§ 108A-27.12. Maintenance of effort.
§ 108A‑27.12. Maintenance of effort.
(a) The Department shall define in the State Plan the servicesthat can be provided with TANF federal funds and with State and countymaintenance of effort funds. The Department shall work with counties to allowflexibility in the spending of county, State, and federal funds so as tomaximize the use of resources while assuring that federal maintenance of effortrequirements are met.
(b) Counties that fail to meet maintenance of effortrequirements and that fail to meet the performance indicators for reducingmaintenance of effort shall submit a corrective action plan to the Departmentand shall be subject to G.S. 108A‑27.14. The Department may reduce blockgrant allocations to counties that fail to meet maintenance of effortrequirements and performance indicators or may use some of the county's blockgrant allocation to secure needed services for clients in that county. If acounty fails to comply with maintenance of effort requirements, the Director ofthe Budget may also withhold State funds appropriated to the county pursuant toG.S. 108A‑93.
(c) The Department shall maintain the State's maintenance ofeffort at one hundred percent (100%) of the State certified budget enacted bythe General Assembly for programs under this Part during fiscal year 1996‑97.At no time shall the Department reduce or reallocate State funds previouslyobligated or appropriated for Work First or child welfare services.
(d) Each standard county shall maintain funding in Work First,child welfare, and related activities as defined by the Department at onehundred percent (100%) of the county funds budgeted in State Fiscal Year 1996‑97for AFDC Administration, JOBS employment and training, and AFDC EmergencyAssistance (cash and services). A county may request to reduce its block grantand maintenance of effort if that county can demonstrate that it is meeting allthe needs of its clients, as defined by the Department's performanceindicators, without spending all of the block grant funds. The needs of clientsinclude child protection, employment services, and related supportive servicessuch as child care. The Department may reallocate any State or federal fundsreleased from a county that reduced its maintenance of effort or from countiesnot spending their block grants. Funds reallocated to counties will requirecounty match.
(e) During the first year a county operates as an ElectingCounty, the county's maintenance of effort shall be no less than ninety percent(90%) of the amount the county budgeted for programs under this Part duringfiscal year 1996‑97. If during the first year of operation as Electingthe Electing County achieves one hundred percent (100%) of its goals as setforth in its Electing County Plan, then the Electing County may reduce itsmaintenance of effort to eighty percent (80%) of the amount the county budgetedfor programs under this Part during fiscal year 1996‑97 for the secondyear of the Electing County's operation and for all years thereafter that thecounty maintains Electing Status.
(f) The Department may realign funds if the realignment willassure that maintenance of effort requirements are met while maximizing federalrevenues.
(g) The Department of Health and Human Services shall reportquarterly on the extent to which the State and counties are meeting federalmaintenance of effort requirements under Temporary Assistance of Needy Familiesand on any realignment of funds. The Department and the counties shall worktogether to maximize full achievement of the State and county maintenance ofeffort. The Department shall make its report to members of the House ofRepresentatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, theSenate Appropriations Committee on Human Resources, and the Joint Legislative PublicAssistance Committee, and to the Fiscal Research Division. (1997‑443, s. 12.6; 1998‑212, s.12.27A(j); 1999‑359, s. 4(a), (c).)