General Information
The Employment and Support Services unit has the responsibility to plan, develop, implement and maintain program policies and procedures for the TANF Employment and Training Program (NEON) and the SNAP Employment and Training program (SNAPET).
The NEON program provides Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients a means to acquire employment related education, vocational skills, work experience and job seeking/retention skills to allow them to achieve economic independence through employment. The program assists recipients in overcoming barriers to employment by providing support services including, child care assistance, transportation assistance and employment related special needs such as clothing and tools. TANF recipients with significant barriers to employment such as drug/alcohol addiction, domestic violence issues and /or mental health concerns are case managed by the Division's licensed social workers.
Drug/Alcohol treatment, domestic violence shelter/counseling, and mental health treatment/counseling is available to work-eligible TANF recipients via contracts with service providers and referrals to community agencies and organizations. All program services are developed and provided with the ultimate goal of assisting the family achieve their highest level of economic self-sufficiency.
The SNAPET program is a voluntary program that offers job search training, supervised job search, employment retention services, education, case management and support services to SNAP recipients.
The Employment and Support Services unit also participates in a number of TANF-related community initiatives such as, reduction of child poverty, reduction in out-of-wedlock births, teen pregnancy prevention, statutory rape education/prevention, healthy marriage and faith-based services.
New Employees of Nevada (NEON)
Purpose:
NEON is a program designed to help mandatory TANF participants,
possessing various degrees of job readiness and experience, gain
fulfilling employment through:
- Assessments of
- Employability
- Strengths
- Goals
- Barriers
- Education
- GED preparation
- Skill training
- Post Secondary training
- Life Skills
- Parenting
- Job search
- Budgeting
- Designing strategies for life's pot holes
- Placement assistance
- Community Work Experience Program (CWEP)
- On-site training
- Practical experience
- Learning to function within expected guidelines
The NEON program also provides Support Services in the form of:
- Work-related clothing
- Work-related tools
- Transportation assistance
- Bus pass
- Gas reimbursement
- Car repairs
- Work permits
Eligibility:
NEON is a mandatory program for adult members receiving TANF cash
assistance. A single parent is required to work with their case
manager to find and participate in thirty hours of activities designed
to improve their employability each week. When two parents are in the
household the participants are required to participate thirty-five
hours per week.
Benefits:
Work experience, like volunteer work, can be an opportunity for growth,
expand your horizons and make new contacts within the community.
Work experience gives you an opportunity to:
- Learn new skills or keep your skills current
- Establish a recent and local work history
- Develop or maintain good work habits
- Obtain job references by developing your reputation as a productive potential employee
- Help your family adjust to a working schedule
- Become more confident in the work force
- Build confidence in yourself and your skills
Non-Compliance:
Nevada has strict rules regarding time limits households may receive
TANF cash. Therefore, when mandatory TANF participants fail to comply
with work related activities, they are given a once-in-their-lifetime
thirty (30) day period to comply. Once the thirty days has elapsed,
the household loses their TANF cash monies. After the thirty (30) day
period is used, mandatory participants must become compliant within
ten (10) days.
Social Services
Purpose:
When a NEON mandatory TANF cash recipient has significant employability
barriers which prevent them from obtaining and maintaining self-sufficiency,
they are referred to the state's licensed social workers. Social workers
provide comprehensive assessment and intensive case management of barriers
including:
- Substance abuse
- Domestic violence
- Mental health issues
- Teenage pregnancy and parenting
- Child protective services
- Chronic homelessness
Social workers are also charged with assisting with crisis intervention.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAPET)
Purpose:
SNAPET strives to provide voluntary
participants with the skills necessary to obtain and maintain sustainable
employment in-demand careers.
Eligibility:
SNAPET is available to SNAP recipients
ages 16 and over who would like to volunteer to participate in the program. At
any time, a SNAP recipient can request to participate in the SNAPET program and
be screened to determine if the SNAPET program is right for the individual.
