FS Work Requirements/Voluntary Quit/ABAWD

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2024 SNAP Advocacy Guide

MLRI
An Advocate's Guide to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Massachusetts By Patricia Baker and Victoria Negus, January 2024 Edition (Updated May 2024) An indispensable handbook for all who need to know about the SNAP program in Massachusetts. The SNAP…

Trump Admin Proposed Cuts to SNAP - MLRI Summary Chart, fact sheets, comments

MLRI
In 2019, USDA filed 3 sets of proposed rule changes that would result in significant cuts to SNAP if enacted. The first of the 3 rules, expanding the time limit for certain childless non-disabled adults subject to strict work rules, was scheduled to go into effect on April 1, 2020 but was vacated…

SNAP Time Limit for Able-bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWDs): Advocacy Tools

MLRI
*As of 4/1/20 the SNAP time limit is suspended due to COVID-19*  See a flier MLRI created on COVID-19 and the time limit, along with MassLegalservices.org/DTA-COVID-19 for more information.   

OLGT 2017-11 ABAWD waived areas

DTA
Discussing ABAWD waived areas

OLGT 2016-36: SNAP: General SNAP Work and Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) Work Program Requirements Updates

DTA
Updates on ABAWD

OLGT 2016-21: SNAP – ABAWD Work Program Updates

DTA
This Transmittal advises staff of a number of clarifications to the ABAWD Work Program Requirement, including several BEACON and forms changes. To convey these clarifications, a number of pages have been updated in the ABAWD chapter of the Online Guide.

DTA Blurbs 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 28: ABAWD

DTA
ABAWD information.

OLGT 2016-01: SNAP - Able-Bodied Without Dependent (ABAWD) Work Program Requirement

DTA
DTA update to Online Guide (OLG) in three key areaa impacting ABAWDS (able-bodied without dependents):  First, OLG now includes informatoin explaining the "community service" (volunteer) work requirement for non-exempt ABAWD subject to the 3 month time limit…

DTA Training Materials: SNAP Simplified Reporting and ABAWD Work Program

DTA
PowerPoint overview of: Simplified Reporting, a recertification type that allows for varying certification periods and reduced reporting requirements for SNAP households. The ABAWD (able bodied adults without dependents) Work Program. Massachusetts has operated under a statewide…

OLGT 2015-67: Preparing for the Expiration of the Statewide SNAP ABAWD Waiver

DTA
Guidance from DTA on the reinstatement of the 3 month SNAP time limit for individuals age 18 through 49 who are considered "able-bodied wihtout dependents" or ABAWDs. Guidance details the allowable exemptions aren the requirements imposed on ABAWDs who are not exempt to keep their…

OLGT 2015-53 - SNAP: Upcoming ABAWD Work Program Requirements

DTA
Due to high unemployment rates and a depressed labor market,Massachusetts has qualified for and operated under a waiver of the ABAWD time-limited benefit requirement since June of 2008. This waiver will expire on December 31, 2015.  Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs)…

OLGT 2015-50: TAFDC: Transportation Payments for Employed Clients Procedural Change

DTA
Prior to the BEACON Release 47.6 deployment on 8/31/2015, transportation reimbursement payments for employed clients could only be requested and paid on the Related Benefit page. With the deployment, transportation payments for employed clients are requested and approved on the Transportation…

OLGT 2015-39: SNAP Employment and Training (E & T) Program: Corrected Online Guide Pages

DTA
Overview This Online Guide Transmittal changes two pages in the SNAP Work Requirements section to update information about exemptions to program participation requirements for unfit for work observed.  The updates are as follows: the reference to exemption due to unfit for work observed…

PPER Email 2015-17 SNAP Employment and Training Exemption for 16 and 17 Year-olds

DTA
SNAP Employment and Training Exemption for 16 and 17 Year-olds When a 16 or 17 year old is not the head of household in a SNAP case, he or she is not subject to the SNAP E&T requirements. However, if a teen is working, verification of student status is required to determine if the earnings are…

FYI March, April 2015: Over verification; Correct Work Requirements Reasons

DTA
FYIs Over verification Over verification occurs when clients are unnecessarily required to provide a permanent verification a second time, or when clients are asked to provide proof of one eligibility factor, when other verifications may have already proven the eligibility factor. Over…

