RECOMMENDATION 4.1: That the General Assembly enact legislation requiring the forfeiture of professional licenses by delinquent payers of child support.

RECOMMENDATION 4.2: That the General Assembly enact legislation to create and fund an automated central registry to track new hiring and match employment records with child support obligations.

RECOMMENDATION 4.3: That the General Assembly direct the Administrative Office of the Courts to annually publish data fully disclosing the disposition of child support cases in each of the state's district and circuit courts, with copies to the Governor, Legislative Research Commission and Kentucky Commission on Women.

RECOMMENDATION 4.4: That the General Assembly enact legislation to create a tax credit or a grant for employers who provide child care services for dependents of their employees.

RECOMMENDATION 4.5: That the General Assembly direct the Office of Employee Benefits (Chapter VI, Recommendation 10) to develop a campaign to "market" the child care expense reimbursement program and the advantages of employer-assisted child care.

RECOMMENDATION 4.6: That the General Assembly direct the Office of Employee Benefits (Chapter VI, Recommendation 10) to develop a campaign to "market" the advantages of employer-subsidized health care.

RECOMMENDATION 4.7: That the Cabinet for Human Resources insure that all persons receiving any form of public assistance are advised of their eligibility to participate in the Adult Basic Education component of the JOBS Program, and that the cabinet institute a program to notify all persons under court or administrative order to pay child support of the eligibility requirements and services available under ABE/JOBS and JTPA.

RECOMMENDATION 4.8: That the Cabinet for Human Resources require all parents, other than the severely physically and mentally handicapped, who receive some form of public assistance other than AFDC, to undergo instruction in parenting and life skills available under the Adult Basic Education component of the JOBS Program.

RECOMMENDATION 4.9: That the General Assembly develop and fund a program to provide grants to public transportation companies, including regional rural systems operated by nonprofit organizations, such as Community Action Agencies, or to local units of government, including area development districts, to survey the transportation needs of their citizen clients to places of work or education, and to develop routes and schedules to meet those needs.

RECOMMENDATION 4.10: That the General Assembly direct the Office of Employee Benefits (Chapter VI, Recommendation 10) to develop a campaign to "market" the advantages of employer-assisted transportation.

RECOMMENDATION 4.11: That the General Assembly adjust the state's low-income tax credit schedule to ease the burden on Kentucky's most vulnerable families. Specifically, a full tax credit should be granted to families with incomes of $7,500 or less, a 50-percent credit to families with incomes less than $15,000, a 25-percent credit to families with incomes less than $20,000, a 15-percent credit to families with incomes less than $25,000, and a 5-percent credit to families with incomes less than $30,000.

RECOMMENDATION 5.1: That the Cabinet for Human Resources strengthen its efforts to improve communication between caseworkers and clients, leading to full disclosure of the program options available to individuals or families eligible for public assistance.

RECOMMENDATION 5.2: That the Secretary of the Cabinet for Human Resources promulgate an administrative regulation amending Section 7 of 904 KAR 2:016 to: (1) apply a forty percent ratable reduction to the deficit between the family's countable income and the standard of need for the appropriate family size [as provided for in KRS 205.200(2)]; and (2) specify that the AFDC assistance payment shall be sixty percent of the deficit or the payment maximum, whichever is the lesser amount.

RECOMMENDATION 5.3: That the Secretary of the Cabinet for Human Resources request a waiver of Title IV-A of the Social Security Act to apply, concurrently, for twelve consecutive months the "first thirty dollars" and "one-third of the remainder of earned income" deductions allowable against earned income in computing AFDC benefits.

RECOMMENDATION 5.4: That Kentucky's AFDC cash-benefit levels be raised.

RECOMMENDATION 5.5: That Kentucky seek a federal waiver to raise the permitted resource limit for self-employed AFDC recipients to help meet the capital requirements of a new business.

RECOMMENDATION 5.6: That Kentucky seek a federal waiver to raise the automobile value limit excluded from the AFDC asset limit.

RECOMMENDATION 5.7: That AFDC regulations be amended to require non-teenage mothers with children under the age of 3 to receive the life-skills training portion of the JOBS Program, with emphasis on teaching participants how to raise children.

RECOMMENDATION 5.8: That the Cabinet for Human Resources develop a schedule of transportation allowances for JOBS participants based upon the individual need of the participant. "Need" would be a function of the distance that the participant is required to travel to participate in basic job training programs or to travel to vocational education or higher education facilities.

