WSR 19-17-086
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
[Filed August 21, 2019, 9:46 a.m., effective September 21, 2019]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is amending by permanent adoption WAC 388-444-0030 Are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) subject to additional work requirements and time limits to be eligible for basic food? This amendment reflects the annual update to Washington's supplemental nutrition assistance program state plan concerning ABAWD time-limits, work requirements, and current United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services approved waivers for certain geographic areas of Washington state.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-444-0030.
Other Authority: Title 7 C.F.R. Part 273.24.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 19-10-045 on April 29, 2019.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 20, 2019.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 18-02-037, filed 12/22/17, effective 1/22/18)
WAC 388-444-0030Are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) subject to additional work requirements and time limits to be eligible for basic food?
(1) An able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) is a person who:
(a) Is age eighteen through forty-nine;
(b) Is fit for work and not exempted under WAC 388-444-0035; and
(c) Does not receive food assistance in an assistance unit (AU) that includes a minor child (we will consider the AU to include a minor child even if the minor child is not eligible to receive food assistance).
(2) If you are an ABAWD, you must participate in work activities under subsection (4) of this section.
(3) Nonexempt ABAWDs who live outside of King County or on the Muckleshoot Tribal Reservation may continue to receive food assistance until December 31, ((2018))2019 even if they fail to participate in work-related activities.
(4) A nonexempt ABAWD is not eligible to receive food assistance for more than three full months (which do not have to be consecutive months), not including any partial benefit months in a thirty-six month period, unless the ABAWD:
(a) Works an average of eighty hours per month, including:
(i) Work in exchange for money;
(ii) Work in exchange for goods or services ("in kind" work);
(iii) Unpaid work that is verified according to department requirements; or
(iv) Any combination of (a)(i) through (iii) of this subsection;
(b) Participates in one of the following work programs and is meeting the requirements of that work program:
(i) The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014;
(ii) Section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974;
(iii) A state-approved employment and training program at least an average of eighty hours per month; or
(c) Participates in an unpaid work program as provided in WAC 388-444-0040.