ACF OPRE: State TANF Policies: Welfare Rules Database Expansion

Policies as of July 2004: Requirements

III. Requirements

The tables in this chapter of the Databook describe the requirements for the individual members of an assistance unit as of July 2004. Numerous requirements may be imposed on a family in order for it to become and/or remain eligible for TANF. To receive benefits, most states require recipients to negotiate and sign contracts that detail what is required of individuals within the unit. These requirements vary considerably by state but can include requirements for dependent children, such as immunization and school attendance requirements, as well as requirements for the adult head of the household, such as work-related requirements.

The following two sections describe some of the requirements individuals within the unit must fulfill to become and remain eligible for assistance, including those related to behavior and work activities.

A. Once determined eligible, what must a recipient family do to maintain benefits?

States may impose several types of behavioral requirements (requirements that attempt to influence or alter one’s actions) on individuals in the assistance unit. These requirements may affect adults and/or children in the unit and may include anything from requiring adult recipients to submit to drug testing to requiring dependent children to maintain a minimum grade point average in school. Note that fulfilling behavioral requirements can be a condition of initial and/or continuing eligibility.

Behavioral requirements: Although behavioral requirements affect adults and minor parents in many states, this book focuses on requirements imposed on dependent children. The typical requirements imposed on dependent children include school, immunization, health screening, and other health requirements. The following describes these policies further:

School:

School policies may require children to attend school or to achieve at least a minimal grade point average. This book addresses only the school requirements imposed on dependent children, not those that may be imposed on minor parents (which are included in the WRD).

States may also offer a school bonus, which provides financial incentives for assistance units whose children meet specific attendance or achievement standards. Unless otherwise noted, the school bonuses apply to both dependent children and minor parents.

Immunization:

These policies require parents to have their children immunized.

Health screening:

Health screening requirements may include regular checkups for both children and adults, although the requirements usually only apply to children.

Other health requirements:

Other health requirements primarily involve compliance with the rules of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program.

Table III.A.1 describes whether any requirements listed above are imposed on dependent children in the assistance unit for either initial and/or continuing eligibility. Requirements are only included in this table if (1) they are either explicitly mentioned in the manual as a requirement for cash assistance or recipients must sign a contract including one of the requirements to receive benefits; and (2) a sanction results from noncompliance. The table also describes whether the state provides school bonuses. The dollar amounts of bonuses, and the dollar amounts of sanctions for not complying with requirements, are not included in the table but are available in the WRD.

B. What work activities are required?

Under the TANF block grant, the federal government requires states to (1) meet the annual work participation rate determined by the federal government;15 and (2) ensure that every recipient is working (as defined by the state) as soon as the state determines he or she is able or after 24 months of benefit receipt, whichever is earlier. Therefore, states require most adult heads of an assistance unit to perform some type of work-related activity after a given period. The activities available and the timing of the requirement vary greatly by state. Who is required to participate can also vary considerably. States may, and most do, exempt (or excuse) groups of recipients from participating in activities based on some demographic or individual characteristic. In cases where the recipient is not exempt but also not complying with activity requirements, the state may sanction the family by reducing or eliminating the unit’s benefit. Below is a further discussion of these topics and the tables included in this section.

Work-related exemptions: States may, but are not required to, exempt certain individuals or groups from participating in work-related activities. Such an exemption does not, however, remove the individuals from the calculation of the state’s federal work participation rate. The only category of recipient that may be removed from the denominator of the participation rate calculation is single parents of a child under 12 months old; such parents may or may not be exempted from participation requirements.

Table III.B.1 describes each state’s key rules for exempting the single-parent head of an assistance unit from work-related requirements. An individual may be exempt if he or she works a specified number of hours in an unsubsidized job, is ill or incapacitated, is caring for an ill or incapacitated person, is elderly, is in a specified month of pregnancy, or is caring for a child under a specified age. These exemptions are the most common but are not an exhaustive list of work-related exemptions. For other exemption criteria, see the WRD.

