Welfare Reform Act of 1994

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Applicant Job Search, Voucher Program, Transition

and Work Program, Etc.

Title II: Provisions Relating to Paternity Establishment

Title III: Child Support Enforcement

Title IV: Expansion of Statutory Flexibility of States

Title V: Expedited State Waiver Authority

Title VI: Welfare Restrictions for Aliens

Title VII: Miscellaneous

Welfare Reform Act of 1994 - Title I: Applicant Job Search, Voucher Program, Transition and Work Program, Etc. - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) require State AFDC plans to require AFDC applicants to search for a job while their application for AFDC is being processed; (2) make reimbursable job search expenses for transportation and child care; and (3) require the State to have in effect an employment voucher program under which eligible individuals receiving AFDC or food stamps shall receive vouchers in lieu of such benefits after they have obtained employment with a qualified employer.

(Sec. 103) Amends SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) to require State JOBS programs to include specified transition and work supplementation components.

Amends the community work experience and work supplementation programs.

(Sec. 104) Revises State AFDC plan requirements for: (1) sanctions for an individual's failure to participate in the JOBS program; and (2) exemptions from JOBS program participation requirements.

(Sec. 106) Increases State JOBS program and work program participation rates with regard to AFDC-eligible individuals and unemployed parents, respectively.

Extends to all States the option to limit AFDC-UP (AFDC for Unemployed Parents).

(Sec. 107) Provides for additional payments to States for JOBS programs.

Title II: Provisions Relating to Paternity Establishment - Amends SSA title IV part A to provide for reduction of AFDC for the parents or guardians of children whose paternity is not established.

(Sec. 202) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to require each State to have in effect laws requiring outreach to pregnant, unmarried women regarding paternity establishment and eligibility for benefits under Federal and State programs, including assistance under AFDC.

(Sec. 203) Increases the paternity establishment percentage.

Title III: Child Support Enforcement - Makes various specified changes with regard to State child support order registries, the Parent Locator Service, regulations for sharing child support information, income withholding orders, and noncustodial parents with child support arrearages who are applying for, or are already on, AFDC.

Title IV: Expansion of Statutory Flexibility of States - Amends SSA title IV part A to give States the option to: (1) disallow the increases or decreases in AFDC payments that are mandated by this Act on the basis of childhood preventive health care examinations and immunizations; (2) increase or decrease AFDC payments on the basis of attendance at educational or vocational training institutions; (3) deny AFDC for additional children; (4) provide for a married couple transitional benefit in cases where an AFDC recipient marries an individual who is not a parent of the recipient's child and the resulting family would become ineligible for AFDC by reason of the marriage; (5) treat families moving interstate who apply for AFDC in their new State of residence, where they have resided for less than one year, under the AFDC rules of their former State of residence; (6) condition the receipt of AFDC on the recipient's attendance at appropriate parenting and money management classes; (7) deny AFDC to unmarried individuals under 18 who are pregnant or have a dependent child (if the State does not opt to deny AFDC eligibility in such case, then it must require that the individuals live at home to be AFDC-eligible); and (8) disregard certain savings of a family on AFDC designated for education in determining eligibility for AFDC.

(Sec. 401) Requires States to conduct appropriate education and outreach activities designed to increase public awareness of the importance of preventive health care and immunizations for pre-school children.

Requires the Surgeon General to issue, and periodically revise, recommendations for the immunization of children under six.

Title V: Expedited State Waiver Authority - Establishes an Interagency Waiver Request Board to provide a focal point within the Federal Government for the development and coordination of waiver requests designed to improve opportunities for low-income individuals and families.

(Sec. 502) Prescribes contents of applications to implement Federal assistance plans, as well as the review, approval, implementation, and evaluation processes.

(Sec. 505) Requires any entity applying for plan approval to establish a Public-Private Partnership Committee to advise it on plan development and implementation.

Title VI: Welfare Restrictions for Aliens - Prohibits, generally, the payment of direct Federal financial benefits, food stamps, and unemployment benefits to individuals who are not U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or refugees.

(Sec. 601) Requires any lawful alien receiving any such benefits for over one year to be reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and be treated as a public charge for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act with regard to deportation for failing to notify the Attorney General of a current address.

Deems the income and resources of any person who agrees to sponsor and provide support to a lawful alien as unearned income and resources of such alien until the alien is naturalized as an U.S. citizen.

(Sec. 602) Amends SSA title IV part A to require State AFDC agencies to provide INS with information on illegal aliens.

Title VII: Miscellaneous - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to prohibit the payment of OASDI benefits to individuals confined by court order to public institutions pursuant to verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity (or other similar finding) or guilty, but insane.

(Sec. 702) Amends SSA title IV part A to require AFDC applicants and recipients to undergo any necessary substance abuse treatment and submit to unannounced drug tests afterwards as a condition of receiving AFDC.

(Sec. 703) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct research projects to evaluate education and training programs with respect to participation in the AFDC program; (2) conduct demonstration projects and report to the Congress on whether providing benefits based on need through the use of electronic cards and automatic teller machines would reduce administrative costs and fraud; and (3) establish a commission to determine the cost and feasibility of creating an interstate system to compare the social security numbers of all AFDC recipients in order to identify those recipients receiving AFDC from multiple States.

(Sec. 705) Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to make: (1) ineligible for SSI benefits individuals receiving SSI on the basis of a disability caused by illegal drugs who are on illegal drugs or refuse to be tested for such; and (2) changes with regard to government agencies as paid representative payees (RPs) and RP fees.

(Sec. 706) Amends SSA title IV part A to: (1) make State AFDC fraud control programs mandatory; and (2) permanently bar individuals found guilty of fraud in connection with the AFDC program from being considered in determining their families' eligibility for AFDC.