The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued instructions about waiver of the CalFresh Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependants (ABAWD) time limit. The federal government granted California a waiver of the ABAWD time limit for 55 of 58 counties from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019. The time limit requires ABAWDs to participate in work activities or be limited to three months of CalFresh benefits in a 36 month period.
Counties, multi-county regions, areas within a county or an entire state can be approved for a waiver of the ABAWD time limit based on several criteria including a recent 12 month average unemployment rate over ten percent, a recent three-month average unemployment rate over ten percent, a historical seasonal unemployment rate over ten percent, designation as a Labor Surplus Area by the Department of Labor or having a 24-month average unemployment rate that is 20 percent above the national average for the same time period.
The counties that do not qualify for the ABAWD time limit waiver are San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.
Counties with an ABAWD time limit waiver must continue to report work registrant, ABAWD and Employment and Training date quarterly. Counties with a waiver of the ABAWD time limit must continue to sanction work registrants who voluntarily quit a job of more than 30 hours per week or that provides weekly earnings greater than federal minimum wage times 30.
Individuals who are discontinued for failure to meet the ABAWD work requirements in the counties that no longer have a waiver and who subsequently reapply for CalFresh in a county that has a waiver can be eligible for CalFresh. (ACL 18-97, August 27, 2018.)