RECOMMENDATION 5.9: That the Cabinet for Human Resources and the Workforce Development Cabinet develop and implement an effective outreach program to market the WDC's services to the impoverished, particularly those who receive some sort of public assistance other than AFDC.

RECOMMENDATION 5.10: That the Cabinet for Human Resources evaluate the substance abuse treatment options available to JOBS participants and evaluate the success rate of long-term substance abuse treatment programs offered by private, nonprofit agencies, versus the rate of success of the more traditional short-term treatment programs provided by hospitals.

RECOMMENDATION 5.11: That Kentucky apply for a federal waiver to extend Transitional Child Care benefits from 12 to 24 months.

RECOMMENDATION 5.12: That the Commonwealth maintain its current level of support for poverty-related categorical programs, including AFDC and Medicaid, in the event that the state is allowed funding discretion through a block grant.

RECOMMENDATION 5.13: That the responsibility for the development of state policy concerning the allocation and administration of block grants be placed in the Office of the Governor.

RECOMMENDATION 6.1: That the Kentucky Industrial Development Act (KIDA) and the Kentucky Jobs Development Act (KJDA) be amended to provide an incentive for the qualified business to hire a full-time equivalent of 25 percent of its employees from a targeted workforce. The targeted workforce would be made up of Kentucky residents who were unemployed, or who had received public assistance for at least 90 days prior to being employed by the business.

RECOMMENDATION 6.2: That the Kentucky Industrial Revitalization Act (KIRA) be amended to provide an incentive for the qualified business to hire a full-time equivalent of 25 percent of new or additional employees from a targeted workforce, as described in Recommendation 6.1.

RECOMMENDATION 6.3: That the Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act (KREDA) be amended to require the qualified business to hire a full-time equivalent of 25 percent of new or additional employees from a targeted workforce, as described in Recommendation 6.1, as a requisite for participation in the program.

RECOMMENDATION 6.4: That the Kentucky Enterprise Zone Program law be amended to eliminate residents of the enterprise zone from the definition of targeted workforce.

RECOMMENDATION 6.5: That the various statutes and administrative regulations governing the award of loans and grants for economic development purposes, and the statutes and administrative regulations authorizing the issuance of bonds to finance economic development loans and grants, be amended to add to the project selection and lending criteria (1) the number of jobs to be filled from the ranks of public assistance recipients or unemployed; (2) the level of wages to be paid; and (3) the employee benefits to be provided.

RECOMMENDATION 6.6: That the Kentucky General Assembly enact legislation to establish a viable, state-wide venture capital fund, with entrepreneur identification and technical assistance similar to that provided by the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation.

RECOMMENDATION 6.7: That the General Assembly authorize and fund an Office of Public-Private Partnerships to work with local, nonprofit organizations to identify local entrepreneurs, indigenous services and products, and to match venture capital with the prospective business venture.

RECOMMENDATION 6.8: That the General Assembly enact legislation to create a Linked Deposit Program for loans to small businesses. Emphasis should be placed on loans to minority-owned businesses.

RECOMMENDATION 6.9: That the General Assembly amend KRS 42.4588 to permit the construction of facilities to provide water and sewer services to residential housing and existing commercial and industrial facilities not contemplated within the current statute.

RECOMMENDATION 6.10: That the General Assembly authorize and fund an Office of Employee Benefits to work with current and prospective employers to provide dependent care, transportation, and health care, and other employee benefits, to their employees.

RECOMMENDATION 6.11: That KRS 141.065 be amended to increase the tax credit awarded for the employment of the unemployed from $100 to $300 per person hired by the taxpayer, and to extend the credit to include the employment of public assistance recipients.

RECOMMENDATION 6.12: That the General Assembly develop a plan for participation in Life Line, with mandatory participation by each telephone company operating within the state. The Commission further recommends that the General Assembly consider the development of a Kentucky program to assist the unemployed or AFDC recipients who otherwise would not qualify under either of the two national programs.

RECOMMENDATION 6.13: That the General Assembly reaffirm its commitment to affirmative action and explore ways to strengthen Kentucky's Affirmative Action Plan for state government.

RECOMMENDATION 6.14: That the General Assembly create a Task Force on Technology and Human Development to identify and recommend the means for developing a technology and workforce base which will attract state-of-the-art manufacturing and services industries.

