(a) A State plan for financial assistance programs under title I, IV-A, X, XIV, or XVI (AABD) of the Social Security Act must provide that methods of personnel administration will be established and maintained in public agencies administering or supervising the administration of the program in conformity with the Standards for a Merit System of Personnel Administration, 5 CFR part 900, subpart F, which incorporates the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Merit Principles (Pub. L. 91-648, section 2, 84 Stat. 1909), prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 as amended.

Sections 235.61 through 235.66 contain (a) State plan requirements for training programs and (b) conditions for Federal financial participation (FFP) for training costs under the State plans. These sections apply to the State plans for the financial assistance programs in all jurisdictions under title I, IV-A, X, XIV, or XVI (AABD) of the Social Security Act.

For purposes of §§ 235.60-235.66:

Act means the Social Security Act, as amended.

A grant to an educational institution means payments to an educational institution for services rendered under a time limited agreement between the State agency and the eligible educational institution which provides for the training of State or local agency employees or persons preparing for employment with the State or local agency.

A training program is the method through which the State agency carries out a plan of educational and training activities to improve the operation of its programs.

(a) Initial in-service training means a period of intensive, task-oriented training to prepare new employees to assume job responsibilities.

(b) Continuing training means an on-going program of training planned to enable employees to: (1) Reinforce their basic knowledge and develop the required skills for the performance of specific functions, and (2) acquire additional knowledge and skill to meet changes such as enactment of new legislation, development of new policies, or shifts in program emphasis.

(c) Full-time training means training that requires employees to be relieved of all responsibility for performance of current work to participate in a training program.

(d) Part-time training means training that allows employees to continue full time in their jobs or requires only partial reduction of work activities to participate in a training program outside of the State or local agency.

(e) Long-term training means training for eight consecutive work weeks or longer.

(f) Short-term training means training for less than eight consecutive work weeks.

FFP or Federal financial participation means the Federal government's share of expenditures made by a State or local agency under a training program.

Fringe benefits means the employer's share of premiums for industrial compensation, employee's retirement, unemployment compensation, health insurance, and similar expenses.

Persons preparing for employment means individuals who are not yet employed by the State or local agency, but who have received financial assistance from the State agency for training, and have made a legally binding commitment with the State or local agency for future employment under the conditions of these regulations.

Stipend means the basic living allowance paid to a student.

A State plan under title I, IV-A, X, XIV, or XVI (AABD) of the Act must provide for a training program for agency personnel. The training program must:

(a) Include initial in-service training for newly appointed staff, and continuing agency training opportunities to improve the operation of the program. The training program may also include short-term and long-term training at educational institutions through grants to institutions or by direct financial assistance to students enrolled in institutions who are agency employees or persons preparing for employment with the State or local agency;

(b) Be related to job duties performed or to be performed by the persons trained, and be consistent with the program objectives of the agency; and

(c) Be described in an annual training plan prepared prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. Copies of the training plan shall be made available upon request to the Regional Office of Family Assistance for review by the Federal staff.

(a) Who may be trained. FFP is available only for training provided personnel employed in all classes of positions, volunteers, and persons preparing for employment by the State or local agency administering the program.

(b) When FFP is available. FFP is available for personnel employed and persons preparing for employment by the State or local agency provided the following conditions are met, and with the following limitations:

(1) Employees in full-time, long-term training make a commitment to work in the agency for a period of time equal to the period for which financial assistance is granted. A State agency may exempt an employee from fulfilling this commitment only if failure to continue in employment is due to death, disability, employment in a financial assistance program in a public assistance agency in another State, or other emergent circumstances determined by the single State agency head to be valid for exemption;

(2) An employee retains his or her rights and benefits in the agency while on full-time, long-term training leave;

(3) Persons preparing for employment are selected by the State agency and accepted by the school;

(4) Persons preparing for employment are pursuing educational programs approved by the State agency;

(5) Persons preparing for employment are committed to work for State or local agency for a period of time at least equal to the period for which financial assistance is granted if employment is offered within 2 months after training is completed;

(6) The State or local agency offers the individual preparing for employment a job upon completion of training unless precluded by merit system requirements, legislative budget cuts, position freezes, or other circumstances beyond the agency's control; and if unable to offer employment, releases the individual from his or her commitment;

(7) The State agency keeps a record of the employment of persons trained. If the persons are not employed by the State or local agency, the record specifies the reason for non-employment;

(8) The State agency evaluates the training programs; and

(9) Any recoupment of funds by the State from trainees failing to fulfill their commitment under this section shall be treated as a refund and deducted from total training costs for the purpose of determining net costs for FFP.

(c) Grants to educational institutions. FFP is available in payments for services rendered under grants to educational institutions provided all of the following conditions are met:

(1) Grants are made for the purpose of developing, expanding, or improving training for personnel employed by the State or local agency or preparing for employment by the State or local agency administering the program. Grants are made for an educational program (curriculum development, classroom instruction, field instruction, or any combination of these) that is directly related to the agency's program. Grants are made for not more than 3 years, but may be renewed, subject to the conditions of this section;

(2) Grants are made to educational institutions and programs that are accredited by the appropriate institutional accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Commissioner of Education. When a specialized program within the institution for which there is a specialized accrediting body is used, that program must be accredited by or have pre-accreditation status from that body. (Part 149 of this title explains the requirements and procedures for obtaining recognition as an accrediting agency or association. Lists of currently recognized accrediting bodies are published in the Federal Register periodically. See also Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies and Associations published by the Office of Education);

(3) The State agency has written policies establishing conditions and procedures for such grants;

(4) Each grant describes objectives in terms of how the educational program is related to the financial assistance programs and how it is designed to meet the State or local agency's manpower needs; and

(5) An evaluation of the educational program funded by each grant is made no later than the close of the second year of the grant. The evaluation shall be conducted by representatives from the educational institution and the State agency to determine whether conditions and objectives described in the grant are being met. If the educational program does not meet these conditions and objectives, payment shall be terminated no later than the close of the second year of the grant.