Related tables: Table L6 provides the exemption for a parent caring for a young child from 1996 through 2004.

Work-related activities: Work programs vary widely from state to state based on several factors, including who must work, how much work is required, and what activities are considered work. Table III.B.2 provides a general overview of state activities requirements. The table describes when the recipient must begin participating, allowable activities the recipient could participate in, and how many hours the recipient must participate a week, including what share of those hours can be spent in education and training programs. Not all assistance units have the same work requirements. For simplicity, this table only includes the activities requirements for units headed by a single parent over age 20.

Users of this table should keep in mind that the caseworker manuals on which the WRD is based do not provide complete information about how these work requirements are implemented. In particular, caseworker manuals do not generally indicate the likelihood that a recipient will be assigned to one activity or another. Thus, two states could have the same potential activities but have very different policies in terms of how often different activities are assigned. Alternatively, one state might include a potential activity that is not listed in another state’s list but in practice rarely assign anyone to that activity. Another complexity is that one state may explicitly state a particular type of recipient (such as one without a high school diploma) will always be assigned to a certain activity (such as education and training), whereas another state might not include such a provision in the manual but nevertheless be very likely to assign individuals without a diploma to educational activities. Despite these limitations, the table provides a starting point for understanding the range of work-related requirements across states.

Work-related sanctions: If adults required to participate in activities do not comply with requirements, the state can sanction the unit. States have discretion to define what constitutes noncompliance and what will result from the noncompliance. Typically, if a recipient does not participate in his or her assigned activities for the specified number of hours, he or she is not complying and could be sanctioned. A sanction generally results in the removal of the noncomplying individual from the unit for benefit computation, a percent reduction in the entire unit’s benefit, or a full benefit sanction.16 Often states increase the severity of the sanction based on the number of times or the amount of time the individual is noncompliant.

Table III.B.3 describes sanction policies for failing to comply with work requirements. The table provides both the initial sanction (for the first instance of noncompliance) and the most severe sanction (after multiple instances of noncompliance). For both the initial and most severe sanctions, the table describes the amount of the reduction in benefits and the duration of the sanction. When the sanction is described as “adult portion of the benefit,” the state recomputes benefits using an assistance unit size that excludes the noncompliant adult. (If the adult has any income, some or all of it is deemed available to the children to prevent an increase in benefit.) The WRD includes more details on sanctions, including any sanctions that occur in between the initial and most severe sanctions.

Related tables: Table L7 describes the most severe sanction for 1996 through 2004.

Table III.A.1 Behavioral Requirements, July 2004
State	School requirements1	School bonuses2	Immunization requirements3	Health screening requirements4	Other health requirements5
Alabama	No	No	No	No	No
Alaska	No	No	No	No	No
Arizona	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Arkansas	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
California	Yes	Yes6	Yes	No	No
Colorado	Yes	Yes6	Yes	Yes	No
Connecticut	No	No	No	No	No
Delaware	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
D.C.	No	No	No	No	No
Florida	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Georgia	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Hawaii	No	No	No	No	No
Idaho	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Illinois	Yes	No	No	No	No
Indiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Iowa	No	No	No	No	No
Kansas	No	No	No	No	No
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Louisiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Maine	No	No	Yes	No	No
Maryland	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Massachusetts	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Michigan	No	No	Yes	No	No
Minnesota	No	No	No	No	No
Mississippi	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Missouri	No	No	No	No	No
Montana	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Nebraska	Yes	No	No	No	No
Nevada	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
New Hampshire	No	No	No	No	No
New Jersey	Yes	No	Yes7	No	No
New Mexico	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
New York	Yes	No	No	No	No
North Carolina	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
North Dakota	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ohio	No	Yes6	No	No	No
Oklahoma	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Oregon	No	Yes6	No	No	No
Pennsylvania	No	No	No	No	No
Rhode Island	No	No	No	No	No
South Carolina	Yes	No	No	No	No
South Dakota	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Tennessee	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Texas	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Utah	Yes	No	No	No	No
Vermont	No	Yes6	No	No	No
Virginia	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Washington	Yes	No	No	No	No
West Virginia	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Wisconsin	Yes	No	No	No	No
Wyoming	Yes	No	No	No	No
Total states with policy	33	8	27	8	1

Source: The Urban Institute's Welfare Rules Database, funded by DHHS/ACF and DHHS/ASPE.

