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 a participant is not a good fit for the organization, a notice, providing the determination and explaining the next steps to be taken must be sent within 10 days. The notice must inform the participant that SNAP benefits are not affected as a result of the determination and to contact the agency if they have any questions regarding the determination or continued participation in the SNAP E&T Program. A Task will be generated from SNAP Works informing the worker that the SNAP E&T provider has determined that a volunteer is not a good fit for the organization. Upon receipt of the Task, the worker must send the participant a semi-automated Client Contact Letter stating: “This notice is to inform you that the SNAP E&T provider, XXXXXXXXXXX, has completed your assessment and determined that the program offered is not appropriate for you. Your benefits will not stop as a result of this determination. If you have any questions regarding this determination or continued participation in the SNAP E&T Program, please contact me at the number below, or by calling 1-888-LAHELPU (1-888-524-3578).” If the participant contacts the agency regarding continuing SNAP E&T participation, the household member must be re-screened and appropriate referrals must be completed in LITE. The worker will notify the ABAWD verbally of the provider determination and document in a case note.