WSR 23-07-060
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
[Filed March 10, 2023, 10:58 a.m., effective April 10, 2023]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is adopting amendments to WAC 388-444-0055 What are the penalties if I refuse or fail to meet basic food work requirements?, to more accurately align with federal regulations related to basic food disqualification, and clarify that a basic food sanction can be lifted effective the first of the following month when a client meets work requirements or becomes exempt from work requirements during a basic food sanction.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-444-0055.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 23-03-049 on January 10, 2023.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.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: March 10, 2023.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
SHS-4959.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 13-21-126, filed 10/22/13, effective 11/22/13)
WAC 388-444-0055What are the penalties if I refuse or fail to meet basic food work requirements?
(1) If we register you for work you must meet the work requirements under WAC 388-444-0005 or 388-444-0030 unless you have good cause as defined in WAC 388-444-0050. If you do not follow these rules, you will become an ineligible assistance unit member as described under WAC 388-408-0035. The remaining members of the assistance unit continue to be eligible for basic food.
(2) If you do not meet basic food work requirements and we find that you did not have good cause, you cannot receive basic food for the following periods of time and until you meet program requirements:
(a) For the first failure, one month;
(b) For the second failure, three months; and
(c) For the third or subsequent failure, six months.
(3) If you become exempt under WAC 388-444-0010 and are otherwise eligible, you may begin to receive basic food.
(4) If you do not comply with the work requirements of the following programs, you cannot receive basic food unless you meet one of the conditions described under WAC 388-444-0010 ((except subsections (4) or (5))):
(a) WorkFirst;
(b) Unemployment compensation;
(c) The refugee cash assistance program.
(5) Within ((ten))10 days after learning of your refusal to participate in your program, ((the financial worker))we will send you a notice that your basic food benefits will end unless you comply with your program requirements.
(6) If you do not comply within ((ten))10 days, you will be issued a notice disqualifying you from receiving basic food until you comply with your program, or until you meet the work registration disqualification requirements in subsection (2) of this section.
(7) ((After the penalty period in subsection (2) of this section is over, and you meet work requirements and you are otherwise eligible, you may receive basic food:
(a) If you are alone in the assistance unit and apply to reestablish eligibility; or
(b) If you are a member of an assistance unit, you may resume receiving basic food.
(8))) During the penalty period, if you begin to participate in ((one))any of the programs listed in subsection (4)(a) through (c) ((and that penalty is removed,))of this section or meet one of the conditions described under WAC 388-444-0010, the work registration disqualification also ends. If you are otherwise eligible, you may begin to receive basic food effective the first of the month following the change.
(8) After the penalty period in subsection (2) of this section is over, and you meet work requirements, and you are otherwise eligible, you may receive basic food:
(a) If you are alone in the assistance unit and apply to reestablish eligibility; or
(b) If you are a member of an assistance unit, you may resume receiving basic food.