibility are implemented statewide.

CHERYL GRAZIER