FILL-THE-GAP BUDGETING

(a) To extend the period of supported employment for families who receive financial assistance under this chapter, the commission may use a form of fill-the-gap budgeting or another method under which the commission disregards earnings of family members who obtain employment while receiving the assistance. (b) The commission may limit the percentage of earnings disregarded, impose a time limit on how long the earnings are disregarded, or gradually reduce the percentage of earnings disregarded in order to remain within available funding. (c) Funding for earnings disregards may also come from savings associated with sanctions related to noncompliance with the personal responsibility agreement and work requirements in this chapter, from savings resulting from caseload declines below projections specified in the appropriations bill, and from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds. (d) In this section, "fill-the-gap budgeting" means a system of budgeting in which benefits are gradually lowered using a percentage of the difference between the standard of need and the countable income to calculate the grant benefit.