1 School requirements apply only to requirements for dependent children, not minor parents. A requirement is coded "Yes" if the state explicitly mentions it as a requirement for cash assistance or if it is included as a requirement in the recipient's contract and noncompliance results in a sanction. These policies may require children to attend school, to achieve at least a minimal grade point average, and/or parents to be involved in their children's education in some way.

2 This variable captures financial incentives for assistance units whose children meet specific attendance or achievement standards. Unless otherwise noted, school bonuses apply to both dependent children and minor parents.

3 Immunization requirements include information on standard immunizations for children. A requirement is coded "Yes" only if the state explicitly mentions it as a requirement for cash assistance or if it is included as a requirement in the recipient's contract and noncompliance results in a sanction.

4 Health screening requirements include information on regular checkups for both children and adults, although the requirements usually apply only to children. A requirement is coded "Yes" only if the state explicitly mentions it as a requirement for cash assistance or if it is included as a requirement in the recipient's contract and noncompliance results in a sanction.

5 Other health requirements include information on other health-related requirements such as early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment (EPSDT). A requirement is coded "Yes" only if the state explicitly mentions it as a requirement for cash assistance or if it is included as a requirement in the recipient's contract and noncompliance results in a sanction.

6 School bonuses only apply to teen parents, ages 16 through 19.

7 New Jersey state law requires all dependent children to be immunized regardless of whether they receive TANF benefits. However, welfare recipients' benefits may be sanctioned if they do not immunize their dependent children. Recipients are required to sign an IRP contract to receive benefits; an immunization requirement may be included in the IRP. If the recipient fails to immunize his or her children, he or she breaches the contract and receives a financial sanction.

