Section DCF 101.095 - Lifetime limit on program participation or receipt of benefits(1) LIFETIME LIMIT OF 48 MONTHS. Beginning on the date on which an individual has attained the age of 18, the total number of months in which the individual, or any other adult member of the Wisconsin works group, has participated in or received benefits under, any combination of the following may not exceed 48 months, whether or not consecutive, except as otherwise provided in this section: (a) The JOBS program under s. 49.193, 1997 Stats., on or after October 1, 1996.(b) A Wisconsin works employment position.(c) Any TANF-funded program in this state or any other state, if the individual received benefits attributable to funds provided by the federal government while in that program. Note: Sections 49.148(1m) (c), Stats., and DCF 101.18 specify the criteria for determining whether receipt of a custodial parent of an infant grant in a month is considered participation in a Wisconsin works employment position for that month.
(2) ADULT WISCONSIN WORKS GROUP MEMBERS. Except as provided in sub. (4), if an individual was an adult member of a Wisconsin works group during a month in which any member of the Wisconsin works group participated in a W-2 employment position, the W-2 agency shall include that month in the calculation of the total number of months of the individual's participation or receipt of benefits for purposes of this section.(3) MONTHS INCLUDED. A W-2 agency shall include a month in which a JOBS program participant or W-2 participant received a reduced monthly AFDC or W-2 benefit or no monthly AFDC or W-2 benefit due to a sanction under the JOBS program or s. DCF 101.18(1) (b) or (c) or 101.21 in the calculation of the total number of months of the individual's participation or receipt of benefits for purposes of this section.(4) MONTHS EXCLUDED. When calculating the total number of months of an individual's participation or receipt of benefits for purposes of this section, a W-2 agency shall exclude, to the extent permitted under federal law, any month in which the individual was living on a federally recognized American Indian reservation, in an Alaskan Native village, or in Indian country, as defined in 18 USC 1151, occupied by an Indian tribe, if during that month, all of the following applied: (a) At least 1,000 individuals were living on the reservation or in the village or Indian country.(b) At least 50 percent of the adults living on the reservation or in the village or Indian country were unemployed.(5) CRITERIA FOR EXTENSION OF THE 48-MONTH LIFETIME LIMIT. A W-2 agency may, subject to subs. (6) and (7), extend the 48-month lifetime limit under sub. (1) if the agency determines that the individual meets the conditions in par. (a) or (b) as follows: (a)Hardship. The individual is experiencing hardship due to any of the following: 1. The individual is unable to work due to a personal disability or incapacitation.2. The individual needs to remain at home to care for a member of the individual's Wisconsin works group whose incapacity is so severe that without in-home care provided by the individual the health and well-being of the Wisconsin works group member would be significantly affected.3. The individual has significant limitations to employment such as any of the following: a. Low achievement ability, learning disability, or emotional problems of such severity that they prevent the individual from obtaining or retaining unsubsidized employment but are not sufficient to meet the criteria for eligibility for supplemental security income under 42 USC 1383c or social security disability insurance under 42 USC 401 to 433.b. Family problems of such severity that they prevent the individual from obtaining or retaining unsubsidized employment.4. The individual has made all appropriate efforts to find work and is unable to find employment because local labor market conditions preclude a reasonable job opportunity. In this subdivision, "reasonable job opportunity" means a job that pays at least minimum wage and conforms to all applicable federal and state laws. The W-2 agency shall document at least one of the following: a. The inability of W-2 participants with similar skills, or engaged in job searches in similar geographic and occupational areas, to find unsubsidized jobs.b. The unavailability of jobs in labor market sectors that match the individual's skills, as supported by specific examples of layoffs in these labor market sectors or by labor market data published by the department of workforce development or the United States department of labor.c. The unavailability of jobs in the labor market within a reasonable distance and travel time of the individual's home, as supported by specific examples of layoffs in this labor market or by labor market data published by the department of workforce development or the United States bureau of labor statistics.5. The individual is unable to work to due to current participation in a substance abuse treatment program certified to provide treatment for substance abuse under ss. DHS 75.10 to 75.15 or psychosocial rehabilitation services as approved by the department.(b)Battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. The individual's Wisconsin works group includes a member who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty based on the fact that the member has been subjected to any of the following: 1. Physical acts that resulted in, or threatened to result in, physical injury to the individual.3. Sexual activity involving a dependent child.4. Being forced as the caretaker relative of a dependent child to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts or activities.5. Threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual abuse.7. Neglect or deprivation of medical care.(6) LENGTH OF THE EXTENSION PERIOD. A Wisconsin Works agency may grant an extension to the lifetime limit on program participation or benefit receipt under this section for a time period of no more than 6 consecutive months.(7) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF EXTENSION PERIODS. A Wisconsin works agency may determine the appropriate number of extensions to the lifetime limit on program participation or benefit receipt under this section.(8) DEPARTMENT REVIEW. The department may review, approve, or overturn a W-2 agency's determination regarding an extension of the lifetime time limit on program participation or benefit receipt under this section.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Children and Families DCF 101.095
Adopted by, CR 18-016: cr. Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21; correction in (4) (intro.) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11/1/2021