Title 38 — Title 38

As used in this title, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: (1) DEPARTMENT or STATE DEPARTMENT. The State Department of Human Resources. (2) BOARD or STATE BOARD. The State Board of Human Resources. (3) COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner of th…

Examinations. No program of public assistance for the visually handicapped operated in Alabama shall be administered in such a way or manner as to prevent the beneficiaries or recipients thereof from having complete freedom of choice in the selection of professional assistance in…

Incompetents. If any otherwise qualified applicant for or recipient of public assistance appears to be incapable, physically or mentally, or both, of managing his public assistance payments, and has no legal guardian, he, his spouse, father, mother, child, brother or sister, with…

(a) Duty of county board. - The county board of human resources of each county shall on or before January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30 file or cause to be filed with the probate judge a complete report showing the names of all recipients of public assistance in the county…

at Public Charge. If any person who has received any relief, support or maintenance at public charge, under Chapter 8 of this title or as an inmate of any state, county or municipal institution, was at the time of receiving such relief, support or maintenance the owner of propert…

Provide Assistance to the Aged. (a) The state government and all county and municipal governments in this state are hereby authorized to voluntarily participate in any program which is related to any form of assistance for the aged, including, but not limited to, such programs as…

Screening Program. TERMINATED BY ACT 2014-438, P. 1622, §4, EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings: (1) DRUG. Includes all of the following: a. A controlled substance for which a medical prescription or othe…

Pursuant to subsection (d) of 21 U.S.C. §862a, a person convicted of a drug related felony who is otherwise ineligible for aid under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or both shall be eligible for the ai…

There is hereby created a State Department of Human Resources, with subordinate bureaus and divisions which shall operate under a State Board of Human Resources and consist of a Commissioner of Human Resources and such other officers and employees as are authorized to be appointe…

Assistance. The state department is authorized and it shall be its duty to develop standards of assistance for the administration of the various public assistance programs in the state, to administer these programs through county departments of human resources and to provide such…

Documents of State Department. (a) Commissioner authorized to make reproductions and destroy originals. The Commissioner of Human Resources of the State of Alabama is authorized to make or to have made microfilm copies, photostatic copies or other similar photographic reproductio…

(a) The Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources shall have the authority to destroy or cause to be destroyed, in his discretion: (1) RECORDS OF CERTAIN AGENCIES. - All records of the Alabama Relief Administration, the Alabama Transient Bureau and Surplus Commodity…

Before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources and other public welfare officers shall execute to the State of Alabama a bond, to be approved by the Governor, in amounts to be fixed by the State Board of Human Re…

There shall be a State Board of Human Resources which shall consist of the Governor, as chairman, and six other members, not less than two of whom shall be women, appointed by the Governor without regard to political affiliation but on the basis of recognized interest in welfare …

Personnel. (a) The chief executive officer of the State Department of Human Resources shall be known as the Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources. (b) It shall be the duty of the state board to appoint the commissioner who shall serve at its pleasure. He shall b…

The commissioner, with the approval of the Attorney General, shall be authorized, subject to the provisions of the state merit system law, to appoint a legal counsel for the State Department of Human Resources. He shall be commissioned as assistant attorney general and shall have…

The state department, subject to the approval of the state board, shall allocate such federal and state funds for public assistance, administration and services as are available, in a manner that assures equitable treatment of needy individuals in similar circumstances throughout…

The aim of the state department shall be the promotion of a unified development of welfare activities and agencies of the state and of the local governments so that each agency and each governmental institution shall function as an integral part of a general system. In order to c…

Established; Duties; Assistance of Other Agencies, Etc.; Use of Information Obtained. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings: (1) ABSENT PARENT. The parent of a minor child who owes a financial ligation for the support of the minor chil…

Office; Meetings; Duties, Etc.; County Director. There is hereby created in each county a county board of human resources, which shall consist of seven members, not less than two of whom shall be women, selected by the county commission from the citizenship of the county on the b…

(a) There is hereby created in each county a county department of human resources which shall consist of the county director of human resources and such other officers and employees as the county board and state department shall deem necessary for the efficient performance of the…

Approved by State Department. The county commission in any county shall have the power and is hereby authorized to appropriate out of the public funds of the county such sum or sums of money, as it may deem wise to be expended by the county department for the relief of children u…

[Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-327, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) There is hereby created the Department of Senior Services of the State of Alabama, which shall be under the direction and control of the Commissioner of the De…

(a) It shall be the duty of the members of the advisory board to meet within 30 days after their appointment, and to elect a chair and other officers from among themselves, who shall serve for a period of two years. Thereafter, the board shall elect a new chair every two years. (…

There is created, established, and continued, an organization which shall be known as the “Alabama Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.” The purpose of such organization shall be to bestow honor and recognition upon a deserving citizen or citizens for their outstanding accomplishments, …

