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IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART V: PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND SANCTIONS
CHAPTER 1: WORK REQUIREMENTS
EXEMPTIONS FROM WORK REQUIREMENTS 1.6
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If an individual repeatedly has good cause for failing to participate in work activities, a determination should be made to see if the individual meets an exemption criteria. |
| TANF |
The following TANF applicants/recipients are exempt from work participation:
- a minor who is not the head of an assistance unit or is not a parent of a child receiving TANF;
- a single custodial parent or caretaker who personally provides care for a child under six who cannot obtain needed appropriate child care because it is unaffordable or not within reasonable distance of the parent or caretaker's home or work activity;
- a single custodial parent with a child under 12 months;
- a recipient 60 years old or older;
- a parent or caretaker in a two-parent or caretaker household who is not a principal wage earner (PWE) (if the household is eligible for TANF because of PWE's unemployment) and who is personally taking care of a child under six, if the parent or caretaker cannot obtain needed child care because it is unaffordable or not within reasonable distance of the parent or caretaker's home;
- a person who is ill, injured, or incapacitated as determined by competent medical evidence (and his/her condition is expected to last longer than four weeks);
- a person who is needed at home because another household member requires the individual's presence due to illness or injury;
- a woman who is expected to deliver within four months;
- a person in a one-parent/caretaker household who is working for an average of 30 hours per week;
- persons in a two-parent household who are working for a combined total average of at least 35 hours per week, or persons in a two-parent household where the family receives federally-funded child care and no parent in the family is disabled or caring for a child with a disability who are working a combined total of at least 55 hours per week;
- a full-time VISTA or Americorps volunteer;
- a person who is granted a domestic violence waiver because complying with the work requirement would put the applicant/recipient at further risk of violence (see Section 3.8.3: Waiver of Work Requirement in Part VIII); or
- a teen parent who can provide proof of school attendance or who can demonstrate that there is either a lack of needed child care for a child under six that prevents the teen parent's school attendance or that a child's verified special health needs prevent the child's regular attendance at school (see Section 4.4.1: Teen Parent School Attendance Requirement in Part IV and Section 3.12: Teen Parent Program in Part VIII).
Any applicant/recipient who is exempt from work participation may voluntarily participate. If s/he volunteers and then fails to participate without good cause and for a reason unrelated to his/her qualification for an exemption, the individual is subject to sanction.
Families in which the parent has a physical or mental incapacity that prevents them from working and/or participating in TANF work activities are eligible for POWER -- a District-funded program that provides cash assistance in lieu of TANF (see Section 1.9: Screening for the Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibility in Part III and Section 3.10: Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibility (POWER) in Part VIII).
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| FS |
The following people are exempt from FSET participation:
- homeless persons;
- individuals receiving TANF;
- persons younger than 16 years of age or a person 60 years of age or older. If a child has his/her 16th birthday within a certification period, the child will be work registered as part of the next scheduled recertification process unless the child qualifies for another exemption;
- persons physically or mentally unfit for employment; this includes but is not limited to persons who have applied for SSI or persons who currently receive IDA, SSI, SSDI or other disability-related benefits;
- a person receiving unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) or who has a pending UIB application as long as s/he is registered for work and actively looking;
- a parent or other household member responsible for the care of a dependent child under six or an incapacitated person;
- a regular participant in a drug or alcohol addiction program, which prohibits participation in FSET work activities during normal business hours; such drug and alcohol programs would include but not be limited to residential treatment, but would not include participation in after-hours meetings of recovery support groups, etc;.
- persons who are employed or self-employed and working a minimum of 30 hours per week or receiving weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours (this includes migrant and seasonal farm workers who are under contract or have an agreement with an employer or an employer representative to begin employment within 30 days);
- a student 16- or 17-years-old who is enrolled and attends regular classes at least half-time, as defined by the learning institution, in any appropriate school, training program, or institution of higher education; and
- other persons granted an individual exemption by FSET staff
Susan is a 17-year-old with a GED who wants to attend Clarkson Computer Learning Center to earn a certificate of competence in Software Testing. Susan is eligible for FS benefits, but she needs an exemption from participation in the FSET program so she can attend Clarkson. Susan tells her SSR of her plans and shows proof of enrollment. Susan is granted her exemption from FSET as long as she provides the SSR with regular proof of attendance at Clarkson.
