WSR 14-18-028 PERMANENT RULES DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES (Economic Services Administration) [Filed August 26, 2014, 2:57 p.m., effective September 26, 2014] Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-444-0030 and 388-444-0040 to extend the date for which the able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) court waiver applies, as well as to clarify the verbiage of workfare as related to work requirements for ABAWDs.
These rule changes are not expected to impact eligibility and benefits for the Washington Basic Food program and the state-funded food assistance program (FAP) for legal immigrants as these rules and procedures are already in effect and being applied to Basic Food eligibility decisions. Under RCW 74.08A.120, rules for FAP shall follow exactly the rules of the federal food stamp program except for the provisions pertaining to immigrant status.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-444-0030 and 388-444-0040.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.
Other Authority: 7 C.F.R. 273.24.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 14-14-115 on July 2, 2014.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 22, 2014.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 13-17-123, filed 8/21/13, effective 9/21/13)
WAC 388-444-0030 Do I have to work to be eligible for Basic Food benefits if I am an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD)?@!-- end --!@
(1) An able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) is a person who:
(a) Is physically and mentally able to work;
(b) Is age eighteen through forty-nine; and
(c) Has no child in the household.
(2) If you are an ABAWD, you must participate in employment and training activities under subsection (4) unless you are exempt from ABAWD requirements under WAC 388-444-0035.
(3) Nonexempt ABAWDs who fail to participate may continue to receive food assistance until September 30, ((2014)) 2015.
(4) Beginning October 1, ((2014)) 2015, an ABAWD is not eligible to receive food assistance for more than three full months in a thirty-six month period, except as provided in WAC 388-444-0035, unless that person:
(a) Is exempt from ABAWD requirements under WAC 388-444-0035;
(b) Works at least twenty hours a week averaged monthly;
(c) Participates in on the job training (OJT), which may include paid work and classroom training time, for at least twenty hours a week;
(d) Participates in an unpaid work program as provided in WAC 388-444-0040; or
(e) Participates in and meets the requirements of one of the following work programs:
(i) The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA);
(ii) Section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974; or
(iii) A state-approved employment and training program.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 10-23-112, filed 11/17/10, effective 12/18/10)
WAC 388-444-0040 Can I volunteer for an unpaid work program in order to meet the work requirements under WAC 388-444-0030?
The department makes unpaid work programs available for persons who need to meet work requirements under WAC 388-444-0030.
(1) The following are considered unpaid work programs:
(a) Workfare, which includes:
(i) ((Thirty days of job)) Job search activities ((in)) during the first ((month)) thirty days beginning with the ((first)) day of application, or sixteen hours of volunteer work with a public or private nonprofit agency; and
(ii) In subsequent months, sixteen hours per month of volunteer work with a public or private nonprofit agency allows you to remain eligible for Basic Food benefits.
(iii) Workfare does not include enforced community service or for paying fines or debts due to legal problems.
(b) Work experience (WEX) which provides supervised, unpaid work for at least twenty hours a week. WEX is intended to improve a person's work skills and make them more competitive in the job market. WEX must be for a nonprofit organization, government agency, or tribal entity.
(2) We may not require you to participate more than one hundred and twenty hours per month in an unpaid-work program, paid work, or a combination of activities. ABAWDs may volunteer to participate in activities beyond one hundred and twenty hours per month.
(3) The department may pay for some of the costs for you to participate in work programs. We set the standards for the amount we will pay for these expenses.
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