(1) (a) (I) The board of county commissioners in each county of this state shall annually appropriate as provided by law such moneys as required pursuant to section 26-1-122 (6). (II) In the case of two or more counties jointly administering a county block grant under the provisions of this part 7, each county involved shall appropriate the funds necessary to defray its proportionate costs of implementing the works program. (b) A county department shall keep such records and accounts in relation to the costs of administering and implementing the works program. (c) Whenever a county anticipates that it may be financially unable to meet requests for assistance from participants, the county may seek additional moneys from the county block grant support fund administered by the state department pursuant to section 26-2-720.5. (2) In connection with administering a county block grant, a county department shall: (a) Meet the work participation rate as set forth in the performance contract with the state department pursuant to section 26-2-715; (b) Report to the state department the information required to enable the state department to track participants' length of time for receipt of assistance and to enable the state department to provide written notice to applicants and participants of their rights; (c) Provide written notification to applicants and recipients of their responsibilities and options available under the works program, including but not limited to time limits, domestic violence waivers, extensions or exemptions, and services available. Verbal notice shall be provided when requested. (d) Submit the reports required pursuant to section 26-2-717; (e) Use an income eligibility verification system (IEVS) to verify eligibility information against federal social security administration and internal revenue service files; (f) Provide Title IV-D services to participants and require assignment of rights to child support by participants and participant cooperation with establishment and collection of child support, except as to participants receiving short-term assistance pursuant to section 26-2-706.6; (g) Make available opportunities for participants to have individual development accounts for home purchase, business capitalization, or higher education in accordance with federal law; (h) Meet the required maintenance of effort as identified in section 26-2-714. (2.5) The board of county commissioners in each county shall adopt official written policies for implementing aspects of the Colorado works program that counties have the statutory authority and flexibility to determine under this part 7. Such policies shall include, without limitation, a description of the kinds of assistance available under the Colorado works program within the county, any eligibility criteria for assistance that may be unique to the county, and the process by which such eligibility and assistance is determined on an individual basis. Such policies shall not be construed to create an entitlement to any service or benefit under the Colorado works program in any county for any applicant or participant, and shall not limit the flexibility of a county to respond to the individual circumstances of a participant. The board of county commissioners in each county shall make such policies available to applicants and participants. (3) (a) No person in a work activity described in section 26-2-703 (21) shall be employed by, or assigned to, an employer if: (I) Any other person is on layoff from the same or any substantially equivalent job with such employer; or (II) Such employer has terminated the employment of any regular employee or otherwise caused an involuntary reduction of the workforce in order to fill the vacancy with a participant; or (III) Placement of the person with the employer will result in a reduction of hours, regular or overtime, wages, or benefits of persons currently employed by the employer; or (IV) The position is available due to a labor dispute, strike, lockout, or violation of a collective bargaining agreement. (b) A uniform statewide grievance procedure for resolving complaints of alleged violations of displacements shall be established by the department of labor and employment. (c) All state and federal laws affecting workers and employers shall apply to all participants, including but not limited to state and federal minimum and prevailing wage laws, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health administration coverage where applicable, the federal "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938", as amended, all federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws, and all labor laws affecting the rights of employees to organize. (d) All participants shall be entitled to the same wages and benefits, including but not limited to sick leave and holiday and vacation pay, as are offered to employees who are not participants and who have similar training or experience performing the same or similar work at a specific work place. (4) (a) A county may not use county block grant moneys except as specifically authorized pursuant to the provisions of this part 7 and rules promulgated by the state board or state department to implement the provisions of this part 7. If the state department has reason to believe that a county has misused county block grant moneys and has given the county an opportunity to cure the misuse and the county has failed to cure, the state department may reduce the county's block grant for the succeeding state fiscal year by an amount equal to the amount of moneys misused by the county. (b) A county found out of compliance with its performance contract or any provision of the works program may be assessed a financial sanction. The financial sanction must be replaced by county moneys. The state board shall promulgate rules for county sanctions that include financial sanctions and may include other sanctions. Any moneys resulting from the imposition of a financial sanction shall be transmitted to the Colorado long-term works reserve created in section 26-2-721, but