Oklahoma § 56-230.65 - Employability and literacy assessment - Personal

§ 56-230.65. Employability and literacy assessment - Personal

responsibility agreements.

A. 1. The Department of Human Services shall conduct an

employability assessment of the education, training, skills, prior

work experience and supportive service needs of individuals applying

for and receiving assistance pursuant to the Temporary Assistance

for Needy Families (TANF) program.

2. The Department shall arrange for administration of a

recognized literacy screening for individuals who have not obtained

a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED)

credential and have exhibited a lack of literacy skills. If, in the

opinion of the Department, the applicant or recipient who has

obtained a high school diploma or GED lacks reading skills to the

extent that such insufficiency limits the applicant's or recipient's

ability to become self-supporting, the Department shall refer the

individual for a literacy assessment.

3. The Department shall utilize existing community resources,

including, but not limited to, volunteer literacy groups and adult

basic education programs, when arranging for literacy assessments

and remediation of clients who lack sufficient reading skills.

B. The Department of Human Services shall require services to

be provided to each applicant or recipient of benefits in any

program according to a written personal responsibility agreement.

The agreement shall reflect the education, training, skills, prior

work experience and supportive service needs of the applicant or

recipient and shall be:

1. Written in English, or translated into Spanish or other

language, according to the applicant's or recipient's needs;

2. Signed by the applicant or recipient;

3. Signed by the parent of the applicant or recipient if the

applicant or recipient is under eighteen (18) years of age;

4. Signed by the case manager; and

5. Reviewed by both the applicant or recipient and the case

manager at least once a year. The agreement may be revised from

time to time according to the needs of the recipient, the

recipient's family and the program.

C. The personal responsibility agreement shall set forth the

specific responsibilities of the recipient, at a minimum, to:

1. Develop a detailed plan for achieving self-sufficiency;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 56. Poor Persons

2. Participate in any educational or training program required

by the Department pursuant to the results of the employability and

literacy assessments;

3. Participate in life-skills training including, but not

limited to, financial management classes, conflict resolution

training, and social skills development;

4. Be available for and actively seek and maintain employment,

and accept any reasonable employment as soon as it becomes available

as required by the TANF program;

5. Participate in a community service, public works or private

sector job pursuant to the requirements of the Statewide Temporary

Assistance Responsibility System and the results of the

employability and literacy assessments;

6. If the recipient is a minor parent, live in a supervised

adult setting;

7. Accept responsibility for ensuring that the recipient's

child complies with the attendance requirements of the local school

district and attends school until the child of the recipient either:

a.

graduates from high school or attains a high school

equivalency certificate, or

b.

becomes nineteen (19) years of age,

whichever occurs first;

8. Accept responsibility for attending any classes required by

a program at least ninety percent (90%) of the time;

9. Immunize the recipients' minor children pursuant to the

State Department of Health's immunization schedule; and

10. a.

Undergo a literacy skills assessment utilizing a

testing instrument which measures whether such

recipient is reading at a minimum of an eighth grade

reading level, where the recipient has the capacity to

read at such level or, regardless of reading level,

which indicates that the recipient would benefit from

compulsory participation in a literacy skills

improvement program.

b.

Based on the results of the assessment, the recipient

shall agree to enroll and actively participate in a

literacy skills improvement program and provide

documentation of substantial quantifiable literacy

improvement. Any recipient who is reading at less

than an eighth grade level shall be required to

continue to substantially and quantifiably improve his

or her reading skills until such recipient

demonstrates a level of reading proficiency that is at

least equal to an eighth grade reading level.

c.

On or before December 31 of each year, the Department

of Human Services shall annually provide to the

Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 56. Poor Persons

the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written

report outlining by age the number of recipients:

(1) assessed for literacy skills,

(2) who failed to demonstrate eighth grade reading

level proficiency,

(3) who agreed to enroll and participate in a

literacy skills improvement program, and

(4) who either provided documentation of substantial

quantifiable literacy skills improvement or whose

case was closed prior to completion.

D. The Department may sanction or impose financial penalties on

a recipient for failure to comply with the provisions of the

personal responsibility agreement.

Added by Laws 1995, c. 346, § 27, eff. July 1, 1995. Amended by

Laws 1997, c. 414, § 16, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Renumbered from §

230.18 of this title by Laws 1997, c. 414, § 32, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;

Laws 1998, c. 5, § 16, emerg. eff. March 4, 1998; Laws 2009, c. 130,

§ 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2009.

NOTE: Laws 1997, c. 392, § 5 repealed by Laws 1998, c. 5, § 29,

emerg. eff. March 4, 1998.