| TO: | ALL COUNTY OFFICES |
| FROM: | JANEL R. LUCK, DIRECTOR |
| SUBJECT: | ABAWD NON-WORK MONTHS CHANGE |
DISCUSSION:
Effective January 1, 2007, an EU member subject to and not meeting the 18 to 50 Year Old (ABAWD) Work Requirement is eligible to receive food stamp benefits for 3 non-work months in a 36 month period. All ABAWD EU members in a non-waived/non-exempt county, who have received food stamp benefits for 3 months (or longer) while not meeting the 18 to 50 Year Old Work Requirement, are no longer eligible to receive food stamp benefits starting in January.
This memorandum discusses the following:
An FA-601 Informational Notice is being sent to all EU members subject to the 18 to 50 Year Old (ABAWD) Work Requirement. The notice will inform the EU member of the change in policy.
***IMPORTANT NOTICE TO FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS*** Effective immediately, the work requirements for the Food Stamp Program in your county have changed. Persons age 18 to age 50, who do not reside in a food stamp household with a child under the age 18 or do not meet an exemption to this policy, will be REQUIRED to:
Individuals who receive food stamp benefits and are not meeting this requirement may only receive food stamp benefits for THREE months in a 36 month period. Individuals determined ineligible for food stamp benefits for not complying with these requirements may become eligible again by working 80 hours in a 30 day period or by participating in a qualified training program for 80 hours in a 30 day period. Contact your eligibility specialist to determine if you are exempt from this requirement, if you must comply with the work requirement, and what a qualified training program is. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact:Caseworker: Phone: |
FAMIS system changes are being completed to allow only 3 non-work months in a 36 month period. These changes are not yet in FAMIS. Staff will be notified as soon as the changes are in production.
Currently, FAMIS identifies EU members who must be removed because they have received all eligible non-work months. FAMIS takes action to remove these individuals without action by staff. This will continue to be the process, however, starting in December, FAMIS will identify any EU member who has used all 3 non-work months beginning in January and will remove those individuals starting January 2007. A system generated FA-510, Adverse Action Notice advising the EU of a benefit reduction or case closing effective January 2007 will be sent to each EU. An FA-150, Action Notice will be sent when the FA-510 expires and the action is taken.
If the EU requests a hearing and wants benefits to continue at the current level pending the Hearing Decision, update the status to HOLD (HOL) on the Action Resolution (FM50) screen when a hearing has been requested. Refer to Changing an Adverse Action Status user guide for instructions.
Once the Hearing Decision is rendered, take steps to process the EU’s eligibility according to the Decision and Order.
An ISD (insufficient data) appears on the Supercase Eligibility Unit Summary (FM30) screen when any action is taken on a case that contains an EU member subject to the work requirement and non-work months have not been entered. Staff must enter non-work months if applicable to clear the ISD. If the individual is not subject to the work requirement because s/he is exempt from work registration/work requirement, codes on the Employment Assessment (FMMS) and/or Training/Work Requirements (FMMR) screens must be updated.
The alert “OUTSTANDING ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION” appears on the Alert/Reminder List (FM7M) screen to remind staff to take action to clear the ISD. The eligibility specialist must clear the ISD to take any action on the food stamp case.
NOTE: Food stamp cases with an ISD will not adjust during the COLA mass adjustment. The system cannot take any action (such as sanctioning an EU member for non-compliance with METP or adjusting for COLA) until the ISD is resolved.
It is important for staff to review their alerts and take any actions necessary to clear the ISD.
As stated in policy, any time action (interim change, application, etc.) is taken on a case with an ABAWD EU member, staff must review to ensure the non-work months are correctly entered on the Training/Work Requirements (FMMR) screen. This includes removing months that should not be considered as non-work months. If the EU met the work requirement or was exempt from the requirement in a month or months that are recorded on the Training/Work Requirements (FMMR) screen, those months must be removed. If the EU member becomes exempt from the work requirement, enter the code and status on the Employment Assessment (FMMS) screen.
Food Stamp Manual sections 1105.015.10.25, 1105.035.00, 1105.035.25, and 1105.035.30 are revised. The revision changes 6 non-work months to 3 non-work months. The user guide ADDING AND UPDATING TRAINING/WORK REQUIREMENTS has also been revised to reflect the change in policy.
NECESSARY ACTION:
- Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.