Ops Memo 2014-20: Mandatory SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) Program and Job Search Requirements

DTA
DTA Overview On March 3, 2014, the Department modified BEACON to allow for the enrollment of all clients who are mandatory participants or voluntary participants in the SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program. This mandatory program applies to all nonexempt household members between the ages…

FYI: October 2011 - Activities Meeting the Work Program Requirement

DTA
Activities Meeting the Work Program Requirement Case managers are reminded that the following activities (either alone or in combination with other activities) can be used to meet the client’s TAFDC work program requirement: Working in a job for pay; Employment Ready (including…

Field Ops Memo 2009-46: SNAP: Federal Minimum Wage Increase

DTA
Field Operations Memo 2007-38 described increases in the federal minimum wage that began in July 2007 and have continued through July 2009. On July 24, 2008 the federal minimum wage increased to $6.55. On July 24, 2009 the federal minimum wage increased to $7.25. Purpose The purpose of this memo is…

Field Ops Memo 2009-33: SNAP: The Temporary Suspension of ABAWD Rules Based on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

DTA
The ARRA included a provision to temporarily suspend Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) requirements. This memo informs TAO staff of: the termination of the ABAWD Waiver, the ARRA suspension of ABAWD rules; BEACON coding related to the rule suspension; and case manager responsibilities…

CLE flier on Food Stamp ABAWDS and work rule waivers and exemptions

MLRI
Flyer explaining that Food Stamp work and time limit rules do not apply to many MA residents now. In June of 2008, DTA issued guidance revising its policy around the food stamp program (FS) time limits and work requirements for non-disabled adults without children. DTA announced that USDA had…

FYI 06/08: Curing Food Stamp Work Program Sanctions

DTA
Food Stamp work-required individuals can cure sanctions by working 80 hours in a 30 day period or complying with community service requirements. Sanctions can be cured at any time. If they work and then lose their job through no fault of their own, they get a second 3 months of Food Stamps without…

2008 ABAWD waiver

USDA, FNS
FNS waiver of ABAWD work rules for certain towns and region. See charts re: which towns and region have FS work rules waived for 2008.

Field Ops Memo 2008-02: Food Stamp Program: Work Requirement Exemption Changes

DTA
State Letter 1331, effective January 7, 2008, clarified several criteria used to determine exemption from work requirements in the Food Stamp Work Program (FS/WP) and the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program (FS/ET).  These clarifications affect people who are over 59 years of age, caretakers,…

Field Ops Memo 2007-44: Food Stamp Program : Averaging Student Work Hours

DTA
To be eligible for the Food Stamp Program, a student beyond the secondary level must work a minimum of 20 hours per week to meet one of the student eligibility requirements.  Now, under an approved waiver, the Department can average the number of hours a student works during the month (based on the…

Hotline Focus 8/07

DTA
Crib and layette payments; Food Stamp work requirement exemptions for 16 and 17 year-olds; Food Stamp shelter deduction for mortgage payments in home that is temporarily vacated.

Field Ops Memo 2007-38: Food Stamp Program - Federal Wage Increase

DTA
This FO Memo inform DTA staff on the increase of the federal minimum wage amount. It affects only the work hours of food stamp recipients who can be exempt from the work requirements if earning a minimum of 30 times the federal minimum wage, or 30 times %5.85/hour. The federal increase has NO effect…

FYI: Food Stamp Work Study Income

DTA
Explains which work study income is noncountable and which is countable, and that even work study with noncountable income meets work requirements.

Hotline Focus - 11/06

DTA
Food Stamps for college students:  household determination when student age 23 or over and is living with parent; Food Stamp eligibility for student at college with meal plan for some meals;  students as paremts of two parent families and Food Stamp work requirement.

MA Food Stamp Employment and Training Plan FY06

Employment and training state plan for Food Stamp able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).

FYI: DTA Employment Programs Deskguide

DTA
Information about this guide, which details the components of TAFDC ESP and Food Stamp Employment and Training programs.

