Located in:
- Employment and Training Programs Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Programs Authorized Under Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)))
- a. General Requirements [27]
The State agency must prepare and submit an Employment and Training (E&T) Plan to its appropriate Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Regional Office. The E&T Plan must be available for public inspection at the State agency headquarters. A State agency may include its plan for the SNAP E&T program in a Combined Plan under WIOA but will require FNS approval prior to implementation and must continue to make a copy of the plan available for public inspection. If a State includes SNAP E&T in a Combined Plan under WIOA, the State agency will detail the following for each year covered by the Combined Plan:
[27] 7 CFR § 273.7(c)(6)
- a. General Requirements [27]
a. 11. The organizational relationship between the units responsible for certification and the units operating the E&T components, including units of the Statewide workforce development system, if available. FNS is specifically concerned that the lines of communication be efficient and that noncompliance by the participant be reported to the certification unit within 10 working days after the noncompliance occurs;
Current Narrative:
SNAP eligibility is determined by DSHS staff located within the local Community Service Office (CSO). Staff who determine SNAP eligibility and certification are Public Benefit Specialist (PBS) or Work First Program Specialist. During the eligibility process staff recognize that a client may be eligible for BFET services.
Washington State eligibility workers ask five screening questions in the Barcode system:
- Are you currently seeking employment or want help finding a job?
- Would you be able to work at least 20 hours per week?
- Are you interested in any education or training?
- Are you interested in getting a high school diploma, high school equivalency or English as a second language (ESL) Classes?
- Are you interested in getting a degree, or certification or other specialized training to increase your employability?
Each answer to the questions goes into a decision tree within Barcode to correlate with specific activities.
BFET services are administered by CBO’s. SNAP recipients must make contact with a CBO in their area who determine eligibility for the BFET program and engage participants in approved BFET activities. BFET activity is tracked in the eJAS system. The eJAS system relays participant information to/from the ACES system, which informs DSHS staff of a participant’s participation in the BFET program. BFET is a voluntary participation program and noncompliance by the participant does not impact SNAP certification.