The Alabama Senior Citizens Hall of Fame shall be composed of members who are senior citizens. Each person elected for membership shall be a citizen of Alabama who shall be chosen for accomplishment or service greatly benefiting the lives of older American citizens. The members s…

(a) No more than 10 new members in any calendar year shall be elected by the existing members of the Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. A majority vote of the existing members present shall be necessary to elect a new member, and new members shall be chosen in order of the highest num…

The members of the hall of fame shall elect among themselves a chair and shall fix the term of office of the chair. The chair shall preside over meetings, direct the business of the hall of fame, and perform other duties as may be prescribed or delegated to the chair by the organ…

The Alabama Senior Citizens Hall of Fame shall meet at least once annually to award new memberships and it may hold other meetings as it feels necessary to carry out its purpose. The time and place of meetings shall be designated by the members. Three members in attendance at any…

The members of the Alabama Senior Citizens Hall of Fame shall receive no compensation for their services other than reimbursement for traveling and other expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties. Such expenses shall be paid in the manner and amount a…

The advisory board may create advisory subcommittees to undertake special studies as it shall authorize and co-opt into advisory subcommittees persons qualified in any field of activity relating to the welfare of the aging. History: (Acts 1957, No. 554, p. 774, §3; Acts 1964, 1st…

The members of the advisory board shall receive no compensation for their services, other than reimbursement for traveling and other expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties. The expenses shall be paid in the manner and amount as is provided for othe…

for Meals Programs. (a) The Governor shall appoint a commissioner for the Department of Senior Services and a confidential secretary and shall prescribe their duties, powers, and authority to carry out the provisions of this article. The commissioner shall serve at the pleasure o…

The commissioner may receive and hold gifts, devises, bequests of money, real estate, and other things of value to be used in the support and development of department work. Bequests of money shall be deposited into the Alabama Senior Services Trust Fund established and created a…

(a) All rights, duties, property, real or personal, and all other effects existing in names of the Commission on the Aging, or in any other name by which the agency has been known, shall continue in the name of the Department of Senior Services. Any existing or future reference t…

The Department of Senior Services shall: (1) Be the designated state agency to administer programs of the federal government relating to the aged, requiring action within the state, that are not the specific responsibility of another state agency under federal or state statutes a…

The department shall adopt rules pursuant to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act to implement and administer this chapter and may perform all of the following functions: (1) Provide technical assistance and consultation upon request to public and private nonprofit agencies w…

(a) Generally. - Public assistance shall be payable under this chapter to or on behalf of any person who is a needy blind person within the requirements of this chapter, or is a needy person over the age of 65 years within the requirements of this chapter, or is a dependent child…

Department. The county board shall have the power to require a report of the finding and award of the county department in each case, to review such finding and award and either to approve, disapprove or amend such award in relation to federal and state laws and requirements. His…

Any widow of a Confederate veteran entitled to a pension under the provisions of the laws authorizing the payment of such pensions to Confederate widows, who may also be eligible for old age assistance under the terms of this chapter, shall be required to make application for ass…

Purposes and for Veterans’ Programs. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), there is appropriated, beginning with the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, to the state department, for old age pension purposes, out of the proceeds from the levy of the one mill tax for the rel…

(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the Alabama Veterans’ Assistance Fund, into which shall be deposited receipts from the one mill ad valorem tax as authorized in Section 38-4-12. The expenditure of all monies deposited into the fund shall be …

There is hereby created a state public welfare trust fund. All receipts of the State Department of Human Resources shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of this trust fund, including general fund appropriations, sales tax receipts, liquor profit receipts, the sur…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term public assistance benefits means money or property provided directly or indirectly to eligible persons through programs of the federal government, the state, or any political subdivision thereof, and administered by the Alabama Depar…

Amount of Assistance; Notice to Applicant. (a) Applications for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance shall be made to the county department in the manner prescribed by the state department and shall contain such information as the state department may re…

When a recipient dies before delivery or negotiation of his assistance check for the month in which his death occurs, endorsement of such check without recourse by the county director of human resources to the spouse or to a person, either relative or nonrelative, named by the re…

Recipient Becomes Possessed of Income or Resources. (a) If at any time the recipient of public assistance, the husband or wife of such recipient, or the cohabiting partner of the recipient, as provided by rules promulgated by the Department of Human Resources, shall become posses…

In the event a person is denied the right to apply for public assistance, or his application is not acted upon with reasonable promptness or is denied, or assistance is not granted promptly following establishment of eligibility, or in case the amount or terms of an award or of a…

The state department and the county department shall have the power to issue subpoenas for witnesses and compel their attendance and the production of papers and writings and duly authorized employees of said departments may administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath. Hist…

Process, and Inalienable; Bankruptcy. All amounts paid or payable as public assistance to needy persons shall be exempt from any tax levied by the state or any subdivision thereof and shall be exempt from levy, garnishment, attachment or any other process whatsoever and shall be …