(a) The Department of Social Services shall administer, in accordance with sections 17b-688h and 17b-688i, an employment services program for the purpose of providing employment services to recipients of benefits under the temporary assistance for needy families program pursuant to Title IV-A of the Social Security Act. Said program shall include the provision of employment services to recipients of temporary family assistance that will enable them to become employed and independent of cash assistance within twenty-one months of receipt of temporary family assistance.

(b) In no event shall temporary family assistance be granted to an applicant for such assistance, who is not exempt from participation in the employment services program, prior to the applicant’s attendance at an initial scheduled employment services assessment interview and participation in the development of an employment services plan. The Department of Social Services shall promptly conduct an application interview with an applicant for temporary family assistance to determine whether such applicant is exempt from participation in the employment services program. If the department determines that such applicant is not exempt, the department shall schedule the initial employment services assessment interview not later than ten business days after the date of the application interview. In cases where the department does not schedule the initial employment services assessment interview within ten business days of the date on which the application interview was completed, or where the Labor Department does not complete an employment services plan for the benefit of the applicant within ten business days of the date on which the applicant attends an employment services assessment interview, the Department of Social Services shall not delay granting temporary family assistance to an applicant who is otherwise eligible for such assistance. The Commissioner of Social Services shall refer any applicant denied temporary family assistance, who may be in need of emergency benefits, to other services offered by the Department of Social Services or community services that may be available to such applicant. The Department of Social Services shall reduce the benefits awarded to a family under the temporary family assistance program when a member of the family who is required to participate in the employment services program fails to comply with an employment services requirement without good cause. The Department of Social Services shall impose this reduction by excluding the noncompliant family member from the household when calculating the family’s monthly benefit. Such exclusion shall continue until the noncompliant family member (1) begins to comply with employment services requirements, (2) becomes exempt from such requirements, or (3) demonstrates good cause for his or her failure to comply with such requirements. If only one member of a family is eligible for temporary family assistance and such member fails without good cause to comply with an employment services requirement, the department shall reduce such family’s benefit by twenty-five per cent for each month such member fails to comply.

(c) The Department of Social Services shall not enter into or renew any contractual obligations for the employment services program that extend beyond June 30, 1998. Within fifteen days after execution of such contractual obligations, the Department of Social Services shall send to the Labor Department a copy of such contracts for the information of the Labor Department.

(d) The Commissioner of Social Services shall implement policies and procedures necessary to carry out the purposes of this section while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures in regulation form, provided notice is published in the Connecticut Law Journal within twenty days of implementation of such policies and procedures. Policies and procedures implemented pursuant to this section shall be valid until the time final regulations are effective.