AB 401

Current law requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to

establish a Transform Milwaukee Jobs program (TMJ program) in Milwaukee

County under which DCF pays to an employer, or a person with which DCF contracts

to administer the program (contractor), that employs a program participant a wage

subsidy that is equal to the wage the employer or contractor pays the participant, up

to 40 hours per week at minimum wage. The employer or contractor must employ

the participant at least 20 hours per week at a location in this state and pay at least

minimum wage, although the employer, or contractor with the approval of DCF, may

pay the participant more than the wage subsidy. An individual may participate in

the program for a maximum of 1,040 hours, which is equivalent to 26 40-hour weeks.

In addition to paying the wage subsidy, DCF may reimburse an employer or

contractor for certain taxes, unemployment insurance contributions or taxes, and

worker's compensation insurance premiums that are attributable to employment of

the participant.

To be eligible to participate in the TMJ program, an individual must be at least

18 years old, and, if over 24 years old, must be the parent or primary relative

caregiver of a child under the age of 18. The individual must have household income

below 150 percent of the poverty line, be unemployed for at least four weeks, be

ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits, and not be participating in

a Wisconsin Works (W-2) employment position. A program participant may be

eligible for a child care subsidy under Wisconsin Shares, which generally provides

child care subsidies for participants in W-2, if the program participant needs child

care services in order to participate in the program.

DCF may administer the TMJ program or contract with any person, including

a W-2 agency, county department, local workforce development board, or community

action agency, to perform administrative functions, including determining eligibility,

providing or identifying employers to provide jobs for eligible individuals, providing

job orientation and employment services, and maintaining participant demographic,

eligibility, and employment records. DCF may recover an overpayment from a

participant that results from a misrepresentation about his or her eligibility, and

must recover an overpayment from a contractor that results from a failure to comply

with the contract or to meet performance standards established by DCF.

This bill authorizes DCF to establish a Transitional Jobs program if funding is

available, with the same provisions as the TMJ program, in one or more geographic

areas of the state that are not in Milwaukee County, to the extent of available funds.

In selecting the geographic area or areas in which to conduct the Transitional Jobs

program, DCF must give priority to those areas with relatively high rates of

unemployment and childhood poverty.