IM-38 04/26/05 COUNTIES WAIVED OR EXEMPTED FROM MEETING THE 18-TO-50-YEAR-OLD WORK REQUIREMENT

SUBJECT:

COUNTIES WAIVED OR EXEMPTED FROM MEETING THE 18-TO-50-YEAR-OLD WORK REQUIREMENT

DISCUSSION:

Effective April 1, 2005, the counties that are waived or exempted from meeting the 18-to-50 year-old work requirements are changed. These changes affect April 2005 food stamp benefits.

Missouri received approval to waive 30 counties and the city of St. Louis from meeting the 18-to-50-year-old work requirement effective April 2005. The work requirement is for 18-to-50-year-old able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) to work or participate in an approved training program an average of 20 hours per week.
Waived Counties

The following counties are waived due to an insufficient number of jobs to provide employment for individuals residing in the area.

007 Bates	053 Laclede	091 Ripley
008 Benton	058 Linn	094 St. Francois
013 Caldwell	062 Madison	101 Shannon
021 Chariton	066 Miller	104 Stone
023 Clark	067 Mississippi	105 Sullivan*
028 Crawford	069 Monroe	106 Taney
034 Douglas	071 Morgan	107 Texas
035 Dunklin	072 New Madrid	110 Washington
043 Hickory	078 Pemiscot	111 Wayne
047 Iron	090 Reynolds	114 Wright
		115 St. Louis city

*Newly Waived County

FAMIS considers individuals in these counties as waived from the 18-to-50-year-old work requirements. The worker does not have to enter a waiver code and the Training/Work Requirement (FMMR) screen does not appear in the controlled flow.

Exempt Counties

Federal regulations allow each state to develop policy that exempts up to 15% of the ABAWD population from the work requirement.

We have determined the following counties are exempt from the 18-to-50-year-old work requirements effective April 1, 2005.

001 Adair	038 Gentry	077 Ozark*
002 Andrew	040 Grundy	079 Perry
003 Atchison	041 Harrison	080 Pettis*
004 Audrain	042 Henry*	081 Phelps
005 Barry	044 Holt	082 Pike
006 Barton	045 Howard	083 Platte
009 Bollinger*	046 Howell*	084 Polk*
012 Butler*	048 Jackson*	085 Pulaski*
014 Callaway	051 Johnson	086 Putnam
015 Camden*	052 Knox	087 Ralls
016 Cape Girardeau	054 Lafayette	088 Randolph
017 Carroll*	055 Lawrence	089 Ray
018 Carter*	056 Lewis*	097 Saline*
019 Cass	057 Lincoln	098 Schuyler
020 Cedar	059 Livingston*	099 Scotland
022 Christian	061 Macon*	100 Scott*
024 Clay	063 Maries*	102 Shelby*
025 Clinton	064 Marion	093 St. Clair*
027 Cooper	060 McDonald	095 Ste. Genevieve
029 Dade	065 Mercer	103 Stoddard*
030 Dallas*	068 Moniteau	108 Vernon
031 Daviess	070 Montgomery	109 Warren
032 DeKalb	074 Nodaway	112 Webster*
033 Dent*	075 Oregon*	113 Worth
037 Gasconade	076 Osage

*Newly Exempted County

FAMIS considers individuals in these counties as exempt from the 18-to-50-year-old work requirements. The worker does not have to enter an exempt code and the Training/Work Requirement (FMMR) screen does not appear in the controlled flow.

Impact on Newly Waived Counties

Individuals residing in the newly waived/exempted counties who were denied food stamp benefits because they did not meet the 18-to-50-year-old work requirement are eligible as of April 1, 2005. The individual will be added at the next eligibility determination if s/he meets all other eligibility requirements.

FMMR Entries

The Training/Work Requirements (FMMR) screen is used to track non-work months in FAMIS. Remove April 2005, and later months from the FMMR screen if entered as non-work months for individuals who reside in a waived or exempted county during these months. When making entries on the FMMR screen, do not enter non-work months for any month in which an individual subject to the 18-to-50-year-old work requirement resides in a waived or exempted county or city. Refer to the Adding and Updating Training/Work Requirement user guide for instructions. To view the user guide:

Go to the Family Support Division Employee Intranet,
click Food Stamps in the left corner,
click Tools/Guides,
click FAMIS User Guides,
click User Guides, and
in the Interim Change section, click Adding and Updating Training/Work Requirement.

Individuals or EUs already rejected for April, 2005 due to Work Requirement

If an individual in a newly waived or exempt county is already rejected for April 2005 due to non-work months, review EU eligibility to determine if food stamp benefits are due the EU.

After 05/01/05, use the Managed Reporting system to review EUs rejected in April. To review rejected cases:

go to the Caseload Report for counties,
select the 042005 report month,
select FS-FOOD STAMPS program,
select the REJ-REJECTED status, and
select the REQ-RECEIVED FS IN 6 NON-WORK MONTHS IN 36 MONTHS reason code.
The CASELOAD REPORT FOR COUNTY is displayed.
Select the correct caseload and review the cases.

If additional benefits are due for April 2005 for an active EU, issue the benefits on WIBCA.

If the EU is rejected for April 2005 due to having used 6 non-work months in 36 months, re-register the application using the original application date. If the original application date is more than 30 days prior to the current date, use the earliest possible registration date. The EU is eligible for food stamp benefits no earlier than April 1, 2005. Complete a WIBCA to issue supplemental benefits.

Example 1: On May 6, 2005, the worker in a newly waived county determines Mr. A. was rejected for 6 non-work months. Mr. A. applied on April 3, 2005, which is more than 30 days in the past. The worker registers the application date as 04/06/2005 and authorizes the benefits. Since Mr. A. is eligible for food stamps from 04/03/2005, the next day the worker completes a WIBCA budget using April information and enters 04/03/2005 as the prorate date. The additional benefits are issued from the WIBCA.

Example 2: On May 7, 2005, the worker in a newly waived county determines Mr. B. was rejected for 6 non-work months. Mr. B. applied on March 20, 2005, which is more than 30 days in the past. The worker registers the application date as 04/07/2005 and authorizes benefits. Since Mr. B. is eligible for food stamp from 04/01/2005, the next day the worker completes a WIBCA budget using April information and enters 04/01/2005 as the prorate date. The additional benefits are issued from WIBCA.

18-to-50-year-old Work Requirement Flyer

Flyers listing this year's waived or exempt counties (in Adobe Acrobat) and previous years’ waived or exempt counties are on the Intranet. To view the History of Counties Waived from the Work Requirement or the History of Counties Exempt from the Work Requirement listing:

Go to the Family Support Division Employee Intranet,
click Food Stamps in the left corner,
click Information, and
click Counties Waived: Work Req (pdf) or Counties Exempt: Work Req (pdf)

Make these flyers available to community groups, local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, etc. for distribution to individuals that may be affected by the waiver or exemption.

NECESSARY ACTION:

Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.
Beginning 04/01/2005, apply waived and exempt status to the above counties.
Review individuals and applications rejected in newly waived and exempt counties due to using 6 non-work months in 36 months.
Provide the flyers to community groups in the area, local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, etc.