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On motion of Senator WILSON, the Report of the Committee of Conference to H. 3613 was adopted as follows:

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:
H. 3613 -- Reps. Wilkins, Huff, Delleney, Knotts, Townsend, Limehouse, Keegan, Witherspoon, Fleming, Marchbanks, Tripp, Felder, Lanford, Herdklotz, Easterday, A. Young, Hallman, Law, Limbaugh, Cotty, Thomas, Harrell, Sandifer, Sharpe, Fair, Haskins, Richardson, Fulmer, J. Young, Chamblee, Riser, Cain, Jaskwhich, Beatty, R. Smith, Simrill, Walker, Robinson, Rice, Dantzler, Stille, Stuart, Wofford, Wells, Trotter, Mason, Clyburn, Harrison, Klauber, Cato, Vaughn, Martin, Davenport and Kirsh: A BILL TO ENACT THE SOUTH CAROLINA FAMILY INDEPENDENCE ACT OF 1995 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE WELFARE POLICY OF THE STATE; TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO EXPAND ITS EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE SERVICES AND TO EXPAND ITS WORK SUPPORT PROGRAM STATEWIDE; TO REQUIRE AFDC RECIPIENTS TO ENTER AGREEMENTS IN ORDER TO RECEIVE AFDC AND TO PROVIDE SANCTIONS FOR NONCOMPLIANCE; TO REQUIRE THE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT ON-LINE ACCESS TO JOB VACANCY DATA; TO AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF PORTIONS OF

That the same do pass with the following amendments:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the South Carolina Family Independence Act of 1995.

SECTION 2. It is the policy of this State that personal responsibility and parental responsibility must be met if citizens are to attain independence. Further, it is the policy of this State that the welfare system must be based upon a reciprocal agreement between welfare recipients and taxpayers. There also must exist a common goal and vision between the parties, working together at the community level to make life better for all. It must assist families to become economically independent, provide tools to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency, and deter abuse of the system through fair and meaningful sanctions.

SECTION 1. As used in this act:

(1) `Aid to Families with Dependent Children' or `AFDC' means cash payments or stipends paid to individuals who meet established eligibility criteria.

(2) `Department' means the South Carolina State Department of Social Services.

(3) `Welfare' means cash assistance payments through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program which must be provided as a stipend to assist families to become employed.

SECTION 1. It is the mandate of the General Assembly that the welfare system in South Carolina be restructured to assist families in poverty to become socially and economically independent. It is the purpose and goal of this legislation to establish the reform of the welfare system as a critical priority for the state and all of its agencies. Cooperation and innovation within and among all state agencies is necessary for the achievement of this goal. The office of the governor shall designate the lead agency for purposes of coordination and the avoidance, where practical, of duplication of services. The State Department of Social Services is mandated to fundamentally change its economic services operation to emphasize employment and training with a minor welfare component. To that end, the department shall expand its employment and training program statewide and shall, to the extent

SECTION 2. (A) To emphasize the reciprocal responsibility that exists between welfare recipients and the taxpayers who pay for welfare, an agreement must be signed by each adult AFDC recipient. If a minor mother is living in the home of her parents or guardian, the minor mother and her parent or guardian must sign the agreement. The agreement shall describe the actions the recipient must take to become employed and the time frames for completing these actions. The agreement also shall describe the services the department shall provide or coordinate to assist the recipient in becoming employed. The department shall place a major emphasis on job development and on maximizing employment opportunities within the State. Assistance must be provided by the department's job development specialists who shall work with the private business and industrial community to match welfare recipients with available jobs. Assistance also shall include job clubs, job coaches, financial planners, and personal, social, and work adjustment training specialists and authorizes the department to locate, identify, and contract for employment for and on behalf of AFDC recipients.