Table III.B.1 Work-Related Activity Exemptions for Single-Parent Head of Unit, July 2004 1
State		Unit Head Exempt If:
State		Working in unsubsidized job for(hours)	Ill or incapacitated	Caring for an ill or in capacitated person	Age (or older) (years)	In which month of pregnancy (or later)	Caring for child under age (months)
Alabama		No exemption	Yes	Yes	No exemption	No exemption2	3
Alaska		No exemption	Yes	Yes3	No exemption	No exemption	12 4
Arizona		40 5	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	No exemption
Arkansas		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	7	3 6
California7		No exemption	Yes8	Yes8	60 8	No exemption2	12 9
Colorado10		No exemption	Yes11	Yes11	No exemption	No exemption	12 12
Connecticut		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	No exemption13	12 14
Delaware		No exemption	Yes	No15	No exemption	No exemption	13 weeks
D.C.		30 16	No	Yes	60	6	12
Florida		No exemption	No	Yes17	No exemption	No exemption	3 18
Georgia		No exemption	Yes19	Yes19	No exemption	No exemption	12 20
Hawaii		No exemption	Yes21	Yes	60	No exemption	6
Idaho		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	No exemption
Illinois		No exemption	No22	No22	60	No exemption23	12 24
Indiana		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	4	3
Iowa		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	No exemption25
Kansas		No exemption	No	Yes	60	No exemption	12 26
Kentucky		No exemption	Yes19	Yes19	60 19	No exemption	12 6
Louisiana		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	12 27
Maine		No exemption	No	Yes28	No exemption	No exemption	12 6
Maryland29		30 30	Yes31	Yes	No exemption	No exemption	12 32
Massachusetts	Exempt33	—	—	—	—	—	—
Massachusetts	Nonexempt	20	—34	—34	—34	—34	—34
Michigan		No exemption	Yes	Yes35	65	No exemption	3 36
Minnesota		No exemption	No22	No22	No exemption37	No exemption38	3 39
Mississippi		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	7	12 6
Missouri		No exemption	Yes	Yes17	60	7 19	12
Montana		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	No exemption
Nebraska	Time limited assistance	No exemption	—34	—34	—34	—34	—34
Nebraska	Non-time limited assistance33	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nevada		30	Yes40	Yes	No exemption	No exemption41	12 6
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Employment Program	No exemption	Yes42	Yes	—34	4 43	24 44
New Hampshire	Family Assistance Program33	—	—	—	—	—	—
New Jersey		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	7 45	3 46
New Mexico		No exemption	Yes	Yes47	60	7 48	12 6
New York		No exemption	Yes 49	Yes	60	9	3 50
North Carolina		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	12 6
North Dakota		30	Yes	Yes	65	4	4
Ohio		30	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	12
Oklahoma		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	3 6
Oregon		No exemption	No	No	60	9	3
Pennsylvania		20 51	Yes	Yes19	No exemption	No exemption	12 6
Rhode Island		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	7	12
South Carolina	All, except STAR	No exemption	—34	—34	No exemption	7	No 52
	STAR (A)	No exemption	—34	No	No exemption	No exemption	No exemption
	STAR (B and C)33	—	—	—	—	—	—
South Dakota		No exemption	Yes19	Yes19	No exemption	No exemption	3
Tennessee		No exemption	Yes	Yes53	60	No exemption	4
Texas		30 54	Yes55	Yes	60	No exemption2	12 56
Utah		No exemption	No	No	No exemption	No exemption	No exemption
Vermont		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	No exemption	24 57
Virginia		No exemption	Yes58	Yes	60	4	18 59
Washington		No exemption	Yes	Yes	55	No exemption	4 6
West Virginia		No exemption	Yes	Yes	60	No exemption2	12 60
Wisconsin		No exemption	No	No15	No exemption	No exemption	3
Wyoming		No exemption	No	No	65	No exemption	3 6

Source: The Urban Institute's Welfare Rules Database, funded by DHHS/ACF and DHHS/ASPE.

1 This table refers to single-parent unit heads over 21 years old.

2 A pregnant woman may qualify for an exemption if the pregnancy is disabling and prohibits her from participating in work or training programs.

3 If the incapacitated person is an adult, the caretaker is exempt only if he or she is related to the person and providing 24 hour care.

4 The exemption is limited to 12 cumulative months in the recipient's lifetime. While the caretaker is exempt, he or she may be required to participate in job-readiness activities.

5 To be exempt, the job must pay at least the minimum wage and be expected to last at least 30 days.

6 The exemption is limited to 12 cumulative months in the recipient's lifetime.

7 Counties have the option to vary some activities exemptions. Statewide exemptions are noted; all other exemptions apply to Los Angeles County only.

8 Statewide exemption.

9 The recipient may only receive this exemption once; however, he or she may also receive a limited exemption for a second or subsequent child under six months old.

10 Counties have the option to vary some activities exemptions. Statewide exemptions are noted; all other exemptions apply to Denver County only.

11 While not technically exemptions, severe mental or physical disability and family emergencies such as the serious or terminal illness of an immediate family member may, on a case-by-case basis, be considered good cause for nonparticipation.

12 This statewide exemption does not apply to recipients who have received benefits for 24 or more cumulative months.

13 A pregnant recipient may qualify for an exemption if her physician indicates that she is unable to work. She may also be exempt from work requirements for six weeks postpartum.

14 The exemption only applies if the child under 12 months old is not subject to a family cap.

15 A recipient's care for an ill or incapacitated family member may qualify as his or her participation requirement.

16 The hours apply to recipients with children age 6 or older. Recipients with children under 6 years old are required to work 20 hours in order to be exempt.

