Sec. 31-51aaa. Individual Development Account Reserve Fund: Use and administration.
Sec. 31-51aaa. Individual Development Account Reserve Fund: Use and administration. (a) Funds from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund shall
be used to provide grants to community-based organizations that are operating certified
state IDA programs for the purpose of providing matching funds for the individual
development accounts in their programs, to assist the organizations to provide training,
counseling and case management for program participants and for program administration purposes. Funds may also be used to pay for the evaluation required pursuant to
section 31-51ccc, the operation of the clearinghouse, and the department's administrative expenses for the Connecticut IDA Initiative. The department shall determine what
proportion of the funds in the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund shall be
used for each of these purposes.
(b) The Individual Development Account Reserve Fund shall be administered as
follows:
(1) No new grant shall be approved by the department unless there is sufficient
funding in the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund, as determined by the
department, to meet all existing funding obligations including the maximum amount of
state matching funds that would be required if each account holder in these certified
programs met the savings goal in such account holder's approved plan.
(2) Any funds remaining in the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund at
the end of each fiscal year, and the interest thereon, shall be retained in said fund and
used in the next succeeding fiscal year for expenditures set forth in subsection (a) of
this section.
(c) Grants received by the community-based organization from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund for matching funds shall be held in the organization's
local reserve fund. This fund shall be an account separate from account holders' individual development accounts, and its funds shall be disbursed in accordance with subsections (e) and (f) of this section pursuant to regulations adopted pursuant to section 31-51ddd. Grants from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund for matching
funds to certified state IDA programs shall be made on behalf of each individual account
holder in the maximum amount of two dollars for every one dollar deposited in the
individual development account by the account holder, not to exceed one thousand
dollars of such matching funds per account holder for any calendar year and three thousand dollars per account holder for the duration of the account holder's participation in
the program.
(d) The department and the community-based organizations, separately or cooperatively, may solicit grants and private contributions for the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund and for the local reserve funds of community-based organizations
operating certified state IDA programs.
(e) If moneys are withdrawn from an individual development account by an account
holder due to the account holder's decision to leave the certified state IDA program, all
matching funds designated for said moneys shall be forfeited by the account holder and
not later than December thirty-first of each year, the matching funds from the Individual
Development Account Reserve Fund shall be returned by the community-based organization to the department for redeposit into the Individual Development Account Reserve
Fund; except that, if the withdrawal is an emergency withdrawal, as defined in regulations adopted pursuant to section 31-51ddd, or is a withdrawal due to circumstances
other than an account holder's decision to leave the certified state IDA program, the
community-based organization may retain the matching funds for the account holder
in its local reserve fund until such account holder redeposits the withdrawn funds or
leaves the certified state IDA program, in accordance with such regulations.
(f) When the account holder has made sufficient deposits to such account holder's
individual development account to achieve the savings goal set forth in such account
holder's approved plan, the community-based organization shall pay such sum together
with the matching funds from the organization's local reserve account that are attributed
to this individual development account, directly to the person or entity providing the
goods or services. Where matching funds from the Individual Development Account
Reserve Fund have not been paid out by the community-based organization for an eligible purpose within five years after the opening of an individual development account
due to an account holder not making contributions as provided in the approved plan,
the matching funds from the Individual Development Account Reserve Fund shall be
returned to the department for deposit in the Individual Development Account Reserve
Fund, except that the community-based organization may grant a leave of absence or
extension of time to an account holder for a period not to exceed two years, within such
five-year period in accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to section 31-51ddd.
(P.A. 00-192, S. 5, 102.)
History: P.A. 00-192 effective January 1, 2001.