[Abawdnavigators] FW: ABAWD Waiver Update

[Kathi Medcalf]

Hello All,

Below is the email I received from DSHS this afternoon and the email from Erin that is being sent out to people around the state.  The Waivers are in, and there are more than we anticipated.  The attached document is now posted on the DSHS website as well.  I did ask about Tribal Residents as that was not covered and this is the answer I got from DSHS as well:

Tribal resident clients who live in areas that are captured by the overall waived area are waived. However, we are working with individual tribes outside of the waived areas that may be able to be waived. There is a process to follow however due to the Government to Government aspect. We suspect this will take some time.

Please know that if your college is only serving counties that are waived the NAVIGATORS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE, ABWADS will still be referred and you can work with students and community members as explained before.

FROM DSHS:

Attached is the information you have been waiting for!

What does this mean?

  1.  Areas that are waived will still need ABAWD Navigators for ABAWDS who are still interested in the additional help. This will be strongly encouraged by our staff.
  2.  We may still use discretionary waivers for non-waived areas that are extremely rural/hard to serve. This is still being discussed and we will have to keep you updated.
  3.  We will not be creating workfare in areas that are waived. We are developing a workfare expansion plan and will be calling on information the ABAWD Navigators have gathered soon.

Please send any questions/comments my way.

Kathi

[Title: SBCTC logo - Description: Compass]Kathi Medcalf, M.S.Ed
Program Administrator: ABAWD, Workforce Education
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
1300 Quince Street SE | PO Box 42495 | Olympia, WA 98504-2495
P: (360) 704-1838     E: kmedcalf at sbctc.edu<mailto:kmedcalf at sbctc.edu>
                      Pronouns: She/Her



From: VTC <vtc-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Erin Frasier via VTC
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 4:52 PM
To: vtc at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [WEC] ABAWD Waiver Update

Good evening,

The attached document was released by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) this afternoon. This is much anticipated news concerning identification of counties in Washington losing exemptions for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients categorized as Able-bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD). In summary, effective April 1, 2020, ABAWDs residing in 26 non-waived counties will be required to meet work requirements to maintain their food assistance. In preparation for this change, we placed ABAWD Navigators at each of our colleges to provide support to these individuals as they look to secure resources and investigate career pathway options.

Regardless of whether a county is losing or maintaining its exemption, the Navigators will remain in place state-wide. Additional information will be shared directly with ABAWD Navigators and any questions can be directed to Kathi Medcalf, Program Administrator, at kmedcalf at sbctc.edu<mailto:kmedcalf at sbctc.edu> or 360-704-1838.

Additional Background: Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWD) are a category of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients that must meet specific work requirements to maintain eligibility for food assistance.  ABAWDs residing in all counties in Washington State, except King County, have been receiving a federal waiver from these participation requirements. SNAP is a federal nutrition assistance program administered by the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and regulated by the 2014 Farm Bill (Agricultural Act of 2014). A recent federal rule change eliminates many county waivers and requires ABAWDs to meet work requirements.

Best regards,
Erin

[Title: SBCTC logo - Description: Compass]Erin Frasier, Ed.D.
Policy Associate, Workforce Education
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
1300 Quince Street SE | PO Box 42495 | Olympia, WA 98504-2495
P: (360) 704-4339     E: efrasier at sbctc.edu<mailto:efrasier at sbctc.edu>



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