Section 402. Definitions.--As used in this article, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (Intro. par. amended June 28, 2019, P.L.43, No.12)
"Access device." An electronic benefit transfer card that is issued by the department to convey public assistance benefits to a recipient. (Def. added Oct. 24, 2018, P.L.777, No.125)
"Applicant" means an individual who applies for assistance under this article. (Def. added June 30, 2011, P.L.89, No.22)
"Assistance" means money, services and payment for medical coverage for needy persons who are residents of Pennsylvania, are in need of assistance and meet all conditions of eligibility.
"Assistance group" means one or more related or nonrelated individuals who occupy a common residence, or would occupy a common residence if they were not homeless, and whose needs and eligibility for assistance are considered together in determining eligibility for cash assistance or medical assistance. If eligible for cash assistance or medical assistance, the assistance group shall be limited to assistance that accords with standards established by the department.
"Benefits" shall mean assistance.
"Community service" means nonpaid work for a unit of Federal, State or local government or a nonprofit organization arranged by the cash assistance recipient. The organization receiving the work must agree to report to the appropriate county assistance office regarding the number of hours worked per week by the cash assistance recipient.
"General assistance" (Def. deleted by amendment June 28, 2019, P.L.43, No.12)
"General assistance-related categorically needy medical assistance" means medical assistance for persons who meet the requirements under section 432(3). (Def. added June 28, 2019, P.L.43, No.12)
"Grant diversion" means the use of all or a portion of a recipient's cash assistance grant and food stamp grant as a wage supplement to an employer, as further set forth in section 405.5. Such a supplement shall be limited to a twelve-month period. An employer must agree to continue the employment of the recipient as part of the regular work force beyond the supplement period if the recipient demonstrates satisfactory performance.
"Home Health Care" means intermittent or part time nursing services or other therapeutic services furnished by a home health agency qualified to participate under Title XVIII of the Federal Social Security Act.
"Job readiness/preparation" means training that prepares the recipient for the workplace by teaching interviewing techniques, preparation of resumes and employer expectations. This activity may also include instruction in basic life skills and career exploration.
"Job search" means the activity of seeking full-time or part-time employment with required documentation of attempts to secure employment.
"Job skills training" means preparation that is designed to provide a recipient with the knowledge necessary to perform the duties of a specific job.
"Medical assistance transportation program" means the program funded in part by the Department of Public Welfare that provides transportation to medical services for medical assistance patients who have no other transportation available to them. (Def. added Dec. 22, 2011, P.L.561, No.121)
"Methadone" means a synthetic opioid agonist which binds with opioid receptors in the brain to initiate drug actions that mimic the effects of opiates. (Def. added Dec. 22, 2011, P.L.561, No.121)
"Mileage reimbursement" means the reimbursement provided to an individual who uses a personal vehicle in order for the individual to receive methadone treatment at a licensed provider of service. (Def. added Dec. 22, 2011, P.L.561, No.121)
"Narcotic treatment program" means a program for chronic drug users that either administers or dispenses agents under a narcotic treatment physician's order for detoxification or maintenance purposes or provides a comprehensive range of medical and rehabilitative services to alleviate adverse medical, psychological or physical effects incident to an addiction to narcotics, or both. (Def. added Dec. 22, 2011, P.L.561, No.121)
"On-the-job training" means employment experience that combines a subsidized period of employment with instruction necessary to perform specific job functions in which the recipient is hired by the employer, who is reimbursed up to fifty percent of the wages paid during the contracted subsidy period. The training is to be provided to recipients who do not have the related education or specific work experience required for the job.
"Paratransit service" means any personal transportation service operating on a nonfixed route basis, excluding mileage reimbursement or volunteer-driven rides. (Def. added Dec. 22, 2011, P.L.561, No.121)
"Protective payments" means payments with respect to any dependent child which are made to another individual who (as determined in accordance with standards prescribed by the department) is interested in or connected with the welfare of such child or relative, or made on behalf of such child or relative directly to a person furnishing food, living accommodations, or other goods, services, or items to or for such child. Whenever possible, the protective payee shall be a public child welfare agency.
"Recipient" means an individual who receives assistance under this article. (Def. added June 30, 2011, P.L.89, No.22)
"RESET" means the Road to Economic Self-sufficiency through Employment and Training Program established in section 405.1(a.1).
"Residence" means permanent legal residence. (Def. added June 30, 2011, P.L.89, No.22)
"State supplemental assistance" means assistance granted under the provisions of section 432(2).
"Subsidized employment" means work in which all or a portion of the wages paid to the recipient are provided to the employer either as a reimbursement for the extra costs of training or as an incentive to hire the recipient, including, but not limited to, grant diversion as set forth in section 405.5.
"Vocational education" means a specific curriculum of training provided by an accredited training organization which is designed to prepare a recipient for a specific occupation.
"Work experience" means subsidized employment of not more than six months' duration which is combined with classroom study or other training program.
"Work-related activity" means participation in any one or a combination of the following education or training activities:
(i) subsidized employment;
(ii) work experience;
(iii) on-the-job training;
(iv) community service;
(v) workfare;
(vi) job search, whether independent or assisted, and job readiness/preparation activities;
(vii) vocational education training or job skills training;
(viii) any employment and training program funded or approved by the department that provides one-stop access to intensive case management, training, education, job readiness training, job search and individual job development that leads to job placement;
(ix) any employment and training program funded or approved by the department that provides activities for a cash assistance applicant or recipient to achieve rapid attachment to the work force;
(x) in the case of a recipient eighteen years of age or older and less than twenty-two years of age, general education that is necessary for the recipient to obtain employment, a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency, subject to the recipient maintaining satisfactory progress as defined by the school or educational program; and
(xi) additional activities as specified by the department in regulations.
(402 amended May 16, 1996, P.L.175, No.35)
2018 Unconstitutionality: The amendment or addition of section 402 introductory paragraph and the definitions of "general assistance" and "general assistance-related categorically needy medical assistance" by Act 80 of 2012, were declared unconstitutional on July 18, 2018, by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Washington v. Commonwealth, Department of Public Welfare, 188 A.3d 1135 (Pa. 2018). The Legislative Reference Bureau effectuated the 2018 unconstitutionality.
Compiler's Note: The Department of Public Welfare, referred to in this section, was redesignated as the Department of Human Services by Act 132 of 2014.