Amendment #694 to H4100

DTA- TAFDC - Vocational Education

Representatives Khan of Newton, Forry of Boston, Balser of Newton, Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, Sannicandro of Ashland, Smith of Everett, Lawn of Watertown, Fox of Boston, Brady of Brockton, Sciortino of Medford, Provost of Somerville and Andrews of Orange move to amend the bill in section 2, in item 4403-2000, line 24 by inserting after “provided that” the following: “notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and to the maximum extent possible in light of the need to meet the requirements for and preserve available sources of federal funding, the department shall: a) encourage and allow individuals to satisfy their work program requirements pursuant to said section 110(j), in whole or in part and throughout their periods of time limited benefits and any extension periods, by participating in vocational educational training programs; and, b) grant extensions of the time limit to enable individuals to complete such programs if they are making satisfactory progress toward an achievable vocational goal. The department shall: a) maintain in each if its local offices an up-to-date listing and description of all vocational educational programs within the relevant geographic region that can be accessed at little or no cost to the individual, including adult basic education, English for speakers of other languages, skills training, certificate programs, and higher education programs; b) at least 30 days before an individual becomes subject to the work program requirement pursuant to section 110(j) of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 and before completion of any Employment Development Plan pursuant to section 110(h) of said chapter 5, (i) inform the individual orally and in writing that said work program requirement may be met by participation in vocational educational programs, including programs listed in subsection (a), (ii) inform the individual of all such vocational educational programs available in the relevant geographic region that can be accessed at little or no cost to the individual, and (iii) inform the individual of the department’s vocational educational policies; and, c) at least 30 days before an individual becomes subject to the work program requirement pursuant to section 110(j) of chapter 5 of the acts of 1995 and before completion of any Employment Development Plan pursuant to section 110(h) of said chapter 5, provide the individual with counseling on how to access vocational educational training without incurring debt, including, but not limited to, information on the availability of funding for such programs through the Employment Services Program, the Workforce Investment Act, PELL grants, the Educational Rewards program, and  the Department of Education; and make appropriate referrals to such vocational educational training.”