0275.045.00  COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM

The Community Service Program is a structured volunteer activity for Temporary Assistance (TA) recipients designed to improve employability when s/he is not otherwise able to obtain and maintain suitable employment. The Community Service Program creates an employer/employee relationship to improve the employability and to help the recipient gain soft skills needed to be successful in the workforce.  This activity can be used to supplement another activity (other than AWEP/CWEP) if the recipient is not meeting the required hours in that activity and additional soft skills are needed.

The Community Service Program is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Only employers subject to the FLSA are allowed to participate as a Community Service Program employer site.  The employer knows when they are governed by FLSA and are required to mark the box on the “Community Service Program Worksite Agreement” to acknowledge this requirement.  The Community Service Program is also subject to the FLSA calculation.  The maximum monthly hours (FLSA calculation) the recipient may perform is calculated by the MWA System.  The employee may work flexible hours or make up hours at the discretion of the employer within the federal month to meet the monthly hour requirement. Refer to Appendix Q regarding the FLSA calculation.

This volunteer work activity serves a useful community purpose in fields such as:

This work activity includes positions with the intent to improve soft skills, such as:

Volunteer work is performed on-site and under the supervision of public or non-profit organizations, and may take into account the prior training, experience and skills of the TA recipient.  Providers of employment and training services, non-profit partner organizations, and other state agencies such as social services, education, conservation, economic development, and public safety are eligible to take part as employers for the program.

Countable hours for the Community Service Program include:

• Assessments to determine if the TA recipient is able to pursue or obtain a specific employment opportunity including:
  • Assessments performed by case managers to determine past employment, medical, drug history, etc. that affect the ability to obtain the position;
  • Vocational Rehabilitation assessment to determine the ability to obtain the position;
  • Employer required tests such as typing, physical, psychological, aptitude, personality, and drug tests.
• Reassess at a minimum of every 90 days to determine the recipient’s suitability for other activities. Conduct assessment with the TA recipient and review the ‘MWA Assessment’ form.

0275.045.05 Community Service Worksite Agreement

To be considered as a work site, organizations apply to the local MWA service providers in the region/area, and complete the “MWA Community Service Worksite Agreement” form.  The employer provides a list of skills to be performed for each “job” opening they have.  Employers indicate the number of hours available for each position.

Approved employers are placed on a regional listing of potential worksites, and each Community Service participant is matched to the worksite that best meets his/her needs, whenever possible.  If the employer needs to add additional positions at a later date, they may complete the MWA Community Service Worksite Agreement Addendum.

Community Service Program worksites must:

• Meet appropriate health and safety standards;
• Employ at least one other employee;
• Provide daily supervision as with any other employee; and
• Sign the “MWA Community Service Worksite Agreement” that provides information on the employer responsibilities which include monitoring attendance and performance.

Refer to the MWA Community Service Worksite Agreement for terms the worksite must agree to in order to become a Community Service Program worksite.

0275.045.10 MWA Community Service Participant Agreement

A Temporary Assistance (TA) recipient is placed into the Community Service Program when an assessment determines that s/he is not yet ready for other core activities and may benefit from the soft skills that can be attained during this structured, volunteer program.  The TA recipient with the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) case manager completes the “MWA Community Service Participant Agreement”.  The recipient is removed from the Community Service Program when s/he is ready to begin other activities.  The Individual Employment Plan (IEP) is modified and the recipient must update his/her resume to reflect the volunteer experience and duties.

TA recipients who participate in a Community Service Program:

• Cannot fill existing unfilled position vacancies;
• Cannot receive a salary or any work or training expense provided under any provision of law;
• Are placed in the Community Service Program only if they cannot be placed in paid jobs or in addition to a paid job;
• Are not considered federal employees if they perform work in the public interest for a federal office or agency;
• Can never displace current employees;
• Are assessed by the case manager for basic soft skills needed;
• Are replaced by other TA recipients when the desired skills are gained; and
• Signs the “MWA Community Service Participant Agreement” which outlines the skills to be mastered and proposed time frame.

Refer to the MWA Community Service Participant Agreement for terms and conditions for participating in the Community Service Program.

A Community Service Program participant is not assigned to a position when:

• Any other TA recipient is on layoff from the same or any substantially equivalent job;
• The employer has terminated the employment of any regular employee, reduced the hours of an employee, or otherwise caused an involuntary reduction of its workforce in order to fill the vacancy with a Community Service Program participant; or
• A strike, lockout, or other bona fide labor dispute creates the employment opportunity.

