Food Stamp Employment and Training - General Requirements

Revised December 2, 2008

Purpose:

WAC 388-444-0005

Food stamp employment and training (FS E&T) program -- General requirements.

WAC 388-444-0005

Effective October 1, 2008

WAC 388-444-0005 Food stamp employment and training (FS E&T) program -- General requirements.

To receive Basic Food, some people must register for work and participate in the food stamp employment and training (FS E&T) program.
We determine if you must register for work and participate in FS E&T under WAC 388-444-0010:
1. If we require you to register for work and participate in FS E&T you are nonexempt from FS E&T.
2. If you meet one of the conditions under WAC 388-444-0015, you are exempt from FS E&T. If you are exempt, you may choose to receive services through the FS E&T program.
If you are nonexempt from FS E&T requirements, we register you for work:
1. When you apply for Basic Food benefits or are added to someone's assistance unit; and
2. Every twelve months thereafter.
If you are nonexempt, you must meet all the FS E&T program requirements in subsections (5) through (7) of this section. If you fail to meet the requirements without good cause, we disqualify you from receiving Basic Food benefits:
1. We define Good cause for not meeting FS E&T requirements under WAC 388-444-0050; and
2. We disqualify nonexempt persons who fail to meet E&T requirements as described under WAC 388-444-0055.
If you are nonexempt, you must:
1. Report to us or your FS E&T service provider and participate as required;
2. Provide information regarding your employment status and availability for work when we ask for it;
3. Report to an employer when we refer you; and
4. Accept a bona fide offer of suitable employment. We define unsuitable employment under WAC 388-444-0060.
If you are nonexempt, you must participate in one or more of the following FS E&T activities:
1. Job search;
2. Paid or unpaid work;
3. Training or work experience;
4. General education development (GED) classes; or
5. English as a second language (ESL) classes.
If you must participate in WorkFirst under WAC 388-310-0200, you have certain requirements for the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program:
1. Your FS E&T requirement is to fully participate in the WorkFirst activities approved in your Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP) under WAC 388-310-0500; and
2. If everyone who receives Basic Food with you receives TANF benefits and your IRP includes unpaid community service or work experience, we use your TANF grant and Basic Food allotment to determine the maximum hours of unpaid work we include in your plan.
Exempt or nonexempt FS E&T participants will not be required to participate more than one hundred twenty (120) hours per month, but exempt or nonexempt FS E&T participants may volunteer to participate beyond one hundred twenty (120) hours.

This is a reprint of the official rule as published by the Office of the Code Reviser. If there are previous versions of this rule, they can be found using the Legislative Search page.

CLARIFYING INFORMATION

Nonexempt clients are people who receive Basic Food and must participate in the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program (FS E&T). They are divided into two groups:

ABAWDs	Non-exempt able-bodied adults ages 18 through 49 without dependents are required to participate in specific activities outlined below in section 2 to stay eligible for Basic Food and avoid the three month time limit. Exemptions for ABAWDs are different than other FS E&T clients. See Section E - ABAWDs for more detail.
Non-ABAWDs	All other non-exempt clients age 16 through 59 must participate in specific work or training activities or may be disqualified from Basic Food. All non-ABAWDs must register for work. People who live in an area where we provide E&T services must also participate in required FS E&T activities. There is no time limit for these clients.

A nonexempt client is required to participate in one of the following work or training activities. Combined activities cannot equal more than 120 hours a month, unless the client volunteers to participate beyond that limit, as provided in WAC 388-444-0005.

REQUIREMENTS	NOTES
ABAWD Participants
Workfare which means: Unpaid work in the community (16 hours a month).	May also include: Self directed Job Search. Job Search services through Employment Security.
Food Stamp Employment & Training Project in Region 3 & 4.	Clients can be referred to contractors in King, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties that provide educational and training opportunities for 20 hours per week. This can include: Basic education Vocational Training Internships; and Work Experience
Non-ABAWD Participants
Job Search	Full time 30 hours a week.
Educational Activities GED ABE ESL High School (HS) Vocational Training	Participation in educational activities must be at least half-time as defined by the educational institution.

Job Search Services for ABAWDs:

Even though Job Search does not meet ABAWD participation requirements, ABAWDs may volunteer to receive services through Employment Security. For instructions on referrals to ESD, see Worker Responsibilities in FSE&T Section B. - Clients who must participate.

FS E&T Requirements for WorkFirst participants:

Households who must participate in WorkFirst under WAC 388-310-0200 must fully participate in WorkFirst to meet their Food Stamp Employment and Training Requirements. If the adults in the TANF household do not meet WorkFirst requirements, they have not met FS E&T Requirements.

If the household members who don’t meet WorkFirst requirements are exempt from FS E&T requirements under WAC 388-444-0015; we do not disqualify them from receiving Basic Food.
If the household members who don’t meet WorkFirst requirements are not exempt from FS E&T requirements under WAC 388-444-0015, we disqualify them from receiving Basic Food as described under WAC 388-444-0055.

How we determine hours of unpaid work for WorkFirst WEX or Community Service:

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), we cannot require households to do more hours of unpaid work than the value of the households benefits divided by the minimum wage. We use the process described below to determine a WorkFirst household’s hours of unpaid Work Experience or Community Service:

Step 1 – Combined Benefits	Step 2 – Monthly Hours of Unpaid Work	Step 3 – Weekly Hours
Basic Food Allotment	Combined Benefits	Monthly hours
+ TANF Grant	÷ State Minimum Wage	÷ 4.33
= Combined benefits	= Monthly hours of unpaid work	(Down to whole #) = Weekly hours

NOTE:

The hours of WEX / Community Service are for the entire household. If more than one member of the TANF household must participate, the combined hours cannot be more than the hours calculated in the process described above.

EXAMPLE

A three-person TANF household receives $546 monthly TANF benefits and $377 monthly Basic Food.
$377+ $546 = $923	$923 ÷ $7.93 = 116.39 hours	116.39 ÷ 4.33 = 26.88 = 26 hours /week

EXAMPLE

A four-person TANF household receives $492 monthly TANF benefits, $150 monthly child support, and $449 monthly Basic Food benefits.
$449+ 492 = $941	$941 ÷ $7.93 = 118.66 hours	118.66 ÷ 4.33 = 27.40 = 27 hours /week

WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES

Determine if members of the Basic Food AU are mandatory work registrants (non-exempt), voluntary registrant (exempt), or ABAWDs.
Register the client for work by coding the WORK screen in ACES with the appropriate E&T status code.
Code any appropriate exemption, if applicable, on the Exempt Reason field on the WORK screen in ACES.
Notify the client in writing of the participation requirements and consequences of not following through with E&T requirements. You can notify the client by:
1. Using DSHS form 11-034B; or
2. Adding text to their award letter.
If a WorkFirst household is sanctioned, determine whether or not the sanctioned persons are exempt from E&T requirements. Disqualify non-participating members of the TANF household from receiving Basic Food if they are not exempt under WAC 388-444-0015.

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