17 The exemption applies only if no alternative care is available.

18 Recipients may be required to attend classes or other activities.

19 The state does not consider these groups technically exempt; however, they may meet the state's criteria for good cause for noncompliance or deferral.

20 The exemption is limited to once in the recipient's lifetime.

21 To be exempt, the recipient must have had the condition for at least 30 days.

22 Recipients meeting these criteria are not exempt, but the state does recognize that they may not be able to participate fully. The amount of participation required from each recipient is determined on a case-by-case basis.

23 Pregnant women are not exempt, but they are considered to have a barrier to full-time employment for the six weeks before the due date and the 12 weeks after birth. The amount of participation required is determined on a case-by-case basis.

24 Although exempt from activities requirements, persons caring for children under 12 months old could be asked to participate in the following activities: counseling, health-related education, group activities, and attending forums with information about child care and educational opportunities.

25 Although recipients are not exempt, they may be absent from work without sanction if they have a newborn child. Absence from activities is determined using the standards of the Family Leave Act of 1993. The maximum time available for one parent is 12 workweeks during any 12-month period and for two parents is the aggregate of 12 workweeks of leave for both parents.

26 The individual is exempt through the month the child turns age 1. The exemption cannot be claimed by any adult in the unit when at least one of the adults has reached the 48th month of cash assistance.

27 Parents with a child less than 1 year old are not required to participate in regular work activities; however, they may be required to participate in Parenting Skills Training.

28 To be exempt, the head of household must be caring for a spouse who is receiving SSI.

29 In Maryland, exemptions do not apply to individuals who have received 24 cumulative months of federal cash assistance. The only exemption that may be available after 24 months is to single parents who are caring for a child under age 6 and who are unable to obtain appropriate child care.

30 To be exempt, the job must pay minimum wage or higher.

31 The exemption is limited to 12 months unless the individual has applied for SSI and the application is approved, pending, or in appeal.

32 This is a one-time exemption for the first child only.

33 Recipients in this component are automatically exempt from activities requirements. See appendix 1 for more information on the composition of the component.

34 Individuals with this characteristic are placed in an alternative component. See appendix 1 for more information on components.

35 The caretaker is exempt only when caring for a child who is an SSI recipient, an SSI applicant, or suffers from a physical or mental impairment that meets federal SSI disability standards. The caretaker may be required to participate in activities requirements for a limited number of hours if assessment shows it would not be an undue burden on the care of the disabled family member.

36 Women are exempt from activities requirements for three months after giving birth when the newborn is in the home or for post-partum recovery when the newborn is not in the home.

37 A recipient over age 60 is not exempt, but the state does recognize that he or she may not be able to participate fully. The amount of participation required is determined on a case-by-case basis.

38 A pregnant woman is not exempt, but if the pregnancy has resulted in a professionally certified disability that prevents the woman from obtaining or retaining employment, the state does recognize that she may not be able to participate fully. The amount of participation required is determined on a case-by-case basis.

39 The exemption only applies once in a lifetime. It does not apply if the child is subject to the family cap.

40 The recipient is only exempt from job training requirements.

41 A pregnant woman may qualify for an exemption from job training requirements if a physician determines she is unable to work.

42 Recipients who are temporarily ill or incapacitated are exempt from work requirements until their illness or incapacity improves. If an individual is permanently disabled and unable to work, he or she is placed in the Family Assistance Program component.

43 Recipients who have received 39 or more months of assistance will not receive an exemption for pregnancy.

44 Recipients who have received 39 or more months of assistance will not receive a child care exemption. Recipients who conceive a child while on assistance are exempt only until the child is 12 months old.

45 Prior to the third trimester, recipients may be exempt if a physician certifies that a medical reason exists.

46 The exemption may be extended if a physician certifies it is medically necessary for the parent or child.

47 This exemption only applies if the care provided prevents the institutionalization of the disabled individual.

48 The exemption can be extended for up to six weeks beyond the end of the pregnancy.

49 The exemption is limited to three months.

50 The exemption may last for no more than 12 months in a recipient's lifetime and no more than three months for any one child, unless the social services official makes a determination to extend the exemption for up to the total 12 months.