Any recipient or employee who believes that s/he has been adversely affected by the placement of a Community Service Program participant shall be given the opportunity to grieve it through the following process:

• The recipient or employee, or an organization that is authorized to represent the recipient or employee, shall first attempt to remedy the alleged violation through a meeting with the employer within 30 days of the request of the meeting.
• If the complaint is not resolved, the recipient or employee may appeal to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.  The Commission shall conduct a hearing and shall render a decision within 45 days of the hearing.
• If the recipient or employee is aggrieved by the decision of the commission, he/she may file a petition for review in the circuit court in which he/she resides within 30 days of the date of the decision.

0275.045.15 Time Allowed in Community Service Program

After the TA recipient has been engaged in the Community Service Program, reassess the TA recipient at a minimum of 90 days to determine if the recipient is able to participate in more appropriate activities.  This reassessment includes:

• Case manager contact with the Community Service Program worksite supervisor to determine if the TA recipient has been able to complete the soft skills required (such as those described above).  The employer should use the same criteria required for any other employee when making this determination.
• Case manager contact with the TA recipient and a review of the mandated ‘MWA Assessment’ on file.

Once the employer and the TA recipient have been contacted, the reassessment completed, and the desired soft skills have been obtained, place the TA recipient in another suitable activity.  If the assessment finds the recipient still needs soft skills and should continue in the Community Service Program, enter case notes explaining the soft skills the recipient needs to obtain and how this will be accomplished.

If for any reason the case manager feels the TA recipient needs to pursue Community Service past two 90-day periods, s/he needs to send a request through the proper communication channels to the Family Support Division (FSD) Central Office.

0275.045.20 Documentation Required

The MWA Assessment Verification form documents:

• assessments to determine if recipient is able to obtain a specific employment opportunity including:
• assessments performed by case managers to determine past employment, or medical and drug history, etc. that would affect the ability to obtain the position;
• Vocational Rehabilitation assessment to determine the ability to obtain the position;
• Employer required tests such as typing, a physical, psychological, aptitude, personality, and drug tests; and
• reassessments.

A countable hour is equal to an hour being assessed.  After documentation is obtained, the hours are entered under the Community Service Program service on the Participation Hours Verification or the Mass Participation Hours Verification screen in the MWA System.  The documentation is placed in the paper file.  Case notes are entered indicating which hour(s) of this activity are assessment hours.

The MWA Attendance Log documents hours of participation at the Community Service Program worksite. A countable hour is equal to an hour of work at the worksite.  After documentation is obtained, the hours are entered under the Community Service Program service on the Participation Hours Verification or the Mass Participation Hours Verification screen in the MWA System.  The documentation is placed in the paper file.  Case notes are entered indicating which part of this activity are assessment hours.

0275.045.25 Work Participation Hourly Requirements

A single or a two-parent household is only allowed to work up to the monthly hours as calculated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) calculation completed in the MWA System. The MWA System displays this monthly amount of hours as AWEP/CWEP & Comm. Service Max on the IEP screen and the Hours-Verification screen.  This amount is updated based on Family Support Division (FSD) information around the fifth of each month.  Therefore, this amount is checked each month by the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) case manager and the hours are updated with the Community Service Program worksite accordingly. 

If the FLSA calculation is less than the Community Service Program participant’s normally required core hours, the participant is deemed to have met their core hours once they have worked the total FLSA calculated hours for the month.  If non-core hours are required, these must still be met.  If the Community Service “allowable hours” calculation equals more than the required core hours, the participant can work the remaining hours to partially or fully meet the non-core requirement.  The participant is always allowed to work up to the “allowable hours” calculation even if this exceeds his/her normally required core and non-core requirements.

Examples:

