(1) In order to follow the legislative intent declared in section 26-2-702 (1)(a), a county department is strongly encouraged to contact each participant using each method of communication provided by the participant in order to conduct exit and follow-up interviews upon case closure, either in person or by telephone, including participants who are or have been receiving short- term assistance payments pursuant to section 26-2-706.6. The interviews shall be conducted in accordance with state department guidance for the purpose of: (a) Evaluating the participant's experience with the works program; (b) Evaluating how well the works program met the participant's needs and assisted the participant in meeting the participant's goals; (c) Informing the state department of any changes to rules that are needed to improve the participant's experience; and (d) Providing information to the participant and offering assistance with applications for or continuance of assistance under medicaid, food stamps, the Colorado child care assistance program, the earned income tax credit, or other programs such as welfare-to-work or other county benefits or services. (2) If the state department, in consultation with counties, identifies additional need for funding to administer the works program, the state department is strongly encouraged to request state general fund money or, if the balance of the state TANF reserve is greater than the mandatory floor, appropriate additional state TANF money to fund counties' administration of the works program. (3) Beginning January 2023, and each January thereafter, the state department shall submit a report to the house of representatives public and behavioral health and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee, or their successor committees, as part of its "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" presentation required by section 2-7-203, on the effectiveness of the works program. To the extent practicable, the state department may request a county department to provide any information and data that may be necessary to develop the report, including information and data from exit interviews conducted by the county departments pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. Any data used must protect personal identifying information of the participants and the participants' family members. At a minimum, the report must include: (a) The total number of participants enrolled in the works program in the previous fiscal year, disaggregated by case type, race, and ethnicity; (b) The total number of participants who exited and re-enrolled in the works program one or more times in the previous fiscal year, disaggregated by case type, race, and ethnicity; (c) The total number of instances a participant exited and re-enrolled in the works program one or more times in the previous fiscal year, disaggregated by case type, race, and ethnicity; (d) The total number of months each participant remained enrolled in the works program in the previous fiscal year, disaggregated by case type, race, and ethnicity; and (e) To the extent practicable, data gathered through surveys and exit interviews with participants in the works program regarding participants' experience with the program, beliefs about the goals of the program, perceptions of how participation in the program contributed to the family goals, reasons for leaving the program, current employment status and wage rate, and supportive services provided and whether those services have been impacted by increases in basic cash assistance. (4) The state department may review and consider information technology solutions for the implementation of this section.
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