LET’S ROCK AROUND THOSE ABAWD CLOCKS!

REGAINING ELIGIBILITY After the receipt of three Y1 months in a 36-month period, a person will not be eligible unless:  the provisions of the work requirement are being met or  an exemption exists, or  eligibility is regained

REGAINING ELIGIBILITY Regaining eligibility means that in order for a person to receive additional benefits, they must have: Worked at least 80 hours or more in a 30-day period; and that thirty day period is while not receiving time limited benefits in a Y month. (Work can also be for in-kind benefits/services) OR Complied with requirements of a work program for 80 hours or more in a 30-day period

INCARCERATION & REGAINING Can a Virginia client who participated in a work program while incarcerated use the activity performed to regain eligibility for an additional three months ABAWD benefits upon his release ? Since the work program operated by the incarceration site is NOT for job search or job search training AND is a state government facility, therefore the work program could qualify this client to regain eligibility for his additional three ABAWD months upon his release.

REGAINING AT APPLICATION Applications filed for non-exempt household members before the completion of the 80 hours/30- day rule must be denied if the 80 hours will not be completed by the 30 th day. If the 80 hours will be completed within 30 days of the application filing date, benefits must be prorated from the date after eligibility is established.

IN-KIND BENEFITS & REGAINING The work performed for in-kind benefits or services can be used to regain eligibility. For example: If a customer is working around the home (cleaning, laundry, lawn, etc.) in exchange for housing, these hours can be used to regain eligibility as long as they complete 80 hours in a 30-day period.

REGAINING & CERTIFICATION PERIOD Remember a customer does not have to regain eligibility if an exemption or rule is met prior to the end of certification period. For example: A customer’s certification period ends 09/30/15. They come in for their renewal on 09/15/15 and now has a job working 22 hours weekly. The customer is not required to regain eligibility. Also, once the income/hours are verified, the customer’s work requirement clock would be updated.

TO REGAIN OR NOT? NO!!!!! Y1 countable months have been exhausted. If the client starts work before the cert period ends and is working 20 or more hours per week, they now meet a work requirement rule and can be certified for a normal cert period without having to regain eligibility. The client was working when the certification period expired. The client has been off SNAP and now comes back in and is working 20 or more hours. The client would meet the 20 hour work rule and could be certified for a normal cert period. If the client starts to work after the cert. period ends, and works 30 hours or more per week, the client meets the work registration exemption and is exempt from the work requirement.

TO REGAIN OR NOT? YES!!!!! Y1 countable months have been exhausted. The client was not working when the certification period expired. The client has been off SNAP and now comes back in but he is not working. He does not meet an exemption. The client must regain eligibility before he is eligible for Y2 countable months. If the client starts to work after the cert. period ends, and works fewer than 30 hours per week, the client must regain eligibility. If the client has been off SNAP and now comes back in but the client does not meet an exemption nor are they working, the client must regain eligibility in order to get the Y2 countable months.

VERIFICATION OF WORK ACTIVITY Unless questionable, the work activity that was performed to regain eligibility does not have to be verified. The case record must be documented to show that the required work activity was completed The documentation must include: Number of hours Place Period of Employment or Work Activity

Y2 MONTHS DEFINED  Y2 months are the second set of time limited benefits  Only the receipt of a full month of benefits will count toward a Y2 month  Y2 months must run consecutively regardless of any changes in a person’s situation or ineligibility

WHEN TO USE Y2 Y2 months are used if the individual has regained eligibility No longer engaging in the work activity

EXAMPLE OF Y2 MONTHS Rolling Stone applied for SNAP on July 7, He has already used his Y1 months. He worked 80 hours in a 30-day period between May 3, June 23, 2015 while not receiving SNAP benefits so he will be eligible for Y2 months. His case is certified for a four month period, July 7, 2015 – October 31, 2015.

EXAMPLE OF Y2 MONTHS On August 12, 2015, Mr. Stone requests that his case be closed because he has obtained employment. His clock will read as follows: July = PM, Aug = Y2, Sep = Y2, Oct = Y2. Even though he did not receive benefits for the entire period because his case closed August 31, 2015, the Y2 months still count because they must run consecutively. Mr. Stone will not be eligible during this fixed 36 month period again unless he meets an exemption or unless he regains and maintains eligibility.

REGAINING & MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY After Y2 months have been exhausted, if no exemption is met, a person must:  Regain and Maintain eligibility in order to receive benefits  If the work activity is not maintained, the person will not be eligible  There is no limit on the times a member can regain & maintain eligibility.

