State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Release 25-01 April 9, 2025

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6.2 FSET ABAWD Status and Referral Type

FoodShare members are assigned an Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWD) status and referral type. The status and referral types are determined by the Income Maintenance (IM) agency and provided to FSET agencies as part of a referral or referral update. FSET workers must take necessary action on notifications from the IM agency regarding changes in ABAWD status or referral type as these changes impact FSET participation requirements. The three participation statuses include Non-ABAWD, ABAWD, and FoodShare Ineligible. The two referral types include Non-Time Limited Benefit (TLB) referral type and TLB referral type.

6.2.1 Non-ABAWD

A FoodShare member is a non-ABAWD if they meet any one of the following criteria, as determined by the IM agency:

• Under age 18 or age 55 and older
  • Age 18: ABAWD status is applied the month following the month the FoodShare applicant or member turns age 18.
  • Age 55: ABAWD status is lost the first day of the month an ABAWD turns age 55.
• Residing in a food unit with a child under age 18
  • An individual may be determined a non-ABAWD if they reside in a FoodShare unit where a household member is under age 18, even if the household member who is under age 18 is ineligible for FoodShare.
• Pregnant
• Determined unfit for employment, which includes someone who is:
  • Receiving temporary or permanent disability benefits from the government or a private source
  • Unable to work due to physical or mental challenges, as determined by the IM agency
  • Verified as unable to work by a statement from a health care professional or a social worker (may use Medical Exemption from Work Requirement for ABAWDs (F-01598) to verify)
• Experiencing homelessness

  Note	The definition of homelessness for the FoodShare work requirement exemption is the same as the definition of homelessness used for FoodShare residency (see FoodShare Handbook, Section 3.2.1.3 Homelessness for the complete definition).

• A veteran, including any individual who has served in any branch of the United States Armed Forces (including the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Armed Forces Reserve) regardless of discharge or release condition.
• Former Foster Care Youth, including any individual who is 18 to 24 years old who was previously in a foster care program at the time when they turned 18 years old. Foster care programs include court ordered kinship care, subsidized guardianship, and adoption assistance.
• Exempt from the FoodShare basic work rules, which includes someone who is:
  • Receiving Unemployment Compensation (UC) or has applied for UC and is complying with UC work requirements.
  • Regularly participating in an alcohol or other drug abuse (AODA) treatment or rehabilitation program.
  • A student of higher education and otherwise eligible for FoodShare (see the FoodShare Handbook, Section 3.15.1 Student Eligibility).
  • A high school student 18 years of age or older, attending high school at least half-time. Enrollment in a GED or HSED program does not qualify for the exemption (though it might be an assigned activity that counts toward the required hours for an ABAWD choosing to meet the work requirement through FSET participation). 
  • Primary caretaker of a dependent child under age six or a person who can't care for themselves (may be a part of the food unity or in a separate household).
  • Complying with Wisconsin Works (W-2) program requirements.
  • Working 30 or more hours per week or earning wages equivalent to 30 or more hours per week at the federal minimum wage.

Non-ABAWDs who meet the exemption criteria are not subject to TLBs and do not need to meet the FoodShare work requirement during months in which they have an exemption. Exemptions only require verification if the reported exemption is deemed questionable by an IM agency.

Non-ABAWDs are referred to FSET only upon their request. However, individuals that have a pending exemption may be referred to FSET as ABAWDs. In such cases, once the exemption is verified, the IM agency will send a referral update to notify the FSET agency of the status change. ABAWDs may gain or lose exemptions for a variety of reasons (see Section 10.7 Appendix G: FSET ABAWD Statuses (and FSET Referral Types)).

Although IM workers have primary responsibility for determining exemptions from the FoodShare work requirement, FSET workers may also identify that an individual qualifies for one of the ABAWD exemptions listed above once they begin working with a participant. When an exemption from the FoodShare work requirement is identified, the FSET worker must contact the IM agency to notify them of the exemption. If the IM agency determines that the exemption is questionable, the FSET worker must help the participant with verifying the exemption. The FSET worker may also serve as a collateral contact or provide an acceptable written statement to assist the IM agency in the determination of ABAWD exemptions.

For more information about exemptions from the FoodShare work requirement, see the FoodShare Handbook, Section 3.17.1.4 Verification of Work Hours and Exemptions From FoodShare Work Requirement.

6.2.2 ABAWDs with a Non-TLB Referral Type

A FoodShare member is an ABAWD if they do not meet any of the criteria that make an individual exempt or a non-ABAWD as determined by the IM agency. ABAWDs with a non-TLB referral type meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Meet the FoodShare work requirement
• Not subject to TLBs due to living in an area or on tribal land where the time limit is suspended
• Not subject to TLBs due to receipt of a discretionary exemption intended to function as a suspension of the time limit for that month.

ABAWDs will be assigned a non-TLB referral type if they are living in an area of the state where the time limit is suspended or if they are living on tribal land where the time limit is suspended. ABAWDs living in a area or on tribal land where the time limit is suspended are not subject to TLBs during the months the suspension is in place. 

ABAWDs will be assigned a non-TLB referral type if they have been granted a discretionary exemption that is intended to function as a suspension. Discretionary exemptions are a special federal flexibility that states may allocate to ABAWDs and may be used to function similar to a suspension of the time limit. 

ABAWDs who are meeting the FoodShare work requirement outside of FSET, living in an area or on tribal land with a suspension of the time limit, or receiving a discretionary exemption intended to function as a suspension of the time limit will not receive a systematic referral to the FSET program. ABAWDs with a non-TLB referral type may choose to be referred to the FSET program.

6.2.3 ABAWDs with a TLB Referral Type 

A FoodShare member is an ABAWD if they do not meet any of the criteria that make an individual exempt or a non-ABAWD as determined by the IM agency. ABAWDs with a TLB referral type need to meet the FoodShare work requirement to remain eligible for FoodShare for more than three months in the current three-year period. One of the ways these individuals can meet the FoodShare work requirement is through FSET participation.

ABAWDs with a non-TLB referral type due to meeting the FoodShare work requirement will have their referral status updated to the TLB referral type and will exhaust a TLB if they stop meeting the work requirement. ABAWDs with a TLB referral type status may lose eligibility for FoodShare due to failing to meet the FoodShare work requirement after exhausting three months of TLBs in the current three-year period.

The current three-year period establishes the same start-and-end date for all applicants and members who may be subject to the FoodShare work requirement, regardless of the date they first accrued a TLB or were determined eligible for FoodShare benefits. When the new or subsequent three-year period starts, applicants or members who have accrued TLBs will have their count reset to zero. A new three-year period will start after the current three-year period expires:

Three-Year Clock Start	Three-Year Clock End
January 1, 2022	December 31, 2024
January 1, 2025	December 31, 2027
January 1, 2028	December 31, 2030
January 1, 2031	December 31, 2033
January 1, 2034	December 31, 2036
January 1, 2037	December 31, 2039
January 1, 2040	December 31, 2042

Once three TLBs are received, FoodShare eligibility is lost for the remainder of the current three-year period unless an ABAWD becomes a non-ABAWD by meeting an exemption or begins meeting the work requirement.

For more information about ABAWD status and exemptions, see the FoodShare Handbook, Section 3.17.1 FoodShare Work Requirements for ABAWDs.

Note	An individual may request a fair hearing if they disagree with the IM agency’s determination of ABAWD status (see the FoodShare Handbook, Section 6.4.1 Fair Hearings).

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Publication Number: P-00419