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Part V

Chapter 1 - Work Requirements

INTRODUCTION 1.1 This chapter applies only to TANF and FS. It details federal and District regulations for work and work- related activities that applicants/recipients must meet to be eligible for TANF and FS programs. This chapter also describes the consequences of an applicant/recipient voluntarily quitting a job without good cause.

Applicants/recipients who do not meet the work requirements will be sanctioned. Individuals who voluntarily quit a job without good cause are sanctioned differently from those who fail to comply with work activity requirements.

District and/or federal TANF and FS rules place work-related requirements on applicants/recipients. In addition, federal TANF law mandates that the Department meet specified work participation rates. That is, federal law mandates that a certain proportion of adult TANF recipients participate in certain work activities.

Where appropriate, this chapter provides information on applicant, recipient, and Department requirements within each section. Under both TANF and FS, applicants/recipients may be exempted from work and work-related activities or may establish that they have a good cause reason for failing to participate. Individuals who are exempt are not required to participate in work activities, and, thus, are not subject to work-related sanctions. Individuals who fail to participate with good cause are not sanctioned for failing to comply with work requirements.

In TANF, the head of household who is non-exempt is subject to work requirements. In a TANF two-parent household, both parents are subject to work requirements if neither qualifies for an exemption.

In FS, all adults in the household who are non-exempt are subject to work activity requirements.

A Preliminary Assessment for TANF Applicants must be completed along with the Combined Application (CA). The purpose of the Preliminary Assessment is to assist IMA staff in determining whether the individual should be exempt from work activities, recommended for the Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibility (POWER) or mandated to participate in TANF work activities.

LEGAL AUTHORITY 1.2

AREA/TOPIC DISTRICT FEDERAL Work D.C. Code 4-205.19 and 19a-19e, 4- 45 CFR 261, Subparts A, B, C Requirements 250.50, 4- 250.65; 29 DCMR FS: 7 USC 2015(d); 7 CFR 273.7 5804 - 5809, 5811, 5813 Sanctions D.C. Code 4-205.19f; 29 DCMR 5810, 5811, 5812 TANF: 45 CFR 261.13-16; 261.56 FS: 7 USC 2015(d); 7 CFR 273.7

WORK REQUIREMENTS 1.3

TANF Applicant Requirements TANF applicants who are single-parent heads of household or parents in a two-parent