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State of Wisconsin |
HISTORY |
The policy on this page is from a previous version of the handbook.
Non-ABAWDs may participate in FSET, but do not need to meet the ABAWD work requirement. Non-ABAWD FSET participants must be assigned to at least 12 hours of FSET activities per month. FSET agencies are required to work with the volunteer to establish reasonable expectations and hours of participation.
ABAWDs who do not meet the ABAWD work requirement will only be allowed to receive up to three full months of FoodShare benefits in a 36-month time period. ABAWDs subject to time-limited benefits (TLBs) may choose to meet the work requirement by participating in FSET.
For ABAWDs, working is defined as one of the following:
Work in exchange for money;
Work in exchange for goods or services (in-kind);
Unpaid work (e.g. volunteer work, community service);
Self-employment; or
Any combination of the above.
An ABAWD is considered to be meeting the ABAWD work requirement if one of the following applies:
Working a minimum of 80 hours per month. Use converted work hours if paid weekly or bi-weekly;
Participating in and complying with the requirements of an allowable work program* at least 80 hours per month;
Both working and participating in an allowable work program for a combined total of at least 80 hours per month; or
Participating in and complying with the requirements of a workfare program.
* See Appendix E for information about ‘allowable’ work programs. This information is relevant when counting participation hours for ABAWDS who are co-enrolled in FSET and another allowable work program.
Note: Participation in the FSET program is voluntary. ABAWDs subject to TLBs may choose to meet the work requirement by participating in FSET. An ABAWD with a TLB referral enrolled in FSET must participate in qualifying activities in order to meet the work requirement and maintain ongoing FoodShare eligibility.
ABAWDs who enroll and participate in FSET as a way to meet the work requirement may or may not need to participate in FSET for the full 80 hours per month. Some individuals may be partially meeting the work requirement through part-time work or participating in a work program other than FSET for fewer than 80 hours per month. Other individuals may be participating for fewer than 80 hours per month in other activities, such as an education program, that should be categorized as an FSET component and included on the participant employment plan. Individuals who are partially meeting the ABAWD work requirement outside of FSET can fulfill the full 80-hour work requirement by participating in FSET to close the gap in hours. The FSET worker should review each case independently to determine the number of FSET participation hours that would allow each ABAWD to meet the work requirement.
FSET participation requirements differ for workfare, in terms of the number of hours needed for an ABAWD to meet the work requirement. The number of required workfare hours per month is equivalent to the household’s current monthly FoodShare allotment divided by the state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher. It is not allowable to require additional hours of participation beyond the maximum requirement calculated as described above. Changes in the amount of the monthly FoodShare allotment may increase or decrease the number of required monthly hours for workfare. If there is a change in benefit amount, the FSET agency should recalculate the required number of participation hours, and apply that change beginning the month that follows the month the change in allotment becomes known to the FSET agency. The monthly hours of participation in workfare can be rounded down to the nearest whole number. However, agencies should not round down weekly participation in workfare. When monthly workfare hours do not divide into a whole number for weekly workfare activity assignment, agencies may:
Annual changes in allotment amounts, utility allowances, and other credits occur on October 1. FSET agencies should review workfare participation calculations for all ABAWDs in October.
Workfare is a household-level program, meaning that all ABAWD household members share the hourly obligation each month. FSET agencies should document in the FSET participant’s PIN comments when the participant lives in a household that includes multiple ABAWDs sharing responsibility for meeting workfare participation requirements. ABAWDs are not required to report changes in household composition to their IM agency, except at the time of FoodShare renewal or Six Month Report Form (SMRF). When a change in household composition is reported, this status change will not result in a referral update being sent to the FSET agency for individuals who remain on the case. An updated referral will be sent when an individual is deleted from a case. When the FSET worker receives a referral update for a workfare participant with a status of “FoodShare Ineligible,” they should check the CARES Worker Web (CWW) case to see if there are or were other workfare participants whose hourly participation requirement needs to be updated. See the FSET Handbook 1.4.3 Workfare for more information on assigning participants to workfare.
| Example 1: Tim and Joe are receiving $200 in FoodShare benefits per month. Minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. The FSET agency divides the monthly allotment of $200 by the minimum wage of $7.25, and determines that Tim and Joe must participate in workfare for a combined total of 27 hours per month ($200 ÷ $7.25 = 27.59 or 27 hours per month).
Tim and Joe may choose to share the responsibility equally by each participating a part of the hours per month to meet the participation requirement, or may agree to divide the hours so that one of them participates for more hours than the other. It is allowable for either Tim or Joe to complete all required household hours on his own. |
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Example 2: In August, Lisa and Kim share workfare participation requirements equally. On September 20, Lisa reports that Kim moved out of the home. Lisa becomes solely responsible for completing the workfare participation requirement effective November 1. If the change had been reported prior to September Adverse Action (AA), the change would have been effective October 1. |
Prior to placing an ABAWD in a workfare position, a workfare job search period may be established for up to 30 days. An ABAWD may only participate in workfare job search during the first 30 days after enrollment in FSET at initial certification. ABAWDs who are employed should not be assigned to workfare job search. Non-ABAWDs should not be assigned to workfare job search. See the FSET Handbook 1.4.3 Workfare for more information on assigning participants to workfare.
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Example 3: Andre is receiving $180 in FoodShare benefits per month. He is placed in workfare job search for the initial 30 days. The FSET agency divides the monthly allotment of $180 by the minimum wage of $7.25, and determines that Andre must participate in workfare job search for a combined total of 24 hours per month. ($180 ÷ $7.25 = 24.83 or 24 hours per month) to meet the work requirement. |
Because Wisconsin operates a voluntary FSET program, FSET participants are not subject to the 120 hour-a-month participation limit or the requirement that the number of hours of participation cannot exceed the household’s FoodShare allotment divided by the minimum wage. This allows individuals who work part-time or full-time to participate in FSET.
A FoodShare member may receive employment and training services to increase opportunities for job security, career enhancement and/or advancement.
This page last updated in Release Number: 18-01
Release Date: 12/14/2018
Effective Date: 12/14/2018
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-00419