The federal Food and Nutrition Service has granted California’s request for a state-wide waiver of the CalFresh Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) time limit requirements. The ABAWD waiver is effective from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

Despite the ABAWD waiver, counties must 1) identify ABAWDs, screen for exemptions, and inform clients of ABAWD rules; 2) track and report work registrant, ABAWD and Employment and Training data; and 3) apply sanction requirements for work registrants who voluntarily quit a job of 30 hours or more per week, which provides weekly earnings equal to or greater than federal minimum wage times 30, or who, without good cause, reduce the number of hours worked to less than 30.  Counties cannot impose a sanction if a CalFresh recipient voluntarily quits a job of less than 30 hours per week.

Individuals who were previously discontinued from CalFresh for failure to meet ABAWD requirements and reapply to CalFresh may be approved for benefits if otherwise eligible. CalFresh Employment and Training and voluntary quit sanctions do not stop when the individual moves to a county with an ABAWD time limit waiver.  (ACL 21-67, June 15, 2021.)

California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for July, 2021.  All households will receive at least the maximum CalFresh allotment.  Households eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size are now eligible to receive an emergency allotment of $95 per month. Households who are not eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size, but whose emergency allotment would be less than $95 per month to receive the maximum allotment, will receive additional CalFresh benefits to raise their emergency allotment to the new $95 minimum.

The emergency allotment will be issued on August 8, 2021.

Moving forward, emergency allotments may be approved by FNS on a month-to-month basis until the Secretary of Health and Human Services rescinds the public health emergency.  There will be a one-month phase out of emergency allotments after the public health emergency is rescinded.  (ACWDL, June 24, 2021.)

The United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has withdrawn the proposed rule revising categorical eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – CalFresh in California).  FNS reaffirms its longstanding categorical eligibility policy at 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(j).  (RIN 0584-AE62, June 10, 2021.)

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has announced the implementation date and final ZIP code selection for the CalFresh Water Pilot. The pilot is a program to provide additional CalFresh nutrition benefits to purchase safe drinking water in areas where it is necessary. Pilot benefits will be available to CalFresh households living in selected ZIP codes in Kern County with out-of-compliance water systems under the California Safe Drinking Water Act. The first date of the pilot is March 1, 2022 and will last for 12 months, depending on the final number of pilot-eligible households and continued funding. 

The following Kern County zip codes will participate in the Pilot:

• 93241 (Lamont)
• 93220 (Edison)
• 93243 (Gorman-Lebec)
• 93311 (Bakersfield)
• 93387 (Bakersfield)
• 93386 (Bakersfield)

Notices about the program will be issued to eligible households on February 1, 2022 regarding the implementation date, eligibility criteria, benefit amount, and pilot duration. Notices will be given to households when they approved to participate in the CalFresh Water Pilot, discontinued from the pilot, or when the pilot ends. (ACL 21-50, April 28, 2021). 

The pilot is extended to October 31, 2021.  (ACL 22-101, November 30, 2022.)

Effective immediately, exemptions from the CalFresh student eligibility rule are now no longer mandatory verifications. Counties must only require verification that a student meets an exemption when information provided by the household is questionable or when a student’s claim of physical or mental unfitness is not evident to the county.

A student is defined as any person who is enrolled at least half-time, as defined by the institution, at an institution of higher education. A student must be determined ineligible to participate in CalFresh unless they meet at least one exemption. Students who are enrolled less than half-time in courses are not considered a student for CalFresh purposes and do not need to meet an exemption. Exemptions include but are not limited to:

• Working 20 hours a week or 80 hours a month
• Attending school as part of an employment and training program
• Attending school as part of a program to increase employability
• Being a TANF-funded benefit recipient
• The student is physically or mentally unfit

Previously, the county verified all exemptions, but now must only verify exemptions from the student eligibility rule in questionable cases or when a student’s physical or mental unfitness is not evident to the county. When verifying exemptions, the county must follow existing guidelines.

Information is considered questionable when the application differs from the applicant’s statements or other information received by the county. The county must document why the information is questionable, or where in the case file the inconsistency exists and what documentation was used to resolve the inconsistency.

Verification for physical or mental unfitness is required when the unfitness or disability is not evident to the county. Verification can be provided by any medical health professional or the applicant’s case manager.

Counties must review relevant information during the application and reapplication process to mitigate the occurrence of errors and variances. (ACL 21-58, May 21, 2021.)