A. A person is eligible to receive education works services or cash assistance if the person demonstrates that:

(1) the person has been accepted or has been determined to be eligible to enroll in a two- or four-year post-secondary or graduate or post-graduate degree program; and

(2) the degree the person will receive will increase the person's ability to engage in full-time paid employment.

B. A recipient shall not receive cash assistance funded by the temporary assistance for needy families block grant during the period in which the recipient is receiving cash assistance pursuant to the Education Works Act.

C. A recipient shall apply for all financial aid available from the post-secondary, graduate or post-graduate educational institution that the recipient attends.

D. During the twenty-four months of participation in the education works program, a recipient shall engage in at least twenty hours per week of class time, studying, work, work-study or volunteering. The department shall assume that a recipient spends one and one-half hours studying for every hour of class time.

E. A recipient may participate in the education works program for no more than twenty-four months, except that a recipient may participate in the education works program for one additional academic term following the twenty-four-month participation limit, or for two additional academic terms following the twenty-four-month participation limit at the discretion of the director, if doing so will result in the recipient earning a degree.

F. The number of recipients enrolled in the education works program is limited to the number of recipients who can be served by the funds available.

G. For purposes of this section, "work" means work-study, training-related practicums, internships, paid employment, volunteering or any other activity approved by the department.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 317, § 4; 2005, ch. 265, § 1; 2006, ch. 84, § 1.

The 2006 amendment, effective May 17, 2006, deleted Paragraph (1) of Subsection A, which provided that a person must demonstrate at the time of application the person does not have a bachelor's degree; provided in Paragraph (1) (formerly Paragraph (2)) of Subsection A that the person has been accepted or is eligible to enroll in a graduate or post-graduate program; provided in Subsection C that a recipient shall apply for aid from the graduate or post-graduate institution; and deleted from Subsection G the requirement that a recipient may earn only one degree through the education works program.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, provided in Subsection E that a recipient may participate in the education works program for two additional academic terms following the twenty-four month participation limit at the discretion of the director.