Text of section effective on April 01, 2025
Sec. 550.0203.  PILOT PROGRAM DESIGN.  (a)  The commission shall design the pilot program to allow social services providers, public benefit offices, and other community partners to refer potential participating families to the program.
(b)  The commission shall design the pilot program to assist eligible participating families in attaining self-sufficiency by:
(1)  identifying eligibility requirements for the continuation of financial assistance or supplemental nutrition assistance benefits and time limits for the benefits, the application of which may be waived for a limited period and that, if applied, would impede self-sufficiency;
(2)  implementing strategies, including waiving the application of the eligibility requirements and time limits identified in Subdivision (1), to remove barriers to self-sufficiency; and
(3)  moving eligible participating families toward self-sufficiency through progressive stages that include the following phases:
(A)  an initial phase in which a family transitions out of an emergent crisis by securing housing, medical care, and financial assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance benefits, as necessary;
(B)  a second phase in which:
(i)  the family transitions toward stability by securing employment and any necessary child care and by participating in services that build the financial management skills necessary to meet financial goals; and
(ii)  the family's financial assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance benefits are reduced according to the following scale:
(a)  on reaching 25 percent of the family's sufficient wage, the amount of benefits is reduced by 10 percent;
(b)  on reaching 50 percent of the family's sufficient wage, the amount of benefits is reduced by 25 percent; and
(c)  on reaching 75 percent of the family's sufficient wage, the amount of benefits is reduced by 50 percent;
(C)  a third phase in which the family:
(i)  transitions to self-sufficiency by securing employment that pays a sufficient wage, reducing debt, and building savings; and
(ii)  becomes ineligible for financial assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance benefits on reaching 100 percent of the family's sufficient wage; and
(D)  a final phase in which the family attains self-sufficiency by retaining employment that pays a sufficient wage, amassing at least $1,000 per member of the family's household, and having manageable debt so that the family will no longer be dependent on financial assistance, supplemental nutrition assistance, or other means-tested public benefits for at least six months following the date the family stops participating in the program.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 1.01, eff. April 1, 2025.