California Department of Social Services - State Hearings
Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - July 21, 1998
| Item 98-07-01A CDSS ACL 98-21 -- March 23, 1998 (Synopsis): ABAWD Work Requirement and Food Stamp Sanction Policy Guidelines |
This ACL provides 34 questions and answers concerning ABAWD issues and five questions and answers concerning work registration sanctions and voluntary quits. Following are a few of the answers to questions posed in that ACL:
An ABAWD is eligible to receive Food Stamps (FS) for only three months in a 36 month period if the ABAWD does not meet the ABAWD work requirement or is not exempt from such requirement. Per MPP Section 63-410.11, the 36 month period begins with the first day of the first full calendar month a food stamp applicant or recipient becomes subject to the ABAWD work requirement.
Thus if an individual applies for FS benefits on February 2, 1998 and is subject to the ABAWD work requirement upon application, the 36 month period begins March 1, 1998. The applicant would be eligible to receive FS benefits beginning February 2 and would continue to be eligible in March, April and May 1998 without meeting the ABAWD work requirement. However, if in the above case, the ABAWD had FS benefits discontinued effective April 1 for not completing a CA-7 and reapplied and again began receiving FS benefits effective April 27, April would still be considered one of the months the individual could receive FS benefits without meeting or being exempt from the ABAWD work requirement.
The required number of hours of workfare participation are always determined by dividing the household’s FS allotment by the higher of the Federal or state minimum wage, regardless of the amount of the household’s allotment. Thus for an individual who meets the ABAWD work requirement by participating in Workfare, the county may not establish more hours of required participation than set out in this formula.
FS recipient may retroactively establish that he/she was exempt from the ABAWD work requirement. For example, if a woman subject to the ABAWD work requirement receives FS benefits for three months without meeting this requirement, but later provides medical verification that she was pregnant during the applicable months, she would be exempt from the ABAWD work requirement for those months.
Regulations at Section 63-408.1 have been amended to specify that an individual who voluntarily quits employment without good cause within 60 days of the date of the food stamp application shall be denied eligibility for 90 days from the date of the quit. Such applicant may establish eligibility at any time by becoming exempt or securing employment that is comparable in salary or hours to the job that was quit.