This memorandum adjusts the total number of exemptions available to each state for FY 2021, as shown in the table on the next page. This includes increases in the number of exemptions available to states in which caseloads increased by more than 10 percent, as described in section 6(o)(6)(F) of the Act.
Question and answer document to facilitate state agency implementation of the final rule: Employment and Training Opportunities in SNAP.
The final rule implements the changes made by section 4005 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to the SNAP pertaining to the E&T program and aspects of the work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents.
FNS is targeting the areas of program operation listed, for state SNAP Agency Management Evaluations for the upcoming fiscal year. State SNAP agencies are required to conduct MEs for the target areas in the upcoming fiscal year.
The recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act temporarily and partially suspends the time limit for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents participation in SNAP.
On Dec. 5, 2019, the FNS final rule, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents, will publish in the Federal Register. The rule revises the conditions under which FNS would waive, when requested by states, the able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) time limit in areas that have an unemployment rate of over 10 percent or a lack of sufficient jobs. In addition, the rule limits the carryover of unused ABAWD discretionary exemptions.
In December 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a final rule entitled “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents”. This action supports the Agency’s commitment to promoting employment by applying a common-sense policy to SNAP’s work-related program standards for able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).
SNAP helps low-income people buy the food they need for good health. SNAP benefits are not cash. SNAP benefits are provided on an electronic card that is used like an ATM or bank card to buy food at most grocery stores. To get SNAP benefits, your income and other resources have to be under certain limits.
USDA proposes updating the regulations to refine categorical eligibility requirements based on receipt of TANF benefits. Specifically, the Department proposes: (1) to define “benefits” for categorical eligibility to mean ongoing and substantial benefits; and (2) to limit the types of non-cash TANF benefits conferring categorical eligibility to those that focus on subsidized employment, work supports and childcare. The proposed rule would also require state agencies to inform FNS of all non-cash TANF benefits that confer categorical eligibility.
The Food and Nutrition Service proposed to make changes to SNAP regulations to refine categorical eligibility requirements based on receipt of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits.