(a)      The Secretary shall:

            (1)      Establish and implement a FIP that meets the requirements of this subtitle and of federal law;

            (2)      Supervise the administration of the FIP under this subtitle by local departments;

            (3)      Cooperate with the federal government in matters of mutual concern pertaining to federal funding for the FIP; and

            (4)      Adopt regulations necessary or desirable to carry out the provisions of this subtitle.

      (b)      (1)      The Secretary of Human Resources and local directors of social services shall develop and implement a plan, working with appropriate local government officials, under which local governments may hire FIP recipients to work in local government.

            (2)      Components of any local government hiring plan developed by the Secretary shall include, for each jurisdiction:

                  (i)      An indication of the units that could most easily hire FIP recipients;

                  (ii)      The employment positions most suitable for FIP recipients;

                  (iii)      Proposals for recruiting FIP recipients;

                  (iv)      Employment retention strategies; and

                  (v)      A target number of FIP recipients to be recruited.

            (3)      The director of each local department of social services shall be responsible for:

                  (i)      The development and submission of the local department plan in accordance with a schedule and format to be determined by the Secretary;

                  (ii)      The timely implementation of the proposals and strategies contained in the local plan;

                  (iii)      The achievement of the target numbers contained in the local plan; and

                  (iv)      The development and submission to the Secretary of reports in accordance with a schedule and format to be developed by the Secretary.

            (4)      On or before November 1 of each year, the Secretary of Human Resources, in consultation with the Maryland Association of Counties shall report, subject to § 2-1246 of the State Government Article, to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee of the General Assembly, on:

                  (i)      The development of the plan encouraged under this paragraph; and

                  (ii)      The number of welfare recipients hired and retained by local governments.