Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 476 amends the Labor Code to require the Texas Workforce Commission to develop a job placement incentive program to encourage the placement of recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in higher-wage jobs. The program is to be administered by the commission through local workforce development boards, which will provide monetary incentives to employment services contractors. The money must be used by the contractor to pay for education, training, and support services related to preparing, placing, and maintaining TANF recipients in jobs that allow them to attain self-sufficiency. The bill requires the commission, in developing guidelines for the program, to define measures for higher-wage jobs based on locally appropriate wage indicators, and to consider local economic conditions and the challenges facing former TANF recipients in obtaining additional education and training after becoming employed. The commission is also required to encourage local workforce boards to provide postemployment case management services to recipients participating in employment programs who have relatively high barriers to employment.