NORTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA
August 23, 2011

IM 5128

TO:		County Social Service Directors
Economic Assistance Policy Regional Representatives
Economic Assistance Policy Quality Control Reviewers

FROM:	Carol Cartledge, Director, Economic Assistance Policy

SUBJECT:	ABAWDs Waivers

PROGRAMS:	SNAP

EFFECTIVE:	October 1, 2011

RETENTION: 	September 30, 2012

SECTIONS 
AFFECTED:	430-05-40-50-10

Effective October 1, 2011, a waiver to exempt Pierce and Rolette Counties from the able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) provisions has been approved for a one year period.  The new waiver expires September 30, 2012.  

For Pierce and Rolette Counties effective October 1, 2011 when processing reviews and ongoing cases for the benefit month of November 2011, TECS will default the code on ABRE for all individuals to “EX”.  An informational edit will appear on the ABRE screen “county exempt from ABAWDS requirement” and it will not allow the entry of any coding on this screen.  The ABAWD provisions do not apply to any individual residing in these counties effective October 1, 2011. 

Individuals initially applying in Pierce or Rolette Counties on October 1, 2011 or later are exempt from the ABAWD provisions. 

Effective October 1, 2011 all other counties will be exempt from the ABAWD provisions using the State’s 15% exemption criteria allowed by federal regulation.  The number of 15% exemption criteria the state is allowed to use is calculated and provided by the national office.  Exemptions not used are carried over to the next year.  As a result, the state has accumulated enough exemption criteria to exempt the remainder of the state through September 30, 2012.

A report will be provided the beginning of October 2011 identifying ABAWDs with a participation code of “DI” or that include an individual with NE or EE on ABRE.  When processing ongoing cases for the benefit month of November 2011, workers in all counties except Pierce and Rolette must go through the ABRE screen in TECS, identify all ABAWDs and code those individuals as “SP” in the REQ/EX column, if they are not otherwise exempt.  

For new applications and reviews received on or after October 1, 2011, the same policy applies.  The “SP” code must be used, if they are not otherwise exempt.  

It is very important to use the “SP” code for only those individuals who are not exempt for another reason such as pregnant (PG) or working 20 hours per week (HR) as we are required to report the total number of “SP” exemptions used on a quarterly basis.

Exemption Reasons and Codes in TECS:

EX - EXEMPT FROM WORK REQUIREMENT
HR - WORKING AN AVERAGE OF 20 HOURS OR MORE PER WEEK
JT - PARTICIPATION IN A JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT PROGRAM
NA - NOT APPLICABLE
PG - PREGNANT
SP - STATE 15 PERCENT WAIVER
TA - PARTICIPATING IN A TRADE ACT PROGRAM

If you have questions, please contact your Regional Representative.