SECTION 811.4. Policies, Memoranda of Understanding, and Procedures

(a) A Board shall establish policies regarding the following:

(1) A Choices service strategy, as defined in §811.3, that coordinates various service delivery approaches to:

(A) assist applicants and conditional applicants in gaining employment as an alternative to public assistance;

(B) use a work first design as referenced in §811.3(b)(2) to provide Choices participants access to the labor market; and

(C) assist former recipients with job retention and career advancement in order to remain independent of TANF cash assistance;

(2) Limits on the amount of funds per Choices participant and the maximum duration for subsidized employment and OJT placements; and

(3) The methods and limitations for provision of work-related expenses.

(b) A Board may establish optional policies that:

(1) require the use of the Eligible Training Provider Certification System (ETPS) and Individual Training Account (ITA) systems as described in Chapter 841 of this title to provide for Choices services for Choices participants and paid for with TANF funds; and

(2) make post-employment services available to:

(A) former recipients who are denied TANF cash assistance because of earnings; and

(B) sanctioned families and conditional applicants who obtain employment during their demonstrated cooperation period.

(c) A Board shall ensure that the following memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and collaborative partnerships are developed:

(1) Local-level MOUs with the appropriate agencies to serve Choices-eligible individuals with disabilities to maximize their potential for success in employment;

(2) A local-level MOU with HHSC for providing mental health and substance abuse services to Choices participants; and

(3) A collaborative partnership with housing authorities and sponsors of local housing programs and services to address the unmet housing needs of recipients.

(d) A Board shall ensure that procedures are developed:

(1) to ensure that job development services are available to Choices participants. These services include:

(A) contacting local employers or industry associations to request that job openings be listed with Workforce Solutions Offices, and other entities in the One-Stop Service Delivery Network selected by the Board;

(B) identifying the hiring needs of employers;

(C) assisting an employer in creating new positions for Choices participants based on the job developer's and employer's analysis of the employer's business needs; or

(D) finding opportunities with an employer for a specific Choices participant or a group of Choices participants;

(2) to ensure that job placement services are available to Choices participants. Job placement services shall include:

(A) identifying employers' workforce needs;

(B) identifying Choices participants who have sufficient skills and abilities to be successfully linked with employment; and

(C) matching the skills of the Choices participant pool to the hiring needs of local employers;

(3) to notify applicants and conditional applicants--in conjunction with HHSC--on the availability of regularly scheduled Workforce Orientations for Applicants (WOAs) and alternative WOAs;

(4) to notify HHSC of applicants and conditional applicants who contacted a Workforce Solutions Office to request alternative WOAs;

(5) to ensure that services are concentrated on Choices-eligible individuals approaching their state or federal time limit, as identified in §811.3(b)(7)(A) and (B). Concentrated services may include targeted outreach, enhanced analysis of circumstances that may limit a Choices-eligible individual's ability to participate, and targeted job development; and

(6) to determine a family's inability to obtain child care.

(e) If a Board elects to establish one or more of the optional policies described in subsection (b) of this section, the Board must ensure that corresponding procedures are developed for those policies.

Source Note: The provisions of this §811.4 adopted to be effective September 29, 2008, 33 TexReg 8192; amended to be effective January 8, 2013, 38 TexReg 180; amended to be effective December 3, 2018, 43 TexReg 7801