DATE: | March 21, 2012 |
SUBJECT: | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents Waivers for Fiscal Year 2013 |
TO: | All Regional Directors Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program |
This memo provides information about which states are eligible to waive Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) time limits for participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for fiscal year 2013. Under SNAP regulations at 7 CFR 273.24(f)(2), a state can qualify for a 12-month statewide ABAWD waiver if the Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance Service determines it meets the criteria for extended unemployment benefits. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) can approve a waiver if the state's unemployment triggers the criteria for extended benefit compensation (EB), regardless of whether the state has elected the option to offer EB itself. states that meet the EB criteria can qualify for a 12-month statewide ABAWD waiver, up to 12 months after the trigger date.
The Department of Labor's Emergency Unemployment Compensation Trigger Notice 2011-52, effective January 8,2012, indicates that 46 states or geographic areas met the emergency unemployment compensation criteria: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Thus, the 46 qualifying states or geographic areas may suspend the time limits on ABAWDs through at least Sept. 30, 2013. In addition, state agencies that appear on a different DOL Trigger Notice beginning no earlier than Oct. 1, 2011, also qualify for a fiscal year 2013 ABAWD waiver. states must notify their FNS regional office of the statewide implementation. We request that states provide written notification of their decision to adopt this waiver to their FNS regional office by Aug. 31, 2012. For states that do not qualify for a statewide waiver under the EB trigger notice, SNAP regulations at 273.24(f) provide details about additional ways a state may qualify for an ABAWD wavier, either statewide or within certain areas of the state.
Lizbeth Silbermann
Director
Program Development Division