Benefits:
The SNAPET program offers:
- Job Search Training and
Supervised Job Search to assist participants with skills for employment such as
completing resumes and applications, interviewing skills, and goal
setting.
- Employment Retention Services
assist participants who gained employment while participating in SNAPET with support
to retain their employment.
- Education assists participants
with increasing their marketable skill level for in-demand career which
required additional or specific educational training or certificates.
- Case Management to assist
the participant with identifying and exploring employment pathways, necessary
supports, and developing an employment plan.
- Supportive Services that
are reasonable and necessary to participate in the SNAPET program, such as bus
passes, gas reimbursement, work-related clothing and more.
Special Projects
Child PovertyOut-of-Wedlock ReductionTeen Pregnancy Prevention
Statutory Rape EducationRepatriation ProgramCrisis Intervention
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996 refers to the Social Security Act, Section 413, for Child
Poverty. It requires each state to submit an annual statement of the
Child Poverty rate in the state. The first statement was due May 31,
1998. In Two girls reading books subsequent years, if the Child Poverty
rate increases by 5% or more from the previous year as a result of
the state's TANF program, the state is required to prepare and submit
a corrective action plan to the Secretary within 90 days.
A corrective action plan will outline the manner in which the state
plans to reduce their Child Poverty rate and a description of actions
to be taken. The state shall continue to implement the corrective
action plan until it is determined the Child Poverty rate has decreased.
Three factors in developing the Child Poverty rate are as follows:
- The number of children who receive free or reduced-price lunches.
- The number of SNAP households.
- The County-by-County estimates of children in poverty as determined
by the Census Bureau.
One of the greatest concerns of Congress in passing the PRWORA was the
negative effect of out-of-wedlock births and the need to address issues
relating to marriage, stability of families, and the promotion of
responsible parenthood.
Nevada supports the goal of reducing out-of-wedlock births and curtailing
the negative effects of such to birth mothers, the children, the family,
and society. A contract is in place with the Division of Health to
educate, provide birth control supplies, examinations, laboratory
testing, tubal ligations and vasectomies for selected males. This
program is primarily aimed at those in the twenty (20) to twenty-nine
(29) age brackets.
One of the main goals of NDWSS is to prevent and reduce the incidence
of teen pregnancy rate among women ages fifteen (15) to seventeen (17)
by one third or no more than thirty-five (35) per one thousand (1000)
births by the year 2005.
To reach this goal, the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services
has been teaming up with outside agencies in order to improve Nevada's
out-of-wedlock / teen pregnancy birth rates. The state funnels money
from the TANF Block Grant to five (5) Community Action Teams throughout
Nevada for teen pregnancy prevention.
Countless studies show teen mothers are far less likely to graduate
from high school, have a 75 percent likelihood of Welfare dependency
at some time in their lives, 50 percent experience domestic violence
and suffer more health complications with pregnancy. Children of teen
mothers are more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs or affiliate with
gangs, drop out of high school, are three times more likely to serve
prison time and more likely than others to become teen parents themselves.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
1996 requires states to conduct a program designed to reach State and
local law enforcement officials, the education system, and relevant
counseling services, providing education and training on the problem
of statutory rape so teenage pregnancy prevention programs may be
expanded in scope to include men. The law shows considerable concern
for the issue of teenage pregnancy and its impact on Welfare. A variety
of provisions address this issue, many of them governing the conditions
under which pregnant or parenting teenagers may receive welfare.
The goals of Nevada's Statutory Rape Project are to support more aggressive
enforcement of statutory rape laws in Nevada and to promote prevention
of statutory rape therefore, reducing teen pregnancies.
In 2000, the first year of the project, the University of Nevada School
of Medicine, through contract with the Division of Welfare and Supportive
Services, produced a training curriculum which includes a compressed
video titled "In Harm's Way: Our Children and Statutory Rape". The
Nevada Public Health Foundation, through contract with the University,
developed and produced a two hour training curriculum, manual and
compressed video designed to reach state and local law enforcement
officials, the education system and relevant counseling services
statewide which provide education and training on the problems of
statutory rape so teenage pregnancy prevention programs may be expanded
in scope to include men. They also provided a compressed video
transmission for six 2-hour presentations. Training sessions offer
remote satellite communication. Distance Education courses were made
available via the Internet by accessing the Foundation's web site.