• Sam is a single parent with a child under 6.
  • He is required to participate 20 core hours per week and there are 4 federal weeks in this month, which is a total of 80 core hours.
  • The FLSA calculation in the MWA System shows he is allowed to work 68 hours in the Community Service Program this month.
  • After he works the 68 hours, he is “deemed” to have met his full participation requirement of 80 hours for the month.
• Jane and Tom make-up a two-parent household with children 6 and over.
  • Together they are required to participate 55 hours per week; 50 of these are core and the remaining 5 are non-core.  There are 4 federal weeks in this month; therefore, they are required to participate a total of 200 core hours and 20 *non-core hours for the month.
  • The FLSA calculation in the MWA System shows they are allowed to work 100 hours in the Community Service Program this month.  (These 100 hours can be worked by Jane or Tom in any combination per week.)
  • After they work a combined total of 100 hours, they are “deemed” to have met their full participation requirement for core hours.
  • The 20 hours of non-core activities for the month must also be worked.  (The non-core hours may also be worked by Jane or Tom in any combination per week.)
• Heather is a single parent with a child over 6.
  • She is required to participate 30 hours per week; 20 of these are core, the remaining 10 are non-core.  There are 5 federal weeks in the month; therefore, she is required to work 100 core hours (5 weeks x 20 core hours) and 50 non-core hours (5 weeks x 10 non-core hours).
  • The FLSA calculation in the MWA System shows she is allowed to work 125 hours in the Community Service Program this month.
  • Since the calculation of what is allowed is higher than the requirement of 100 hours, after the 100 hours are met for the month, she has met the full participation requirement for core hours.
  • She also has to complete the 50 hour monthly non-core requirement.  In this scenario, she could work 25 of the non-core hours in the Community Service Program since this does not exceed the MWA System calculation.  She still needs to complete 25 hours in a core or non-core activity other than AWEP/CWEP or Community Service.
• Diane and Jim make-up a two-parent household with children under 6, receiving federally funded childcare.
  • Together they are required to participate 55 hours; 50 of these are core and the remaining 5 are non-core.  There are 4 federal weeks in this month; therefore, he and/or she are required to participate in 200 core and 20 non-core hours.
  • The FLSA calculation in the MWA System shows they are allowed to work 90 hours in the Community Service Program this month.
  • Diane is working in the Community Service Program and Jim is participating in Vocational Education (not beyond the 12 month limit).
  • Diane will complete the 90 hours in the Community Service Program since this is less than the normally required 200 core hours.  She is “deemed” to be meeting full core hour participation.
  • Jim’s Vocational Education hours (which he is participating 10 hours per week) meets the non-core requirement of 20 hours for the month.
• Karen and Dan make-up a two-parent household with children under 6, not receiving federally funded childcare.
  • One parent is required to participate 35 hours; 30 of these are core and the remaining 5 are non-core.  There are 5 federal weeks in this month; therefore, he or she is required to participate 150 core hours and 25 non-core hours.
  • The FLSA calculation in the MWA System shows he or she is allowed to work 100 hours in the Community Service Program this month.
  • After the 100 hours allowed are met for the month they are “deemed” to have met their full participation requirement for core hours.
  • The 25 hour monthly non-core requirement must also be worked.

0275.045.30 Excused Absences/Holidays

The Community Service Program allows excused absences and holidays. Refer to Section 0270.030.00 Excused Absences and Section 0270.035.00 Holidays for more information.

0275.045.35 Differences Between Community Service Program and Alternative Work Experience (AWEP)/Community Work Experience (CWEP)

The Community Service Program and AWEP/CWEP positions are volunteer activities (not paid).  Since these two Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) activities are very similar, below is a listing of the differences.

• The Community Service Program is employment in the public sector only; AWEP/CWEP may include employment in the private or public sector.
• The Community Service Program may be multiple positions at the same employer; AWEP/CWEP are generally individual positions.
• The Community Service Program may not be self-initiated; AWEP/CWEP can be self-initiated (the TA recipient can ask the volunteer site to allow them to work).
• The Community Service Program is used to obtain soft skills at any employer; AWEP/CWEP is used to master very specific skills of that particular business.

0275.045.40 Employer Relatives

Under certain circumstances, a Temporary Assistance (TA) recipient may be placed in a Community Service Program worksite where the employer is a relative of the TA recipient.

Use the following criteria to determine appropriateness for placement:

• The worksite meets all conditions of Community Service as with any other employer;
• Document in case notes the circumstances leading to the use of a relative-employer as the worksite; and
• Obtain supervisory approval.

0275.045.45 Supervision

The worksite employer provides daily supervision of the Community Service Program participant as agreed to in the “Community Service Worksite Agreement”, by offering guidance, daily activity log, and completing the “MWA Attendance Log”, etc.

Guidance and/or daily logs may include:

• comments on the participant’s  progress toward overcoming barriers;
• soft skills sets gained or upgraded;
• tasks mastered; and
• satisfactory attendance, appearance, attitude and professionalism, etc.

Using available information from the worksite daily activity and/or attendance logs, activity modifications may be arranged by the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) case manager.

0275.045.50 Worker's Compensation Requirement

Worker’s Compensation must be provided for volunteers in the Community Service Program.  The following rules apply:

• In most cases, the state of Missouri/Family Support Division (FSD) will provide Worker’s Compensation coverage for Temporary Assistance (TA) recipients participating in the Community Service Program in any position that is considered “state employment.”  This is based on the self-insured status of most state agencies, allowing the entity that “controls and directs” the volunteer (considered the employee) to be considered the employer.  The person/entity that “controls and directs” is the person/entity who directly oversees the day-to-day tasks of the TA recipient.  This includes, but is not limited to the worksite supervisor, employment agency, employer, or the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
• It is the responsibility of the MWA service provider/case manager to confirm “self-insured” status of the state agency in which the recipient is placed.
• If a TA recipient is placed in a job that is not covered under the “self-insured”, “state employment”, the MWA service provider is financially responsible for providing Worker’s Compensation if required by the worksite.