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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: November 10, 2015 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 1 <br /> SUBJECT: Eligibility Changes for Food and Nutrition Benefit Recipients <br /> DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Nancy Coston, 919-245-2800 <br /> Lindsey Shewmaker, 245-2800 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive information about eligibility changes occurring for Orange County <br /> participants in Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), formerly known as food stamps. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Food and Nutrition Services program has included certain work <br /> registration requirements. The most restrictive work requirements apply to the Able Bodied <br /> Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD). Since 2008 and after the economic downturn, North <br /> Carolina has been operating under a federal ABAWD waiver of the work requirements. <br /> Because the unemployment rate has improved, some counties, including Orange, will no longer <br /> be able to operate under the waiver effective January 1, 2016. <br /> The people who are subject to these work requirements are between 18 and 49 years old, do <br /> not live in a households with minors and have not been determined to be disabled. There are <br /> also some temporary exceptions such as medical hardship. For those who are subject to the <br /> work requirements, these individuals must be employed or in approved employment and training <br /> activities for an average of at least twenty hours per week to be eligible to receive benefits for <br /> the month. Individuals are allowed to receive benefits for only three months during thirty-six <br /> months without meeting the work requirements. <br /> Initial data indicate over 1,500 individuals in Orange County who receive FNS benefits are <br /> subject to the ABAWD requirement. It appears that about half have some earned income, but <br /> the current records do not reflect the participants' hours worked or hours attending qualifying <br /> employment activities. <br /> There are many tasks that must be completed by Department of Social Services (DSS) staff <br /> related to these new requirements. The first is to assess the 1,500 clients and to identify those <br /> not already meeting these requirements. Other tasks involve developing procedures for tracking <br /> all of these activities and training staff on the new NCFAST processes related to the new <br />