SR 23-26 Dated 06/23

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES – BUREAU OF FAMILY ASSISTANCE (BFA)

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the reinstatement of work requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), due to the statewide ABAWD exemption ending. This will include the limit of 3-countable months in a 36-month period when a non-exempt ABAWD is not meeting ABAWD work requirements.  

BACKGROUND

The Director’s Memo dated September 28, 2021, released the initial exemption for ABAWDs statewide to be exempt from the ABAWD work requirements from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022 due to an approved waiver from the Food and Nutrition Service. In conjunction, The Families First Coronavirus Reponses Act (FFCRA) also allowed for ABAWD flexibility exempting all ABAWDs statewide from the ABAWD work requirements during the Federal Public Health Emergency (PHE). The Federal PHE ended May 11, 2023, and the ABAWD flexibility under FFCRA will be ending June 30, 2023. During the statewide ABAWD exemption all current ABAWD 36-month clocks continued, however no countable months were occurring due to the ABAWD statewide exemption. The Department also requested to amend and extend waiver number 00004509 on September 7, 2022 and this was approved on September 20, 2022. This waiver exempts ABAWDs residing in certain areas with a high unemployment rate and/or lack of available jobs, as approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), pursuant to 7 CFR 273.24(f) [Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended]. FNS has confirmed that the following New Hampshire towns meet the high unemployment rate and/or lack of available jobs criteria: Ellsworth, Dalton, Stratford, North Stratford, Stratford Hollow, Pinkham’s Grant, Hale’s Location, Lincoln, and Waterville Valley. ABAWDs who reside in these towns are not limited to 3 months of SNAP assistance in a 36-month period and can continue to receive SNAP benefits without meeting ABAWD work requirements through the end of the waiver period, September 30, 2023.

NEW HEIGHTS & NH EASY SYSTEMS PROCEDURES

New HEIGHTS will be updated beginning July 1, 2023. ABAWD clocks will not be reset and all current clocks will continue with the begin and end dates. Any ABAWD who is not exempt and not meeting work requirements will incur their first countable month in July.

The following New HEIGHTS change has been requested:

·         Update the ABAWD Clock screen, Tracking tab to add an option to the Override Reason field for ‘Out-of-State Countable Month’.

o   Until this field has been updated, use the ‘System Error’ option to add a countable month received in another state and enter a clear case comment.

An ABAWD who is receiving VA disability compensation, regardless of the individual’s disability percentage rating, is exempt from ABAWD work requirements. In order for New HEIGHTS to allow the exemption, you must enter at least 80% in the Percentage Disability field on the Additional Demographics screen, Details Tab, and enter a clear case comment.

FORMS

BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?, its Spanish translation and the form instruction sheet, have been updated. Previous versions must be recycled and the new versions used upon release of this SR. A Certificate of Destruction has been included with this SR.

Place an order through the DHHS Warehouse/Logistics via the District Office’s Quarterly Forms Order (QFO) when a supply of the new versions are needed.

The new version of BFA Form 216, as well the Spanish translated version, will also be available electronically on the DHHS website at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/forms-documents and NH EASY Gateway to Services at https://nheasy.nh.gov/#/forms.

BFA Form 216, the Spanish translated version, and the associated instructions will also be available internally, for Department staff only, on the N:\ drive upon release of this SR.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Food Stamp Manual Topics

Section 229.03                        Definition of Disabled

PART 245                                ABLE-BODIED ADULTS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS (ABAWDS)

Section 245.01                        ABAWD Work Requirements vs SNAP Work Requirements

Section 245.03                        Criteria for Exemption from ABAWD Work Requirements

Section 245.05                        ABAWD Work Requirements

Section 245.07                        Determining the 36 Month Clock and 3 Countable Months

Section 245.09                        Regaining Eligibility

Section 245.11                         Maintaining Eligibility After a One Time Cure (page deleted)

Section 245.13                        The Additional 3 Month Cure Period

Section 245.15                        Verification Requirements

Section 303.09                        Out-of-State Recipient Moves into New Hampshire

IMPLEMENTATION

New HEIGHTS will end the statewide ABAWD exemptions for all towns except for the following towns: Ellsworth, Dalton, Stratford, North Stratford, Stratford Hollow, Pinkham’s Grant, Hale’s Location, Lincoln, and Waterville Valley. These towns will remain exempt due to the high unemployment rate, as approved by FNS to amend and extend waiver number 00004509 submitted pursuant to 7 CFR 273.24(f). Eligibility workers will inform ABAWDs of any changes in their exemption status at the next interaction with the individual.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

A letter was mailed to ABAWD individuals and their Alternate Payees informing them of the reinstatement of ABAWD work requirements; these letters were not sent to individuals receiving a work program exemption for SSI, SSA, &/or VA 80% disability, individuals with dependents in their SNAP household, or to individuals residing in the following exempt towns: Dalton, Ellsworth, Hale’s Location, Lincoln, Pinkham’s Grant, Stratford, Stratford Hollow, North Stratford, and Waterville Valley.  In addition to this letter, eligibility workers must explain, and go over a client’s exemption status at the next client interaction.

All Notices of Decision will be updated effective July 1, 2023 to remove the statement regarding the temporary suspension of ABAWD work requirements.

TRAINING

A mandatory ABAWD refresher was created by the Training Unit and all eligibility workers were to complete this training by 6/30/23. The training remains available to all eligibility workers in the Training Unit’s online Moodle platform.

An ABAWD Guidance Sheet has been created by the Policy Development Unit and is attached for reference.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the Online Manuals.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for BFA policy releases. This SR, and revised Online Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the Online Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sr_htm/sr.htm, effective July 3, 2023.

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