§1320b–22 Grants to develop and establish State infrastructures to support working individuals with disabilities

Summary

The Secretary of Health and Human Services must give grants to states to build, run, and promote state systems that help people with disabilities stay in the workforce. A state must apply to the Secretary to get a grant. "State" means the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Grants can pay to create and operate the state infrastructure and to run outreach about it. To get a grant, a state must show it makes personal assistance services available under the Medicaid state plan (subchapter XIX) as needed to help people with disabilities keep working, including certain individuals if the state chose to cover them under that plan. "Employed" means either earning at least the federal minimum wage and working at least 40 hours a month, or meeting other Secretary-approved work thresholds. "Personal assistance services" means help from one or more people with daily activities on and off the job so a person can have more control and do everyday tasks. The Secretary must use a grant formula that rewards states for helping people work and does not give more money to states that did not opt into the Medicaid coverage option. No approved state grant can be under $500,000 unless total funds are too small, in which case the Secretary pays each state a pro rata share. A state that chose the Medicaid option cannot get more than 10% of its total spending for those covered individuals in a year; the Secretary will set a comparable cap for states that did not choose the option. Grant funds stay available until spent, and unused funds may be awarded in later years. States must send yearly reports showing the percentage increase in title II and title XVI disability beneficiaries who return to work. The law provided specific annual funding: $20,000,000 for FY2001; $25,000,000 for FY2002; $30,000,000 for FY2003; $35,000,000 for FY2004; $40,000,000 for FY2005; and for FY2006–2011 each year increases by the prior year's percent change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. The Secretary must report by October 1, 2010 on whether the program should continue after FY2011 to the House Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.