Under title I, IV-A, X, XIV, or XVI(AABD) of the Act, FFP is available at the rate of 50 percent for the following costs:

(a) Salaries, fringe benefits, travel and per diem for:

(1) Staff development personnel (including support staff) assigned full time to training functions and;

(2) Staff development personnel assigned part time to training functions to the extent time is spent performing such functions.

(b) For agency training sessions, FFP is available for:

(1) Salaries, fringe benefits, travel and per diem for employees in initial in-service training of at least one week;

(2) Travel and per diem for employees in agency training sessions away from the employee's work site, or in institutes, seminars or workshops related to the job and sponsored by professional organizations;

(3) Salaries, fringe benefits, travel and per diem for experts outside the agency engaged to develop or conduct special programs; and

(4) Costs of space, postage, teaching supplies, purchase or development of teaching material and equipment, and costs of maintaining and operating the agency library as an essential resource to the agency's training program.

(c) For training and education outside of the agency, FFP is available for:

(1) Salaries, fringe benefits, dependency allowance, travel, tuition, books, and educational supplies for employees in full-time, long-term training programs (with no assigned agency duties);

(2) Salaries, fringe benefits, travel, tuition, books, and educational supplies for employees in full-time, short-term training programs of four or more consecutive work weeks;

(3) Travel, per diem, tuition, books and educational supplies for employees in short-term training programs of less than four consecutive work weeks, or part-time training programs; and

(4) Stipends, travel, tuition, books and educational supplies for persons preparing for employment with the State or local agency.

(d) FFP is available for payments to educational institutions, as described in § 235.63(c) for salaries, fringe benefits, and travel of instructors, clerical assistance, teaching materials and equipment.

FFP is not available for the following expenditures as training costs; however, the expenditures described in this section may be matched as administrative costs, if conditions for such matching are met:

(a) Salaries of supervisors (day-to-day supervision of staff is not a training activity); and

(b) Employment of students on a temporary basis, such as in the summertime.

(a) Public funds. Public funds may be considered as the State's share in claiming Federal reimbursement where the funds:

(1) Are appropriated directly to the State or local agency, or transferred from another public agency (including Indian tribes) to the State or local agency and under its administrative control, or certified by the contributing public agency as representing expenditures eligible for FFP under §§ 235.60-235.66;

(2) Are not used to match other Federal funds; and

(3) Are not federal funds, or are Federal funds authorized by Federal law to be used to match other Federal funds.

(b) Private funds. Funds donated from private sources may be considered as the State's share in claiming Federal reimbursement only where the funds are:

(1) Transferred to the State or local agency and under its administrative control;

(2) Donated without any restriction which would require their use for the training of a particular individual or at particular facilities or institutions; and

(3) Do not revert to the donor's facility or use.

(a) A State plan under title IV-A of the Social Security Act must provide for prompt notice to the State or local child support agency designated pursuant to section 454(3) of the Social Security Act and to the State title XIX agency, as appropriate, whenever:

(1) Aid is furnished to a child who has been deserted or abandoned by a parent, to the parent(s) with whom the child lives, or to a pregnant woman under § 233.90(c)(2)(iv), or

(2) Any of the persons in paragraph (a)(1) of this section is deemed to be a recipient of aid under § 233.20(a)(3)(viii)(D).

(b) In this section:

(1) Aid means Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or AFDC Foster Care.

(2) Prompt notice means written notice including a copy of the AFDC case record, or all relevant information as prescribed by the child support agency. Prompt notice must also include all relevant information as prescribed by the State medicaid agency for the pursuit of liable third parties. The prompt notice shall be provided within two working days of the furnishing of aid or the determination that an individual is a recipient under § 233.20(a)(3)(viii)(D). The title IV-A, IV-D and XIX agencies may agree to provide notice immediately upon the filing of an application for assistance.

(3) Furnish means the date on which cash is given to the family, a check or warrant is mailed to the family, a deposit is made in a bank for the family, or other similar circumstances in which an assistance payment is made to the family, or the date on which individuals are determined to be recipients under § 233.20(a)(3)(viii)(D).

(4) A child who has been deserted or abandoned by a parent means any child whose eligibility for AFDC is based on continued absence of a parent from the home, and includes a child born out of wedlock without regard to whether the paternity of such child has been established.

State plan requirements: A State plan under title I, IV-A, X, XIV, or XVI of the Social Security Act must provide:

(a) That the State agency will establish and maintain:

(1) Methods and criteria for identifying situations in which a question of fraud in the program may exist, and

(2) Procedures developed in cooperation with the State's legal authorities for referring to law enforcement officials situations in which there is valid reason to suspect that fraud has been practiced.

(b) For methods of investigation of situations which there is a question of fraud, that do not infringe on the legal rights of persons involved and are consistent with the principles recognized as affording due process of law.

(c) For the designation of official position(s) responsible for referral of situations involving suspected fraud to the proper authorities.