RCW 74.08A.505 Legislative-executive WorkFirst poverty reduction oversight task force—Membership—Duties—Five-year plan.

(1)(a) A legislative-executive WorkFirst poverty reduction oversight task force is established, with voting members as provided in this subsection. Task force membership shall include diverse, statewide representation and its membership shall reflect regional, racial, and cultural diversity to adequately represent the needs of all children and families in the state.

(i) The president of the senate shall appoint two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate.

(ii) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives.

(iii) The governor shall appoint eight members representing the following agencies: The department of social and health services; the department of children, youth, and families; the department of commerce; the employment security department; the office of the superintendent of public instruction; the department of health; the department of corrections; and the state board for community and technical colleges.

(b) The task force shall choose its cochairs, one from among the legislative members and one from among the executive branch members. The secretary of the department of social and health services shall convene the initial meeting of the task force.

(2) The governor shall appoint five nonvoting members to the task force representing the:

(a) Commission on African American affairs;

(b) State commission on Hispanic affairs;

(c) State commission on Asian Pacific American affairs;

(d) Governor's office of Indian affairs; and

(e) Office of financial management.

(3) The cochairs of the intergenerational poverty advisory committee created in RCW 74.08A.510 shall serve as nonvoting members of the task force.

(4) The task force shall:

(a) Oversee the partner agencies' operation of the WorkFirst program and temporary assistance for needy families program to ensure that the programs are achieving desired outcomes for their clients;

(b) Determine evidence-based outcome measures for the WorkFirst program, including measures related to equitably serving the needs of historically underrepresented populations, such as English language learners, immigrants, refugees, and other diverse communities;

(c) Develop accountability measures for WorkFirst recipients and the state agencies responsible for their progress toward self-sufficiency;

(d) Collaborate with the advisory committee created in RCW 74.08A.510 to develop and monitor strategies to prevent and address adverse childhood experiences and reduce intergenerational poverty;

(e) Seek input on best practices for poverty reduction from service providers, community-based organizations, legislators, state agencies, stakeholders, the business community, and subject matter experts;

(f) Collaborate with partner agencies and the advisory committee to analyze available data and information regarding intergenerational poverty in the state, with a primary focus on data and information regarding children who are at risk of continuing the cycle of poverty and welfare dependency unless outside intervention occurs; and

(g) Recommend policy actions to the governor and the legislature to effectively reduce intergenerational poverty and promote and encourage self-sufficiency.

(5)(a) The task force shall direct the department of social and health services to develop a five-year plan to reduce intergenerational poverty and promote self-sufficiency, subject to oversight and approval by the task force. Upon approval by the task force, the department must submit the plan to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2019.

(b) The task force shall review the five-year plan by December 1, 2024, and shall direct the department to update the plan as determined necessary by the task force.

(6) The partner agencies must provide the task force with regular reports on:

(a) The partner agencies' progress toward meeting the outcome and performance measures established under this section;

(b) Caseload trends and program expenditures, and the impact of those trends and expenditures on client services, including services to historically underrepresented populations; and

(c) The characteristics of families who have been unsuccessful on the temporary assistance for needy families program and have lost their benefits either through sanction or the sixty-month time limit.

(7) Staff support for the task force, including administration of task force meetings, must be provided by the state agency members of the task force. Additional staff support for legislative members of the task force must be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.

(8) During its [their] tenure, the state agency members of the task force shall respond in a timely manner to data requests from the cochairs.

(9) Legislative members of the task force are reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.

[ 2018 c 126 § 3.]

NOTES:

Findings—Intent—2018 c 126: "The legislature finds that intergenerational poverty, which passes from parents to children, should be distinguished from situational poverty, which occurs after an event like losing employment. Intergenerational poverty can affect the lives of many future children and generations without the development of specific strategies to stop this cycle.

The legislature finds that it is necessary to bring together state agencies and other stakeholders for the purposes of policy and program development to address intergenerational poverty and to develop specific strategies to provide families the support they need to overcome a history of poverty.

The legislature finds that the legislative-executive WorkFirst oversight task force has recommended that its scope be modified to include poverty reduction in order to provide a renewed focus on the underlying causes of intergenerational poverty in Washington. Therefore, the legislature intends to create a legislative-executive WorkFirst poverty reduction oversight task force and an intergenerational poverty advisory committee in order to lay the groundwork in Washington for advancing intergenerational prosperity and reducing poverty." [ 2018 c 126 § 1.]