51 Although not technically exempt, caretakers who work at least 20 hours a week and provide care to a child less than six years old meet the state's criteria for good cause for noncompliance or deferral.

52 A parent personally providing care for his or her child under age one will be expected to participate in the work program but cannot be sanctioned for failure to do so.

53 To qualify for the exemption, the caretaker must prove that he or she is needed in the home full-time to care for a related disabled child or adult relative who lives in the home.

54 To be exempt, the recipient must be earning at least $700 a month.

55 The exemption applies only if a recipient has a mental or physical disability that is expected to last more than 180 days. A temporary illness qualifies as good cause for non-participation and no sanction is imposed.

56 This exemption only applies for children who were less than 12 months old at initial application.

57 If the recipient cares for a child under 24 months old, work requirements may be modified or deferred. A participant's work requirement cannot be deferred for this reason for more than 24 months during a lifetime. If the participant has exhausted the 24 months of deferment and has a child under 13 weeks old, then the caretaker is automatically exempt from all work requirements.

58 To be exempt, the recipient must provide a physician's note certifying that he or she is incapacitated, the nature and scope of incapacity, and the abilities and limitations of the individual, as well as the duration of the incapacity. If the individual can participate in employment or training but is limited in the types of activities that he or she may participate in, the individual must participate in work activities that are determined suitable. If a doctor determines an individual is temporarily incapacitated, a caseworker must reevaluate the case after the prescribed duration of incapacitation or every 60 days, whichever comes first.

59 Recipients caring for a child subject to a family cap are only exempt while the child is under six weeks old.

60 The exemption is limited to six months for each child and may be taken at any time while the child is less than 12 months old.