CHANGES REPORTED BY REGAINING & MAINTAINING CUSTOMERS When a customer reports a change in their circumstances after the receipt of all Y1 and Y2 months, the worker should make the appropriate change, including updating the work requirement clock. If the customer loses the work requirement exemption with the reported change, the customer must be removed from the SNAP HH or the case must be closed for a one person HH. An advance notice must be sent.

CORRECTIONS TO CLOCKS

FNS CLOCK FINDINGS As part of FNS findings involving the Work Requirement, we are charged with correcting all the work requirement 36-month clocks coded in error. This includes cases coded with:  E7 from 10/13-4/14 in all localities. E7 is only valid in the 23 waived localities effective May 1, 2014 and 37 effective May 1, 2015  Y1/Y2 for more than 3 months

CORRECTIONS REPORT The updated ABAWD Status Code Corrections Reports are available for E7, Y1 and Y2. The Reports can be found on the Spark page. Click on Divisions Go to Benefit Programs SNAP (Left-hand side of the page) SNAP Reports (Left-hand side of the page)

THE E7 REPORT This report provides a list of SNAP participants in non-exempt localities with an ABAWD status code of E7 as of June 30, If the 36-month work requirement clock was incorrectly coded with an E7 at any time since October 2013, it must be corrected according to latest guidance.

WORK REQUIREMENT EXEMPT LOCALITIES May April 2015 Brunswick-025Lunenburg-111 Carroll -035Martinsville-690 Charlotte-037Mecklenburg-117 Danville-590Page-139 Dickenson-051Patrick-141 Emporia-595Petersburg-730 Franklin City-620Prince Edward-147 Galax-640Smyth-173 Grayson-077Surry-181 Greensville-081Sussex-183 Halifax-083Williamsburg-830 Henry-089 May 2015 – April 2016 Bristol-520Norton-720 Brunswick-025Page-139 Buchanan-027Patrick-141 Carroll-035Petersburg-730 Charlotte-037Pittsylvania-143 Danville-590Prince Edward-147 Dickenson-051Prince George-149 Emporia-595Richmond County-159 Franklin City-620Russell-167 Galax-640Scott-169 Grayson-077Smyth-173 Greensville-081Southampton-175 Halifax-083Surry-181 Henry-089Sussex-183 Hopewell-670Washington-191 Lee-105Williamsburg-830 Lunenburg-111Wise-195 Martinsville-690Wythe-197 Mecklenburg-117

THE Y1 & Y2 REPORTS These reports show all recipients with more than three Y1 or Y2 months on the clock The BPS must correct all work requirement clocks that remain on the reports for recipients between the age of 18 & 49. You will not be able to update clocks for recipients age 50 & older.

 For an ongoing case as of October 2013: The 36-month clock must start with October 2013; otherwise, the clock should start the month of certification  Whenever you touch a case, please check the clock for all SNAP household members subject to the work requirement

 Workers may use documentation in the case record or may have to make contact with the HH to determine the appropriate exemption code to use to correct the clock  If no exemption exists, then the SNAP household must be given advanced notice to discontinue ineligible household members or close the case  If the household received benefits in error, then a claim must be established

CLOCK CORRECTION CODING  If no valid exemption exists, it is appropriate to use Y1’s and E9 to correct the clock. FNS has provided guidance that it is appropriate to use Y1s for the period of October 1, 2013-December 31, 2013 with the special exemption code E9 to correct work requirement clocks from January 1, 2014-September 30, 2014  Once corrections have been made, please run EDBC to update clock

If the HH fails to submit the renewal application, allow ADAPT to close the case. Before closure the BPS should enter the appropriate code on the clock, i.e. YX or YZ and complete the sanction screen so if the customer reapplies, the next worker will know the customer needs to regain eligibility.

CLARIFICATIONS THE WORK REQUIREMENT

THE TEMP WORKER When evaluating the work requirement clock, you must first determine: Is the customer currently on assignment? Yes—you will use the current hours to determine the ABAWD code If not, does the customer have a discernable work history? Yes—You will average the customer’s income based on the work history including any zero weeks. Then you will determine the weekly pay and divide that by $7.25. If the income being counted for the case averages at 20 hours or more, then the customer will be coded with the appropriate code. (E1 for 20 to 29 hours; E6 for 30 hours or more) No—If customer is not currently on assignment and have no discernable work history, the customer must use Y months if available.

COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS  For Volunteers, Community Service hours will meet the ABAWD exemption, if the place the community service work is being completed is a public/private agency, it does not matter that these hours were court ordered  This will need to be verified

T Questions??

THANKS FOR ATTENDING! Eastern Regional Consultant Burnette Hendricks (757) Central Regional Consultant Cynthia Powell (804)