PRINTER'S NO. 26
No. 22 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY ARTY, CIVERA, GALLAGHER, F. E. TAYLOR, STEIGHNER
AND GANNON, JANUARY 23, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JANUARY 23, 1985
AN ACT
1 Providing for the creation of a multipurpose program for
2 displaced homemakers; further providing for powers and duties
3 of the Department of Education; and making an appropriation.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Displaced
8 Homemakers Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative intent.
10 (a) Findings.--The General Assembly hereby finds and
11 declares that there is an ever increasing number of persons in
12 this Commonwealth, who, having fulfilled a role as a homemaker,
13 find themselves "displaced" through divorce, death of spouse or
14 other loss of family income. As a consequence, displaced
15 homemakers are very often without any source of income. Having
16 been engaged in unpaid labor in the home, they face difficulties
17 in seeking and obtaining employment due to this lack of recent
18 paid work experience.
1 (b) Additional funds.--The General Assembly acknowledges and
2 commends the efforts taken by the Department of Education in
3 initiating and supporting programs to aid the displaced
4 homemaker through the use of Federal vocational education funds.
5 It is, therefore, the intent of the General Assembly in enacting
6 this act to provide funds to augment, not supplant, Federal
7 funds being allocated by the Department of Education for
8 displaced homemaker center programs. Specifically, these funds
9 shall be used, in addition to Federal funds, to continue
10 existing displaced homemaker center programs, as appropriate,
11 and to create displaced homemaker center programs in areas of
12 the Commonwealth which are currently underserved or unserved.
13 (c) Reaffirmation of commitment.--Further, it is the
14 intention of the General Assembly in enacting this act to
15 reaffirm the Commonwealth's commitment to provide the necessary
16 counseling, training, employment placement and other services
17 for displaced homemakers so that they may attain the self-
18 sufficiency and economic viability essential to a productive
19 life and to serve the public interest by improving the health
20 and welfare of this ever-growing group of citizens.
21 Section 3. Definitions.
22 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
23 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
24 context clearly indicates otherwise:
25 "Department." The Department of Education of the
26 Commonwealth.
27 "Displaced homemaker." A person who meets all of the
28 following:
29 (1) Has worked without pay as a homemaker for his
30 family.
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1 (2) Has depended on the income attributable to a family
2 member.
3 (3) Has lost that income as a result of separation,
4 divorce or the death of that family member.
5 (4) Is not adequately employed and must seek employment
6 in order to support himself as well as any dependents.
7 Section 4. Powers and duties of department.
8 (a) Grants.--The department shall provide grants to local
9 education agencies to establish and operate multipurpose
10 displaced homemaker center programs for displaced homemakers in
11 this Commonwealth. Consideration should be given, when funding
12 new displaced homemaker center programs, to the areas of the
13 Commonwealth that are underserved or have no appropriate
14 programs for displaced homemakers. The displaced homemaker
15 center programs operated by the local education agencies shall
16 be designed and staffed as follows:
17 (1) The displaced homemaker center programs shall be
18 designed to provide displaced homemakers with the necessary
19 counseling, training, skills, services and education to
20 become employed and self-sufficient.
21 (2) To the greatest extent possible, the staff of the
22 displaced homemaker center programs, including supervisory,
23 technical, administrative and volunteer positions, shall be
24 filled by persons who are, or were at one time in the past,
25 displaced homemakers.
26 (b) Funding sources.--The department shall explore all
27 possible sources of funding and in-kind contributions from
28 Federal, State, local and private sources available for
29 supporting the displaced homemaker center programs, including
30 building space, equipment and qualified personnel for training
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1 purposes. The department shall prepare, and update as needed, a
2 list of the above funding sources. This list shall be made
3 available to all displaced homemaker center programs currently
4 funded by the department and to all parties submitting requests
5 for funding of displaced homemaker center programs.
6 (c) Coordination.--The department shall coordinate its
7 efforts under this act with other appropriate State and Federal
8 agencies to insure that existing programs and services are
9 utilized and made available to the displaced homemaker center
10 programs for the purpose of assisting displaced homemakers. Such
11 programs and services shall include, but not be limited to,
12 programs and services available under the Federal Job Training
13 Partnership Act and through the Office of Employment Security in
14 the Department of Labor and Industry.
15 Section 5. Services to be provided.
16 Services to be provided by funded displaced homemaker center
17 programs may include, but shall not be limited to, the
18 following:
19 (1) Career and personal counseling services designed
20 specifically for the person entering the job market after a
21 number of years as a homemaker. Peer counseling, job search
22 information, communication and decisionmaking skills, job
23 readiness, as well as occupational skill updating and
24 development, shall be emphasized.
25 (2) Assistance in enrolling in educational, vocational
26 or technical training programs.
27 (3) A job training service developed with government
28 agencies and private employers to provide displaced
29 homemakers with training programs for jobs in the public and
30 private sectors. To this end, the displaced homemaker center
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1 programs shall include the program services of the Office of
2 Employment Security.
3 (4) A job placement service to assist the displaced
4 homemaker in finding permanent employment. To this end, the
5 staff shall work with the Office of Employment Security and
6 private industry councils under the Federal Job Training
7 Partnership Act to secure employment for displaced
8 homemakers.
9 (5) Money management courses, including information and
10 assistance in dealing with insurance programs (life, health
11 and car), taxes, mortgage loans, credit and probate problems.
12 (6) Outreach and information for government programs,
13 including specific information and assistance with
14 supplemental security income, social security, veterans'
15 administration benefits, welfare, food stamps, unemployment
16 insurance and Medicaid.
17 Section 6. Regulations and annual evaluation.
18 (a) Regulations.--The department shall, in the manner
19 provided by law, establish the guidelines and regulations
20 necessary to carry out this act, including the amount of fees
21 that displaced homemaker center programs may be required to
22 charge based on the individual displaced homemaker's ability to
23 pay for the provided services.
24 (b) Evaluation.--The department shall prepare an annual
25 evaluation report on the effectiveness of the displaced
26 homemakers center programs and the services provided. The
27 department shall make this report annually to the Governor and
28 the House and Senate Education Committees. All recipients of
29 funds under this act shall be required to provide any and all
30 information requested by the department for the purposes of this
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1 report.
2 Section 7. Appropriation.
3 The sum of $300,000 is hereby appropriated to the Department
4 of Education to carry out this act. These funds shall be deemed
5 to be in addition to, and not a replacement of, any funding
6 sources currently being utilized to fund displaced homemaker
7 center programs aiding displaced homemakers.
8 Section 8. Effective date.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
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