(B) An applicant who appears to be eligible for welfare assistance and who would be required to participate or who volunteers to participate in the department's employment and training program must be referred to an employment and training unit. An applicant referred must conduct an initial job search and shall provide evidence of this search by listing the employer contacted, the date of the visit with the employer, and the name and telephone number of the person with whom the applicant spoke. An applicant who does not provide this information must not be approved for assistance until the information is provided. An employment assessment must be conducted on an applicant who is unsuccessful in securing employment to determine if the applicant is job ready. An applicant who has been employed twelve out of the previous twenty-four months or who has graduated from high school or has obtained a GED must be considered job ready and must be enrolled in a job club. Following participation in a job club, the applicant must conduct a job search for an additional period of no more than sixty days or until the applicant obtains employment, whichever occurs first. An applicant who is not job ready or a job ready participant who is unsuccessful in the job search must be evaluated for

(C) All services provided shall complement and maximize existing resources within state agencies and within the private business community. Services to be provided or coordinated by the department include, but are not limited to, assistance with child care and transportation, enrollment in literacy classes, adult education classes, General Equivalency Diploma classes, enrollment in technical schools, vocational training, work experience, and on-the-job training. Additionally, recipients shall participate in activities designed to assist them in job interviews and successful employment. The department shall provide information to applicants and recipients regarding the advantages of participation in the employment and training programs. The department also shall market its training and employment program to education and training program providers and to employers.

(D) The department through its training programs shall provide information about the value of family planning services to reproductive age participants and shall require training program placement staff to actively seek the participation of employers or potential employers in an agreement which permits an AFDC recipient time off from work, not to exceed four hours, at least once a year to voluntarily seek family planning services from a provider of the AFDC recipient's choice without fear of losing their job or of other reprisals.

SECTION 3. The Employment Security Commission shall provide the department up-to-date labor market information to assist department employment and training staff in the development of recipient employment goals and training plans to be outlined in individual agreements. The Employment Security Commission also, through contractual agreement, shall provide the South Carolina Occupational Information System to each of the department's local offices to assist with career counseling and career planning activities. To the extent possible, all other state agencies shall provide the department with access to appropriate economic and demographic data concerning AFDC applicants and recipients.

SECTION 4. The department may provide, as appropriate, relocation assistance to families who live in communities where few job opportunities exist. Assistance may be provided to assist recipients in accessing jobs which maximize their skills and abilities.

SECTION 6. Chapter 7, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 12-7-1280. (A) A taxpayer, who employs a person who within twelve months of becoming employed received Aid to Families with Dependent Children and who continuously has remained employed for twelve months is allowed a credit against taxes due under this chapter for wages paid to the employee in an amount equal to:

(1) twenty percent of wages up to five thousand dollars paid for the first year of employment;

(2) fifteen percent of wages up to five thousand dollars paid for the second year of employment;

(3) ten percent of wages up to five thousand dollars paid for the third year of employment.

(B) The tax credit provided by subsection (A) shall not be allowed unless the taxpayer also makes available health care coverage for the benefit of each employee for which the credit is claimed.

(C) The Department of Social Services and the South Carolina Employment Security Commission must make information available to employers interested in hiring AFDC recipients and must provide documentation to employers verifying a person's status as an AFDC recipient.

(D) This section applies to tax years beginning after 1994.

(E) No tax credit may be taken under this section if the position filled by the former AFDC recipient was made available due to the termination or forced resignation of an employee for the purpose of obtaining the tax credit. Nothing in this section creates a private cause of action which does not otherwise exist at law."

SECTION 7. Each state agency shall establish recruitment and hiring goals which shall target ten percent of all jobs requiring a high school diploma or less to be filled with welfare or food stamp recipients. A question concerning receipt of AFDC benefits or food stamps may be added to the state employment application for purposes of targeting these applicants. Each agency annually shall report to the department the

SECTION 8. The department, as part of the employment and training program, shall provide special educational and related services for teen parents to assist them in becoming economically independent and to provide health information. This teen parent initiative must be staffed by department personnel familiar with school drop out programs, family planning programs which comply with existing law, and parent effectiveness training programs, and whenever possible and practical, the department shall coordinate with comparable staff of other state and local agencies in providing these services.

SECTION 9. To expand available job training activities for AFDC recipients, the Governor may target future incentive funds under Title II-A of the Job Training and Partnership Act in such a way as to encourage the service delivery areas and local private industry councils to increase service levels and improve performance outcomes related to services to AFDC recipients.

