A Transitional Jobs program. (FE)

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.