In 2001, the second year of the project, the Nevada Public Health
Foundation, through contract with the Division of Welfare and Supportive
Services provided; technical training to local law enforcement personnel,
including police, prosecutors, and judges, education systems, social
services, and other relevant counseling services, to receive education
and training on the problem of statutory rape. The project has also
extended its efforts out to the general public to increase awareness
of the extent of the statutory rape problems in order to develop a
public mandate to aggressively enforce statutory rape laws. Along with
the education a marketing campaign has also followed with brochures
and videotapes.
In 2002, a planned third year of the project, the Nevada Public Health
Foundation, through contract with the Division of Welfare and Supportive
Services, will provide technical education and assistance to professionals,
including police, prosecutors, judges, victims witness advocates,
social workers, teachers, other services providers and the general
public to include parents and adolescents in order to increase the
number of arrests and successful prosecutions for statutory rape
violations and to better assist victims. A resource manual will be
developed, to include experts and organizations nationwide, who can
provide technical assistance to prosecutors, judges, police officers,
and victim witness advocates in the investigation, prosecution, and
adjudication of statutory rape cases. NPHF will continue to educate
through a marketing campaign consisting brochures and videotapes. In
order to further enhance victim's assistance, the Nevada Network Against
Domestic Violence, through subcontract with the Nevada Public Health
Foundation, will develop and deliver professional education on domestic
violence training.
In 2003, the NPHF, through contract with the Division of Welfare and
Supportive Services continued to provide technical education and
assistance to service providers and the general public. The project
also introduced evaluations to determine if the class participants
increased their knowledge as a result of participation.
2004 - 2005 will see a continuance and expansion of services. Project
goals for 2004 - 2005 include:
- Utilize information acquired in the Statutory Rape Education Project
Evaluation to improve the program and deliver additional resources
for education professionals and voters of the need to enforce
statutory rape laws.
- Provide technical education and assistance to professionals,
including police, prosecutors, judges, and service providers, to
increase the number of arrests and successful prosecution for
statutory rape violations and to better assist victims.
- Increase reporting of statutory rape.
- Increase victim awareness and services to reduce harm of statutory
rape to the adolescent victim.
- Increase awareness in order to generate a public mandate to
aggressively enforce statutory rape laws.
Purpose:
The Repatriation program is intended to provide temporary assistance,
care, and treatment for individuals after their return to the United
States from travel in a foreign country due to physical or mental illness,
destitution, or because of war, the threat of war, or a similar crisis.
Eligibility:
The repatriates eligibility must be:
- Certified by the Department of State, in the form of a referral
to the Department of Health and Human Services
- Have US citizenship
- Present in the United States at the time of application
- Possess no means of income
- Sign a repayment agreement
- Medical / psychiatric care
Benefits:
The repatriate may be provided:
- Cash
- Vouchers
- In-kind assistance
- Direct payment of certain bills
When families are in crisis due to domestic violence, loss of their
residence, etc., NDWSS social workers find shelter and assist the
family through the crisis through intervention, guidance and referrals
to other agencies and providers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who is considered a mandatory TANF participant?
- Mandatory Work-eligible NEON TANF participants are: A mandatory TANF participant is one who receives a cash grant for themselves and their children.
Are there any exceptions?
- Yes. A mandatory TANF participant may claim an exemption to stay home with a child under the age of one year.
How long does the exemption last?
- The exemption is no more than twelve (12) months within the lifetime of the mandatory TANF participant. Since TANF participants are limited to twenty-four months of TANF cash at one time, losing a years time designed to help you become self-sufficient may not be wise.
Can you pay for items I need to get a job?
- Yes. Support services include vouchers for work-related items such as clothing, equipment, and work permits