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29 Section 260 Change #02-2025 December 1, 2025 FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FNS 260 ABLE-BODIED ADULTS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS (ABAWD)

1. Pend applications, reapplications, and late recertifications for postponed verification when an ABAWD has already been assigned 3 countable months in the 36-month period if the ABAWD claims physical or mental unfitness for work or another exemption, and the self-attestation to verify the exemption is questionable, or the individual’s unfitness for work is not obvious. a. Pend the case until the ABAWD or a collateral contact provides verification of the exemption. b. If verification of the exemption is received within 30 days, approve the case back to the original date of application even if the onset of the exemption is after the date of application but during the same calendar month. c. If the ABAWD has been assigned 3 countable months, they are not eligible for expedited service unless the verification (if needed) is provided within 7 days of the expedited processing requirements. 2. Pend a case when an ABAWD has been assigned 3 countable months in the 36-month period at the time of an application and has not yet become exempt or compliant but has the potential to earn 80 hours within the 30-day processing period. a. If the ABAWD earns 80 hours within the processing time frame, and all other eligibility requirements are met, approve the reapplication from the original date of application. b. If the ABAWD does not earn 80 hours within the 30-day processing period, deny the application. D. Recertification: 1. At recertification the worker must explore each previously countable ABAWD month during the prior certification period to determine whether the ABAWD met an exemption or complied with the work requirement in that month. 2. If during the prior certification period an individual had a non-reportable change in circumstance that resulted in the loss of an exemption, the individual cannot be retroactively assigned countable because the individual had not been screened to determine whether any other exemptions could have applied. 3. Reevaluate exemptions for ongoing eligibility, but do not request additional verifications of exemptions if the information is already known to the agency and sufficient for verification;