,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ehdc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #af1 #bjah,mr4  
,smith of ,missouri 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,smith of ,nebraska7 introduced the
 following bill2 which was referred to  
the ,committee on ,ways and ,means  ,a  
,,bill  ,to amend title ,,iv-,a of the  
,social ,security ,act1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as ,the ,benefits to       
,employment ,act4  #b4 ,expecting       
universal engagement and case management
 ,section #djh7;b7 of the ,social       
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fjh7;b77 
is amended to read as follows3  7b7     
,individual opportunity plans  7#a7     
,assessment ,the ,state agency          
responsible for administering the ,state
 program funded under this part shall   
make an initial assessment of the       
following for each recipient of         
assistance who is required to be engaged
 in work pursuant to section #djg7;c73  
7,a7 ,the education obtained1 skills1   

prior work experience1 work readiness1  
and barriers to work of the individual4 
7,b7 ,the well-being of the children in 
the family of the individual and1 where 
appropriate1 activities or services     
7such as services offered by a program  
funded under section #eaa7 to improve   
the well-being of the children4  7#b7   
,contents of plans ,on the basis of the 
assessment required by paragraph 7#a7 of
 this subsection1 the ,state agency1 in 
consultation with the individual1 shall 
develop an individual opportunity plan  
that--  7,a7 includes a personal        
responsibility agreement in which the   
individual acknowledges receipt of      
publicly-funded benefits and            
responsibility to comply with program   
requirements in order to receive the    
benefits2  7,b7 sets forth the          
obligations of the individual to        
participate in work activities1 and the 
number of hours per month for which the 
individual will so participate pursuant 
to section #djg7;c72  7,c7 sets forth an

 employment goal and planned short-1    
intermediate-1 and long-term actions to 
achieve the goal1 and1 in the case of an
 individual who has not attained #bd    
years of age and is in secondary school 
or the equivalent1 the intermediate     
action may be completion of secondary   
school or the equivalent2  7,d7         
describes the job counseling and other  
services the ,state will provide to the 
individual to enable the individual to  
obtain and keep employment in the       
private sector2  7,e7 may include       
referral to appropriate substance abuse 
or mental health treatment2 and  7,f7 is
 signed by the individual4  7#c7 ,timing
 ,the ,state agency shall comply with   
paragraph 7#a7 and 7#b7 with respect to 
a work-eligible individual--  7,a7      
within #ahj days after the effective    
date of this subsection1 in the case of 
an individual who1 as of such effective 
date1 is a recipient of assistance under
 the ,state program funded under this   
part 7as in effect immediately before   

such effective date72 or  7,b7 within   
#fj days after the individual is        
determined to be eligible for the       
assistance1 in the case of any other    
individual4  7#d7 ,penalty for          
noncompliance by individual ,in addition
 to any other penalties required under  
the ,state program funded under this    
part1 the ,state may reduce1 by such    
amount as the ,state considers          
appropriate1 the amount of assistance   
otherwise payable under the ,state      
program to a family that includes an    
individual who fails without good cause 
to comply with an individual opportunity
 plan developed pursuant to this        
subsection1 that is signed by the       
individual4  7#e7 ,periodic review ,the 
,state shall meet with each             
work-eligible individual assessed by the
 ,state under paragraph 7#a71 not less  
frequently than every #ij days1 to--    
7,a7 review the individual opportunity  
plan developed for the individual2  7,b7
 discuss with the individual the        

progress made by the individual in      
achieving the goals specified in the    
plan2 and  7,c7 update the plan1 as     
necessary1 to reflect any changes in the
 circumstances of the individual since  
the plan was last reviewed4  7#f7 ,state
 discretion ,a ,state shall have sole   
discretion1 consistent with section     
#djg1 to define and design activities   
for families for purposes of this       
subsection1 to develop methods for      
monitoring and reviewing progress       
pursuant to this subsection1 and to make
 modifications to the plans developed   
pursuant to this subsection as the      
,state deems appropriate to assist      
families in increasing their degree of  
self-sufficiency4  4  #c4 ,effective    
date ,the amendment made by this ,act   
shall take effect on ,october #a1 #bjah4