1. Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) Program Overview
The Agency for Workforce Innovation
December 2007

2. What is FSET? Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) Program
Provides employment and training services to a small subset of food stamp recipients

3. How is it funded?
By U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
100% funds
AWI staff & expenses; systems
RWB allocations
State general revenue funds and federal match
50/50 funds
Contracts
Support services
AWI staff & expenses

4. How much money is allocated?
FFY 2006/2007 (10/1/06-9/30/07)
Federal (100%) allocation
$6,354,876
Allocated to RWBs $6,354,876
50/50 funds
GR $1,371,483
Federal match $1,371,483

5. How is the money allocated?
RWBs receive funds based on share of ABAWDs
Average # of ABAWDs, per county, from DCF
Funds issued in October (Oct. – June) and July (July – Sept.)

6. What are the governing laws?
The Food Stamp Act of 1977 (as amended)
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996
The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill)
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
273.7 – Work requirements
– Time limits for ABAWDs
State Plan

7. Who is involved?
USDA
DCF
WFI/AWI
RWBs
Service providers
Participants

8. What does DCF do? Submits State Plan Passes funds to AWI
Monitors time limits
Submits federal reports
Determines eligibility
Screens for exemptions, etc.
Completes work registration
Refers participants
Imposes sanctions
State level
Local level

9. What do WFI & AWI do? Identify service delivery areas
Prepare State Plan (with DCF)
Allocate funds to RWBs
Oversee program
Provide guidance and training
Compile participant and financial data for reports
Conduct compliance monitoring
Effective October 1, 2003, FL Legislature provided for the transfer of the program from AWI to RWBs

10. What do the RWBs do? Contract out for service delivery
Serve and engage participants
Provide employment assistance
Monitor compliance
Request sanctions if good cause is not determined
Complete data entry

11. Who are the participants?
Food stamp recipients not determined exempt, etc. by DCF
Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs)
Ages 18 through 49
No dependents
Time limited
Note: The Optional Workfare Program (OWP) serves non-ABAWDs
& ABAWDs

12. What are exemptions & exceptions?
Examples
Under age 18, or 50 years of age or older
Parent of a member under age 18
Pregnant
Physically or mentally unfit for employment
Receiving unemployment compensation (UC), or applied for UC as long as meeting UC work requirements

13. What are the time limits?
3 out of 36 months
Vulnerable ABAWDs cannot receive food stamps for more than three countable months during any three-year period, unless the individual
Is exempt,
Meets an exception,
Resides in a Labor Surplus Area (LSA), or
Meets ABAWD work requirements

14. What are the time limits?
Established in 1996
New 36-month period began December 1, 2005
Participants can regain eligibility by meeting one of the work requirements in the month prior to re-applying

15. Who are vulnerable ABAWDs?
Food Stamp Recipients
ABAWDs
Vulnerable ABAWDs

16. What are Labor Surplus Areas?
Areas with unemployment rate at least 20 percent higher than the national rate
USDA approves waivers
No time limits for ABAWDs residing in these areas
No FSET program services

17. What are 15% exemptions?
Special exemptions granted to ABAWDs in counties where
FSET programs are not operated
DCF applies exemptions
Small ABAWD caseloads
ABAWDs are not time limited
USDA allocates 15% exemptions to DCF each FFY
FFY 2004/2005 = 35,201

18. What are the work requirements?
Vulnerable ABAWDs must:
Work 20 hrs/wk (80 hrs/month), or
Participate 20 hrs/wk (80 hrs/month) in a WIA, TAA or education and training program
Combination of above, or
Comply with Work Experience
FS grant/state minimum wage/ABAWDs
If not, the month counts as one of the three, time-limited months

19. What are the components & activities?
Orientation and Assessment
Work Experience/Self Initiated Work Experience
Up front job search
WE/SIWE
WE/SIWE combined with JS/JST
Education and Training
Education combined with JS/JST
WIA, TAA, etc.

20. What are the performance reports, measures and standards?
OSST system reports
FSET Entered Employment Rate
Of participants served, the # who gain unsubsidized employment
No standard
Monthly and quarterly

21. What is a Food Stamp Reimbursement (FSR)?
Support service for transportation, etc.
Orientation/Compliance for Sanction Lifts = $25
Workfare/Work Experience = $12 or $25 depending on required hours completed
Education and Training = $20 or $40 depending on required hours completed
Issued through Electronic Benefits Transfer Card (EBT)
Participants can earn one FSR per month

22. What is OWP? Optional Workfare Program
AWI contracts with 3 Boards of County Commissioners
Operates in 5 counties
Serves both ABAWDs and non-ABAWDs
Mandatory activity = Work Experience
Funded from 50/50 funds

23. How many FSET participants are there?
15,615 open cases (02/26/07)
~ 24,203 individuals served per quarter
NOTE: Individuals served – Average per quarter thus far this state fiscal year (July 1, 2006 – December 31, 2007).

24. Where is FSET/OWP operated*?
15 FSET counties
5 OWP counties
2 waived counties
45 “exempted” counties (15%)
____________________________
67 counties
*FFY 2006/2007 through FFY 2007/2008

25. Where is FSET/OWP operated?

26. Where can I find more information?
The AWI-FSET web page

27. What if I have questions?
Delores Coachman
(850)
Daniel Harper
(850)
Kenneth Williams
(850)