Page 11

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS State agencies are required to include information on 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. For the purposes of the questions below, E&T providers are considered to include units of the statewide workforce development system. FNS is specifically interested in ensuring that the lines of communication are efficient and that, if applicable, noncompliance with mandatory E&T is reported to the certification unit within 10 working days after the noncompliance occurs, per 7 CFR 273.7(c)(4). State agencies must also include information on the relationship between the State agency and other organizations it plans to coordinate with for the provision of services. The following questions are about how the E&T program is structured in your State agency. Indicate which division within the SNAP State agency is responsible for the E&T program. (i.e. establishes E&T policy, contracts for E&T services, monitors providers). For example, explain if the E&T program unit is separate from the SNAP certification unit, and if there are separate E&T units at the county level. The Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS), Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division SNAP office directly oversees all E&T policy including contracting and contract monitoring of awarded providers. E&T program functions outside of our SNAP certification units who are overseen by Statewide Branch Administration. E&T units are contracted and awarded to Goodwill Industries of Hawaii for Oahu and Maui islands and to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for Kauai and Hawaii islands and the University of Hawaii Community Colleges for SNAP household members that participate in the community college system for E&T services. All E&T providers operate separately from SNAP certification units. How does the E&T unit coordinate and communicate on an ongoing basis with the units responsible for certification policy? E&T units provide communication to certification units via DHS 880 regarding all participation via email or mail. All other communications are handled via email or phone. Each certification unit has a specific worker assigned to work programs, including E&T. Describe the State's relationships and communication with intermediaries or E&T providers. The EWs at the DHS Processing Centers (PC) communicate and share participant data and information via the Hawaii Automated Welfare Information (HAWI) system which communicates to Hawaii Automated Network Assistance (HANA) which is the system used by the E&T case managers. Describe how the State agency shares new policies, procedures, or other information with the intermediary or other E&T provider. Policies, procedures, and other information is communicated via meetings, emails, phone calls as needed. The State agency will be conducting a refresher training for all E&T staff as a part of the "More than a Job" campaign as certain functions in the HANA system will need to be updated to comply with the required components for the E&T program. The state agency will also continue quarterly meeting beginning the second quarter of FY2026 to regularly conduct informational workshops and encourage conversation between providers to discuss concerns, milestones, program support needs, and any other information with our E&T partners. 1/28/26, 11:52 AM State Plan HI FY26 - Original Submission https://dam-fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/microsite/snapet-hify26stateplan//index.html 11/86