PRINTER'S NO. 2031
No. 1695 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY SEMMEL, E. Z. TAYLOR, MAITLAND, LYNCH, DEMPSEY,
ROHRER, STISH, TRUE, HERSHEY, SAYLOR, FARGO, ARMSTRONG,
JAROLIN, LEH, BROWN, EGOLF, GEIST, FEESE, WAUGH, HUTCHINSON
AND STERN, JUNE 6, 1995
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JUNE 6, 1995
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
2 act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
3 welfare laws of the Commonwealth," eliminating the
4 transitionally needy portion of the General Assistance
5 Program.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Section 432(3) of the act of June 13, 1967
9 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, amended June
10 16, 1994 (P.L.319, No.49), is amended to read:
11 Section 432. Eligibility.--Except as hereinafter otherwise
12 provided, and subject to the rules, regulations, and standards
13 established by the department, both as to eligibility for
14 assistance and as to its nature and extent, needy persons of the
15 classes defined in clauses (1), (2), and (3) shall be eligible
16 for assistance:
17 * * *
18 (3) Other persons who are citizens of the United States, or
1 lawfully admitted aliens and who are chronically needy [or
2 transitionally needy persons].
3 (i) Chronically needy persons are those persons chronically
4 in need who may be eligible for an indeterminate period as a
5 result of medical, social or related circumstances and shall be
6 limited to:
7 (A) A child who is under age eighteen or who is eighteen
8 through twenty years of age and attending a secondary or
9 equivalent vocational or technical school full-time and may
10 reasonably be expected to complete the program before reaching
11 twenty-one years of age.
12 (B) Persons who are parents residing in two-parent
13 households with their child who is under eighteen years of age.
14 Every possible effort shall be made by the department to place
15 these persons in the AFDC program.
16 (C) A person who has a serious physical or mental handicap
17 which prevents him or her from working in any substantial
18 gainful activity as determined in accordance with standards
19 established by the department. The department may require that
20 documentation of disability be submitted from a physician or
21 psychologist. The department may also require further medical
22 documentation of disability and may also order at the
23 department's expense a person to submit to an independent
24 examination as a condition of receiving assistance under this
25 clause.
26 (D) A person who is a nonparental caretaker of a child under
27 eighteen years of age or a caretaker of another person because
28 of illness or disability. Such child or other person must be a
29 member of the household and the caretaker must be a person whose
30 presence is required in the home to care for another person as
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1 determined in accordance with department regulations.
2 (E) A person who is currently undergoing active treatment
3 for substance abuse in a drug and alcohol program licensed or
4 approved by the Department of Health or administered by an
5 agency of the Federal Government. No individual shall qualify as
6 chronically needy under this clause for more than nine months in
7 a lifetime.
8 (F) A pregnant woman whose pregnancy has been medically
9 verified.
10 (G) A person who is a victim of domestic violence and who is
11 receiving protective services as defined by the department. No
12 individual shall qualify as chronically needy under this
13 provision for more than nine months in his lifetime.
14 (ii) Assistance for chronically needy persons shall continue
15 as long as the person remains eligible. Redeterminations shall
16 be conducted on at least an annual basis and persons capable of
17 work, even though otherwise eligible for assistance to the
18 chronically needy, would be required to register for employment
19 and accept employment if offered as a condition of eligibility
20 except as otherwise exempt under section 405.1.
21 [(iii) Transitionally needy persons are those persons who
22 are otherwise eligible for general assistance but do not qualify
23 as chronically needy. Assistance for transitionally needy
24 persons shall be authorized for not more than sixty days in any
25 twenty-four month period. Any transitionally needy benefits
26 received in the twelve-month period prior to the effective date
27 of this subclause shall be applied toward the total period of
28 benefits an individual is eligible for, beginning with the
29 receipt of the first cash assistance check in the previous
30 twelve-month period.]
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1 * * *
2 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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