only if the state has not incurred a federal sanction for the same act that gave rise to the county sanction. (5) (a) County departments are authorized to administer hardship and domestic violence extensions for needy families that have exceeded the sixty-month lifetime limit for receipt of assistance set forth in the federal law. The county departments shall approve or deny hardship extensions or domestic violence extensions pursuant to fair and objective criteria established by the state board. The state board, by rule, shall establish hardship criteria, and each county shall apply the hardship criteria to all participants seeking extensions. A county, in its written county policies, may define additional reasons for granting hardship extensions. A county may not grant hardship or domestic violence extensions for a duration longer than six months. (b) All participants shall have the opportunity to request extensions in their counties of residence. A participant who has been granted an initial extension may request additional extensions prior to the end of the current extension period. If a participant fails to request an extension on a timely basis, an extension may be granted if the participant demonstrates good cause. Whether good cause has been established shall be determined at the sole discretion of the county department and shall not be appealable. (c) The state department shall send notice to participants approaching the sixty-month limit on lifetime receipt of assistance pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. The county departments shall make all reasonable efforts to contact a participant by phone or in person to explain the extension process and to accept a request for an extension. Participants may also make such requests in writing. (d) A person who is granted a hardship extension or a domestic violence extension shall be required to complete an individual responsibility contract and shall be required to follow all the terms and conditions of the IRC, including the participation activities required of the participant as a condition of the extension, as outlined in the IRC. (e) Sanctions and terminations pursuant to section 26-2-711 shall apply during the period of an extension granted pursuant to this section. Participants may appeal adverse actions consistent with sections 26-2-127 and 26-2-710. (f) The county department shall have thirty days after the receipt of a request for an extension to make a decision whether to grant or deny the extension. When granting the extension the county department shall send notice of such extension to participants. The county department shall send a denial notice to a participant who applies for but is denied a hardship extension due to lack of available extensions or for any other reason, which reason shall be included. The county department shall send a denial notice to a participant who applies for but is denied a domestic violence extension, which shall include the reason for the denial. If the state exceeds the twenty-percent numerical limit on the number of extensions that may be granted under the federal law due to the inclusion of domestic violence extensions, then the state department shall determine how many of those domestic violence extensions qualify as domestic violence waivers granted pursuant to section 26-2-708 (5) and if this determination indicates that the state exceeds the twenty-percent numerical limit due to domestic violence extensions that qualify as domestic violence waivers, the state department shall demonstrate to the federal government that its failure to comply with the sixty-month limit was attributable to federally recognized good cause domestic violence waivers in accordance with the provisions of 45 CFR 260, subpart B. (g) The state board shall promulgate rules establishing the criteria for hardship extensions and for establishing a system for allocating the number of extensions available for each county. (h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a former participant from requesting a hardship or domestic violence extension, after the lapse of the sixty-month lifetime limit, when new hardship or domestic violence factors occur, to the extent permissible under state and federal law. (i) This subsection (5) shall only apply to participation in the Colorado works program, as contained in this part 7. (6) In the event that a county is unable to meet the need for assistance pursuant to section 26-2-709 (2), it may impose cost-reducing measures, including but not limited to proportionate reductions in such assistance, establishment of waiting lists for such assistance, or elimination of such assistance. (7) A county that encompasses an Indian reservation shall consult with the respective Indian tribe concerning the administration and implementation of the works program by that county. Such consultation shall include but not be limited to: (a) Possible exemption of the Indian tribe from the sixty-month time limit of the federal law if that tribe has more than one thousand members and an unemployment rate that exceeds fifty percent; (b) Collection of statistical data on participants, funding for tribal data collection and tribal administration of federally and tribally funded programs; (c) Cooperation and agreement concerning when a tribal member shall be referred to his or her respective tribe for assistance in finding work and how the costs for such assistance may be reimbursed by or otherwise shared with the county. (8) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2008, p. 1969, § 18, effective January 1, 2009.) (9) County departments shall assist families in completing the reporting requirements for transitional medicaid. This shall include informing 1931 medicaid recipients of the transitional medicaid eligibility requirements and the required reporting calendar. (10) A county department shall assist participants in applying for and receiving the earned income tax credit under applicable rules of the federal internal revenue service.
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