Narrative: a. 11.

Mandatory work registrants are identified by specific work registration statuses on the State’s eligibility system. Statewide and individual parish totals are available. On the last workday of September of each year, an analysis is conducted to identify and count all certified individuals who are mandatory work registrants on that date. A date is system-generated to distinguish on-going registrants from new registrants who have been added during the fiscal year. Program Coordination Mandatory work registrants will be screened at application and during recertification or every twelve months, whichever is later. During clearance of the work registration status, the eligibility worker will screen individuals. The eligibility worker will provide each registrant a written explanation of the work requirements through the mail. Mandatory work registrants will be identified on the State’s eligibility system by a special status. Information obtained during the work registration screening process will be entered on the State’s eligibility system as work registrant household members are certified or recertified. Determination of Good Cause The worker determines good cause for failure to comply with work registration requirements. The worker must determine whether good cause exists within 10 days of determining non-compliance or being notified of non-compliance. Failure to comply with work registration requirements may include: • Refusal to Accept an Offer of Employment, • Refusal to Provide Sufficient Information to Determine Employment Status or Job Availability, • Voluntarily Quitting a Job, • Voluntarily Reducing Work Effort, and • Failure to Register for Work with Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) by having an active HiRE Account Good cause exists when circumstances beyond the client's control prevent compliance with work registration requirements. Sanctioning Resulting From Noncompliance with Work Registration Requirements Mandatory work registrants are individuals who are not exempt from SNAP work requirements and are ineligible if they fail to meet the work registration requirements without good cause which includes failing to create a HiRE account. Any household member may assist a mandatory work registrant with creating a (HiRE) account to register for work. Length of sanction: • First violation - the individual will be ineligible for 1 month or until compliance, whichever is later. • Second violation - the individual will be ineligible for 3 months or until compliance, whichever is later. • Third and subsequent violations – the individual will be ineligible for 6 months or until compliance, whichever is longer. If the MWR is the only household member, the application will be denied since there is no eligible person in the household. If the individual who does not comply is the head of the household, only the head of household is ineligible for the duration of the individual's disqualification. The other members of the household remain eligible. If the disqualified individual joins another household, the disqualified individual remains ineligible for the remainder of the individual’s disqualification period. LITE will automatically send a Notice of Decision of failure to comply with work registration requirements. Communication: DCFS utilizes emails, phone calls, Zoom meetings, site visits, and SNAP Works to communicate with the SNAP E&T providers. In addition, there is a quarterly SNAP E&T provider meeting and an annual training provided to the SNAP E&T providers. Information shared with the SNAP E&T Providers includes but not limited to policy updates, State agency changes/updates, process improvements, contracts, invoices, budgets, and best practices. The State of Louisiana has a voluntary SNAP E&T program where individuals are referred from community based organizations and community/technical colleges to participate in the SNAP E&T program through a reverse referral process therefore, SNAP E&T participants cannot be sanctioned. If a SNAP E&T provider determines that the SNAP E&T participant is not a good fit for their specific program, this is notated in SNAP Works (SNAP E&T system) and a task is generated to the eligibility worker to send a notice to the SNAP E&T participant within in 10 days of determination. If a SNAP E&T participant voluntarily stops participating, the SNAP E&T provider closes the referral in SNAP Works with the appropriate referral closure reason, and a closure notice is generated and the participant can view the notice in the citizen portal.