SB 356

This bill provides general purpose revenue funding to expand the Transform

Milwaukee Jobs program and the Transitional Jobs program.

Under current law, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) must

establish a Transform Milwaukee Jobs program in Milwaukee County and may, if

funding is available, establish a Transitional Jobs program in one or more geographic

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

Funding for the programs comes chiefly from the federal Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families (TANF) block grant.

Under the programs, DCF pays to an employer, or a person with which DCF

contracts to administer the programs (contractor), that employs a program

participant a wage subsidy for up to 40 hours per week at minimum wage and 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 a

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; must have

household income below 150 percent of the poverty line; must be unemployed for at

least four weeks; must be ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits; and

may not be participating in a Wisconsin Works employment position. An individual

may participate in the program for a maximum of 1,040 hours, which is equivalent

to 26 40-hour weeks.

This bill appropriates $9,000,000 of general purpose revenue (GPR) in fiscal

year 2015-16 and $8,000,000 of GPR in fiscal year 2016-17 to expand the Transform

Milwaukee Jobs program and the Transitional Jobs program. Under the bill, 60

percent of the funding from this GPR appropriation is allocated to the Transform

Milwaukee Jobs program and 40 percent is allocated to the Transitional Jobs

program. In order to participate in the expansion of either program funded by this

GPR appropriation, an individual does not have to satisfy the criterion that, if over

24 years old, he or she must be the parent or primary relative caregiver of a child

under the age of 18.