SECTION 10. To emphasize the importance of education, training, and employment in restructuring the welfare system, the department shall establish goals for the placement and retention of AFDC recipients in employment programs for each county welfare office. These goals must be reflected in the Employee Performance Evaluation of all appropriate department employees.

SECTION 11. (A) To emphasize the necessity of each family achieving independence and self-sufficiency, if an AFDC recipient fails without good cause to comply with the employment and training requirements contained in the agreement entered into between the recipient and the State Department of Social Services, the department shall:

(1) grant a thirty-day conciliation period for the recipient to reconsider the decision not to comply with the terms of the agreement. During this thirty-day period, the recipient has the right to appeal the department's decision to impose sanctions. At the end of this thirty-day period if the conciliation/fair hearing decision was not in the recipient's favor, all AFDC benefits must be terminated. Benefits may be reinstated when the recipient agrees to comply according to the terms of the agreement and demonstrates willingness to comply by participating in the employment and training program for a period of thirty days;

(2) terminate all AFDC benefits if the recipient completes the training requirements contained in the agreement and then refuses an offer of employment.

(1) a parent or caretaker relative with a child under one year of age; however, custodial parents under age twenty-five who have not completed their high school education are required to comply with these provisions regardless of the age of the child;

(2) at least six months pregnant and the pregnancy is verified by a qualified licensed health care provider;

(3) incapacitated and the incapacity is verified by a physician, and if the department considers it necessary, confirmed by an assessment performed by the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, as a physical or mental impairment that prevents the recipient from engaging in gainful employment or participating in education or training;

(4) caring for an incapacitated person whose incapacity has been verified by a physician and if the department considers it necessary, confirmed by an assessment performed by the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation;

(5) unable to participate because child care and reasonable transportation were not provided when needed for participation in employment and training programs.

SECTION 12. As a condition of eligibility for AFDC benefits, each adult recipient and minor mother recipient must participate in a family skills training program which must include, but is not limited to, parenting skills, financial planning, and health information. Whenever possible and practical, the department shall coordinate with comparable staff of other state and local agencies in providing these services.

This program must include an alcohol and other drug assessment when it is determined by the department that an assessment is appropriate. The department shall coordinate with the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services to provide the proper assessment of the recipient and training of the department personnel who are to conduct the assessment. If the recipient is determined to be in need of alcohol and other drug abuse treatment, the department shall coordinate the services with the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and shall include the individually determined terms and conditions of the treatment in the recipient's agreement with the department.

This program must include a family planning assessment if it is determined by the department that an assessment is appropriate. The department shall coordinate with the Department of Health and Environmental Control to provide the AFDC family with education, evaluation, and counseling, consistent with Medicaid regulations. State

SECTION 13. Section 20-7-420 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by an act of 1995 bearing ratification number 585 of 1994, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered item to read:

"( ) to order a person required to pay support under a court order being enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act who is unemployed or underemployed and who is the parent of a child receiving AFDC benefits to participate in an employment training program or public service employment pursuant to regulations promulgated by the department. The Division of Child Support Enforcement of the State Department of Social Services also has jurisdiction under this item in cases under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act brought pursuant to Article 32, Chapter 7, Title 20 of the 1976 Code."

SECTION 14. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-873. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a court or administrative order for child support or order for contempt for nonpayment of child support being enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act may direct a noncustodial parent who is unemployed or underemployed and who is the parent of a child receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits to participate in an employment training program or public service employment. Upon failure of the noncustodial parent to comply with an order of contempt which directed the noncustodial parent to participate in the employment training program or public service employment, the Family Court, upon receiving an affidavit of noncompliance from the department, immediately may issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the noncustodial parent. The Department of Social Services shall promulgate regulations governing the eligibility criteria and implementation of these training programs and public service employment."

SECTION 15. The Department of Social Services shall seek federal funds for entrepreneurial development so that AFDC clients can create jobs and provide incentives for AFDC clients in their efforts to attain self-sufficiency and independence. The department shall identify markets for entrepreneurial development for AFDC clients, provide clients with job skills and opportunities to develop expertise in operating businesses, and allow clients to accrue savings, buy stock in a business, or, over a period of time, purchase a business. In carrying out this program the department shall work in conjunction with public, community, and private sector entities including businesses, banks, and other institutions to develop

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