RECOMMENDATION 7.1: That the current service levels of Kentucky's Head Start Program be maintained for every eligible child.

RECOMMENDATION 7.2: That the General Assembly enact legislation to mandate the adoption of the School-to-Work System.

RECOMMENDATION 7.3: (a) That the General Assembly appropriate for the 1996-98 biennium funds sufficient to serve at least 25 percent of the most educationally disadvantaged adult population (those who function at grade levels 0 to 8.9, or levels 1 and 2 on the Adult Literacy Survey) in the Commonwealth; and (b) That the Department for Adult Education and Literacy be required to develop programs to insure the enrollment of a minimum of 25 percent of their potential clientele for adult literacy programs during the 1996-98 biennium.

RECOMMENDATION 7.4: (a) That the General Assembly require each county-wide school district to provide on-campus child care service in at least one secondary school within the district; (b) that the county-wide school district be required to accept parenting students residing in an independent school district within the county; (c) that the child care facilities and service be made available to participants in adult basic education programs; and (d) that the General Assembly provide funding for the operation of the child care facilities on an average student daily attendance and adult participation basis.

RECOMMENDATION 7.5: That the General Assembly mandate a joint study by the Workforce Development Cabinet and the Council on Higher Education to determine the need for campus-situated child care for persons attending vocational and higher education schools and for adults enrolled in adult education courses.

RECOMMENDATION 7.6: That school districts be encouraged to develop academic mentoring programs in all secondary schools for at least those students considered to be at-risk, and job mentoring programs for all students enrolled in the School-to-Work Program.

RECOMMENDATION 7.7: That the Kentucky Department of Education develop a mandatory basic/survival skills course for all high school students, to be completed in their junior year. The purpose of the course would be two-fold: to insure that all students have the knowledge necessary to complete a job application, balance a checkbook, count change, and read a road map, and the skills necessary to pass basic math and English tests (similar to those given by prospective employers).

RECOMMENDATION 7.8: That the General Assembly encourage the integration of character education in Kentucky's elementary and secondary schools' curricula and support the use of Character Education Teaching Strategies for this purpose, and that the General Assembly require the Department of Education to conduct an annual survey to determine the extent to which character education is taught in Kentucky's schools and report the results to the Legislative Research Commission.

RECOMMENDATION 7.9: That the General Assembly continue full funding of the free and reduced-price school breakfast and lunch programs and the summer lunch program.

RECOMMENDATION 8.1: That the General Assembly provide additional funding for the College Access Grant Program.

RECOMMENDATION 8.2: That the General Assembly enact legislation requiring Kentucky school districts to provide to the KHEAA the names and addresses of all students enrolled in the district in grades 8 through 12.

RECOMMENDATION 8.3: That the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, in conjunction with the Kentucky Workforce Development Cabinet, develop an outreach program, using a "peer-to-peer" approach, to provide information about postsecondary educational opportunities to hard-to-reach individuals.

RECOMMENDATION 8.4: That the General Assembly enact legislation requiring local Circuit Court Clerks to distribute information developed by KHEAA about postsecondary education opportunities and student financial aid to youth when they apply for their driver's learning permit.

RECOMMENDATION 8.5: That the Workforce Development Cabinet insure that the course offerings available through vocational-technical schools match the employment needs within the service area.

RECOMMENDATION 8.6: That the General Assembly amend current law (KRS 151B.025) to allow the Workforce Development Cabinet to grant "technical degrees" upon successful completion of selected vocational-technical programs.

RECOMMENDATION 8.7: That the General Assembly require the Interagency Council on Education and Job Training Coordination, or the Council on Higher Education, to provide for a transfer of credits between vocational-technical schools and community colleges or four-year institutions of higher education. Or, as an alternative, to provide proficiency testing in appropriate subject areas for vocational-technical school students who seek admission to community colleges or four-year institutions.

RECOMMENDATION 8.8: That the General Assembly require that the Interagency Council on Education and Job Training Coordination, or the Council on Higher Education, complete the development of a process for the transfer of credits between and among community colleges and universities.

RECOMMENDATION 9.1: That the Kentucky General Assembly enact legislation to create a Kentucky Commission on Children and Families and mandate the establishment of local Commissions on Children and Families.

RECOMMENDATION 10.1: That the General Assembly reconstitute the Commission on Poverty for the 1996-97 interim.