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Persons engaged in hobbies or volunteer work or any other activity which cannot be considered gainful employment (because of the minimal amount of monies received from such activity) are not exempt from work registration regardless of the amount of time spent in such activity.
Persons losing exemption status due to any change in circumstances (such as departure from the household of the sole dependent child for whom an otherwise non-exempt household member was caring) must be work registered when the change is reported.
Mandatory FSET participants may be exempted from FSET participation if monthly expenses that are reasonable, necessary and directly related to participation exceed the allowable reimbursement amount (see Section 1.4: Work Participation Allowance in this Chapter).
Group members who are applying for SSI and for FS (see Section 1.7.1: Applying for Food Stamp Benefits through the SSA in Part III) will have the requirement for work registration waived until their eligibility for SSI is determined. Failure to complete the work registration form is not grounds to delay processing. If they are determined ineligible for SSI, a determination of their work registration status must be made.
Adult members of a group entitled to Expedited Food Stamp Processing (see Chapter 4: Expedited Food Stamp Services in Part III) are referred to FSET but cannot be sanctioned until a determination of standard FS eligibility is made. In addition, non-exempt group members do not have to work register prior to being determined eligible for expedited Food Stamp benefits.
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GOOD CAUSE FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH WORK ACTIVITIES 1.7
| BOTH |
An applicant/recipient will be sanctioned if s/he does not have good cause for failing to comply with work requirements. Good cause generally can be thought of as a short-term reason an employer might excuse an employee from work. If a recipient repeatedly has good cause, such as a recurring illness, the Department should determine whether the individual meets an exemption criteria (see Section 1.6: Exemptions from Work Requirements in this Chapter) or should be referred to POWER. Specific good cause reasons for both TANF and FS programs are listed below.
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TANF
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Determinations of good cause may be made by the vendor to whom the TANF recipient is assigned, the Office of Work Opportunity, and the IMA Vendor Monitoring unit.
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FS
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Determinations of good cause may be made by staff of the Food Stamp Employment and Training program.
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BOTH
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To determine whether or not good cause exists, the responsible party must consider the facts and circumstances, including information submitted by the group member involved, the employer, or the work-site supervisor. |
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TANF
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When a non-exempt individual fails to participate in work activities, a sanction will be imposed, unless it is determined that the individual had good cause for not participating (see Section 3.10:6: Sanctions and Good Cause in Part VIII for a discussion of good cause in the POWER program).
Good cause for failure to participate in work activities, assessment, and POWER program requirements or to sign the IRP include the following:
- a properly verified illness or medical condition of the recipient or a member of the recipient's household prevents the recipient from meeting requirements,
- appropriate and affordable child care is not available within a reasonable distance from the recipient's home or work site and the applicant/recipient has a need for child care (need for child care for TANF purposes means that the applicant/recipient is caring for a child under six or for a child with a special health need as verified by medical evidence that prevents regular attendance at school),
- participant is a parent or caretaker who personally provides child care for a child under six and already participates in work activities for at least 20 hours per week,
- an extraordinary and unforeseen circumstance beyond the recipient's control prevents compliance with meeting work requirements,
- accepting work or participating in a work activity may result in an act of domestic violence against the applicant/recipient or other in his/her family or household (see Section 3.8: Domestic Violence in Part VIII),
- an individual has met an exemption criteria but has not been exempted from requirements because the exemption-related circumstance was undetected, and
- a household emergency occurs such as a death in the family.
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| FS |
Noncompliance with work requirements with good cause includes circumstances beyond the applicant/recipient's control, such as, but not limited to the following:
- personal illness
- illness of another group member requiring presence of or care by the applicant/recipient
- lack of adequate child care for children who have reached age six but are under age 12
- lack of available transportation
- a household emergency such as a death in the family
All circumstances that constitute good cause for non-participation in work activities must be verified. |
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