Page 52

WORK REGISTRANT DATA The SNAP general work requirements are described at 7 CFR 273.7(a). Individuals who do not meet a federal exemption from the general work requirements, as listed in 7 CFR 273.7(b)(1), are subject to the general work requirement and must register for work. In accordance with 7 CFR 273.7(c)(10), the State agency must submit to FNS the number of work registrants in the State as of October 1st. This information is submitted on the first quarter E&T Program Activity Report (FNS-583). Describe the process the State agency uses to count all work registrants in the State as of the first day of the new fiscal year (October 1). The work registrant count is extracted from the BEACON eligibility system based on individual SNAP client coding. To determine the unduplicated count of work registrants in Massachusetts as of October 1st the total number of work registrants on the first day of the federal fiscal year is identified by determining the total population of SNAP participants between the ages of 16 and 59 (inclusive), excluding those who meet exemption criteria identified at 7 CFR 273.7(b)(1). Provide information about how work registrant data is pulled from the eligibility system, including the date the data is pulled. The Work Registrants for FNS-583 Report is run quarterly (on 10/1 and at the close of each federal fiscal year quarter for the preceding 3- month period) and is available on demand. The report is cumulative, displaying the work registrant count on 10/1 and the number of new (unduplicated) registrants for each month year to date thereafter. How are work registrants identified in the eligibility system? SNAP recipients are screened to determine if they are subject to the General Work Rules (GWR) as part of the application and recertification interview process, when a member is added to an existing SNAP household, and when certain changes have been reported during the certification period. Each household member’s responses to screening questions are captured on the SNAP Work Rules Screening Page on BEACON. If the responses to one or more of the screening questions is yes, the recipient is coded as General Work Rules Required = No. If all screening questions were answered negatively, the recipient is coded as General Work Rules Required = Yes. The work requirement start date is also captured. Describe measures taken to prevent duplicate counting of work registrants within the federal fiscal year. To determine the unduplicated count of work registrants in Massachusetts throughout the federal fiscal year: 1. The total number of work registrants on the first day of the federal fiscal year are identified by determining the total population of SNAP participants (applicants and recipients) between the ages of 16 and 59 (inclusive), excluding those who meets exemption criteria identified at 7 CFR 273.7(b)(1). 2. A list of the work registrants identified above is maintained. 3. On the last day of each month thereafter, the total number of new work registrants for the month is determined by: • determining the total population of SNAP participants (applicants and recipients) between the ages of 16 and 59 (including 16 and 59), excluding those who meets exemption criteria identified at 7 CFR 273.7(b)(1); and • comparing the resulting list to the previous lists for the fiscal year, filtering out anyone who appeared previously, to ensure that individuals who register more than once during the program year are counted only once. For example: At the end of October new work registrants are identified and counted. New registrants may be non-exempt people who became active on SNAP or people whose work requirement status has changed. Those who were already counted as part of the 10/01 list of registrants are excluded from the count. At the end of November, new work registrants are identified and counted, excluding those already counted on the 10/01 list or as a new registrant in October. At the end of December, new work registrants are identified and counted, excluding those already counted on the 10/01 list or as a new registrant in October or November. This continues monthly for the remainder of the federal fiscal year. 1/29/26, 8:19 AM State Plan MA FY26 - Original Submission https://dam-fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/microsite/snapet-mafy26stateplan//index.html 52/167