Field Ops Memo 2005-20: Changes to the ESP Referral and Response Form - TAFDC and FS

DTA
ESP vendors need to know the number of hours a recipient is required to participate in an activity to meet the TAFDC Work Program requirement. The ESP Referral and Response form (ESP-16) is used to refer recipients to an ESP component. Field Operations Memo 2004-42 instructed TAO Staff to annotate…

FYI: Food Stamp Work Requirements and Refugee Training

DTA
Refugees participating at least half time in a recognized refugee training program are exempt from Food Stamp work requirements. Students enrolled half time in a recognized training program are also exempt.

Hotline Focus - 6/04

DTA
Treatment of tax refunds and EIC for TAFDC and FS; FS reporting requirements for work-required homeless households.

SNAP Work Exemption - Medical Report Form FSPWR-Med

DTA
Food Stamp/SNAP Work Requirement Medical Report Form:  This medical report form can be completed by a wide range of licensed medical, mental health, substance abuse providers to verify that the SNAP applicant or recipient is exempt from the work registration, job search and work…

Field Op 2004-22: Food Stamp Work Requirement Medical Report (ABAWDs) OBSOLETE

DTA
Obsoleted by Online Guide Transmittal 2015-39 (July 10, 2015). USDA recently clarified that individuals claiming an exemption from the Food Stamp Work Requirement due to being unfit for work in accordance with 106 CMR 362.310(B)(3) and 106 CMR 362.320(B)(4), need not prove a disability.…

FNS Regional Letter 04-16 - ABAWD 15% Exemption

USDA

FNS Regional Letter 04-19: ABAWD Waivers, New Method for Calculating Unemp Rate

USDA

FYI USDA Clarification Regarding Food Stamp Work Program Caretaker Exemption

DTA
A Food Stamp recipient between the ages of 18-22 must be exempted from the work requirement if living with a sibling under age 18. There is no need to show that the person cares for their sibling.

Field Op 2003-16: Food Stamp Program - FS / E&T Skills Training and Related Job Search Activities Component Availability Changes

DTA
This memo informs FS AU Managers about:

Hotline Focus for 02/03

DTA
 FS: How to count escrowed tax payments for homeowners' shelter deduction; FS: Methods of determining whether a job meets the work requirement; FS: Coding of undocumented immigrants. 

Field Op 2002-24 Food Stamp Employment and Training Referrals

DTA
Field Ops Memo instructs AU Managers to stop making referrals to DET Job Search for nonexempt FS E/T participants and voluntary FS Work Program participants.

Hotline Focus for 07/02

DTA
FS Work Program counts only months of FS receipt in MA; TAFDC program does not count SSI dedicated accounts as assets.

Hotline Focus for 05/02

DTA
SSI Special Benefits for disaster and moving; TAFDC exemptions in two-parent families where one parent is disabled; FS work requirement and school employees over summer vacation; transportation and lodging as part of excess medical deductions for FS.

Hotline Focus for 11/01

DTA
TAFDC: failure to verify Learnfare school attendance results in child being removed from grant, not termination of whole family's grant;  Busiral benefits: counting of assets; FS: Refugee training programs that count toward exemption from work requirement; TAFDC: child support for child on…

Hotline Focus for 10/01

DTA

Quality Corner : Verifying child support deductions; Work registration forms and 17 year olds

DTA
Child support deductions must be verified when a case reopens. Also, unlike shelter, utility, and medical deductions, child support deductions can only be counted if the child support is actually paid, not just based on the obligation. New work program registration forms must be signed whenever…

Hotline Focus for 07/00

DTA
FS: no rent allowance when rent is paid in entirety by someone not in household; full unheated SUA even if bills are low; residents of dv shelters eligible for FS even if shelter provide meals;  calculation of FS for sanctioned teen; how to calculate period of ineligibility due to voluntary quit…

FYI 18-Year-Old High School Students Are Exempt from FS/Work Program Requirements

DTA

Hotline Focus for 04/99

DTA
Leased vehicles not countable; treatment of tax refunds and EIC; TAFDC: how many pay stubs to use to calculate financial eligibility for extension for recipient who has just started working; FS: when to start counting ineligibility period for voluntary quit prior to application; FS: 60 days of job…

Hotline Focus for 09/96

DTA
FS: Voluntary quit provision does not apply to applicants exempt from work requirement; undiverted FS must have issuance date not on Sunday or holiday; TAFDC: if no community service site available, excused from work requirement; TAFDC: teen parent living arrangement requirements satisfied when teen…