The General Assembly, in its 1978 session, moved efforts to look at single-purpose application forms ahead by the passage of H.J.R. 80. House Joint Resolution 80 requested the Secretary of Human Resources to undertake a study of the feasibility and advisability of developing a single-purpose application and automatic referral service form in Virginia.

The single-purpose application form has been the object of comment and speculation at every level of government for several years. State and local agencies have identified the need for such a document, looked at available forms and even attempted to develop such a document. These efforts have for the most part resulted in a conviction that the federal government must be behind any initiative in this arena if it is to succeed.

Under the SRS 1115 grant, in Virginia, the Office of the Secretary of Human Resources has been involved in the study and development of a single-application form. Arlington County undertook, as one of its Senate Bill 517 efforts, the development of a single purpose application form. The form developed was approximately twenty-two pages in length, color-coded for specific programs with a generic cover document. The form was evaluated by workers and management alike, and the consensus was to not implement the form. In documenting its efforts, Arlington concluded by saying any work in the area of single applications would have to be initiated by the Federal government in first developing common definitions for all the various programs.

The Office of the Secretary of Human Resources has, since that time, reviewed several single-application forms being used by Departments of Welfare in other states. The review by the Secretary's Office was done in conjunction with the Welfare Department liaison person for the 1115 grant. The work was done at the request of one of the S.B. 517 projects which wanted to review a consolidated form for possible use in the local Welfare department. These efforts never went beyond the review stage, as a result of the local 517 project's decision not to independently develop a form for single purpose application.