Table III.B.2 Work-Related Activity for Single-Parent Head of Unit, July 2004 1
State		Timing of requirement to benefit receipt	Allowable activities listed2	Minimum hour requirement	Limit on hours allowed for education and training
Alabama		Immediately	All	32 3	7 4
Alaska		Immediately	All	30	—
Arizona	All, except JOBSTART	Immediately	Job-related, E&T, and CWEP	Case-by-case basis	—
Arizona	JOBSTART	Immediately	Subsidized employment	40	—
Arkansas		Immediately	All	30	—
California		Immediately	All except postsecondary education5	32	—
Colorado6		*	All5	22	—
Connecticut		Immediately	All except postsecondary education and subsidized employment	Case-by-case basis	—
Delaware		Immediately	Job-related and CWEP7	Case-by-case basis7	—
D.C.		Immediately	All	30 3	10 8
Florida		Immediately	All except postsecondary education	30 9	10
Georgia		Immediately	All	30 10	10
Hawaii		Immediately	All except postsecondary education	32	—
Idaho		Immediately	All except postsecondary education11	30	—
Illinois		After assessment	All	30	—
Indiana		Immediately	All except postsecondary education	Case-by-case basis	—
Iowa		Immediately	All except subsidized employment	Full-time employment12	—
Kansas		Immediately	All	30	10
Kentucky		Immediately	All	30	10
Louisiana		Immediately	All5	30	10
Maine		Immediately	All	30 3	10 13
Maryland		24 months	All	Depends on activity	In excess of 20 hours
Massachusetts	Exempt14	—	—	—	—
Massachusetts	Nonexempt	60 days	All	20	—
Michigan		Immediately	All	40	10 15
Minnesota		Immediately	All	30 3	10 16
Mississippi		24 months	All except subsidized employment	30 17	5
Missouri		24 months	All	30 3	—
Montana		Immediately	All except subsidized employment	30	10
Nebraska	Time limited assistance	Immediately	All	30	—
Nebraska	Non-time limited assistance	Immediately	Job-related	20	—
Nevada		Immediately	All	30 3	10 8
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Employment Program	Immediately	All except subsidized employment5	25 18	—
New Hampshire	Family Assistance Program14	—	—	—	—
New Jersey		Immediately	All	40	—
New Mexico	New Mexico Works Program	3 months after approval	All	34 19	In excess of 20 hours
New Mexico	Educational Works Program	*	All 20	20	—
New York		30 days after orientation	High school not complete: E&T	Full-time as defined by school	—
New York		30 days after orientation	High school complete: All	30 3	10 13
North Carolina		12 Weeks	All	35 3	15 13
North Dakota		Immediately	All	Case-by-case basis	—
Ohio		Immediately	All	20	—
Oklahoma		Immediately	All except postsecondary education	30	—
Oregon	JOBS	Immediately	All except unsubsidized employment5	Case-by-case basis	—
Oregon	JOBS Plus21	*	E&T and employment	40	—
Pennsylvania		Immediately	All except postsecondary education5	20	—
Rhode Island		Immediately	All5	30 3	30 22
South Carolina	All, except STAR	Immediately	All except subsidized employment	30 3	—
	STAR (A)	Immediately	All	Case-by-case basis	—
	STAR (B and C)14	—	—	—	—
South Dakota		Immediately	All	30 3	10 23
Tennessee		After assessment	All except subsidized employment	40	20
Texas		After orientation	All5	30 3	10 8
Utah		Immediately	All except subsidized employment	Case-by-case basis	—
Vermont		Immediately	All5	30 3	—
Virginia	VIEW	Immediately	All	30	—
Virginia	All, except VIEW14	—	—	—	—
Washington		Immediately	All	32	—
West Virginia		24 months	All	30 3	—
Wisconsin	W-2 Transition	After assessment	Job-related, E&T, and community service	40	12
	Unsubsidized Employment	After assessment24	Job-related and employment	40	—
	Trial Jobs	After assessment	Subsidized employment	40	—
	Community Service Jobs	After assessment	Job-related and E&T	40	10
Wyoming		Immediately	All	30 25	In excess of 20 hours

Source: The Urban Institute's Welfare Rules Database, funded by DHHS/ACF and DHHS/ASPE.

* Data not obtained.

1 The table contains the activity requirements for single-parent recipients 21 years old or older.

2 All possible activities include:
(a) Job-related activities include one or more of the following: job skills training, job readiness activities, job development and placement, job search. (b) Education and training (E&T) activities include one or more of the following: basic or remedial education, high school/GED, English as a second language, postsecondary education, on-the-job training. (c) Employment activities include one or more of the following: unsubsidized job, work supplement/subsidized job, CWEP/AWEP, community service.

3 The hours apply to recipients with children age 6 or older. Recipients with children under 6 years old are required to work 20 hours.

4 Generally, recipients are required to participate in either job-related or employment activities for at least 25 hours per week. However, on a case-by-case basis, the caseworker may determine that educational activities are necessary for a recipient to overcome barriers to employment. In these cases, the limit on the number of hours that may be spent in education may be waived.

5 According to the state manuals, recipients move from one set of activities to another after a set period of time. Generally, they begin with job-related activities and end with employment; see the WRD for details.

6 Counties have the option to vary their activity requirements. These policies refer to Denver County.

7 The hours requirement is 10 hours a week of job search plus participation in CWEP up to the number of hours equal to the benefit amount divided by the minimum wage. If the recipient is working 20 hours or more a week in an unsubsidized job, no additional work requirements apply.

8 These hours apply to recipients with children age 6 or older. Recipients with children under 6 years old must spend all required hours in non-education related activities.

9 On-the-job training and work supplementation require a full-time (32 to 40 hour) commitment.

10 When the agency determines it possible, the recipient must participate for a minimum of 40 hours a week.

11 Recipients with children under the age of 12 weeks are only required to participate in life skills training.