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NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance- TA and SNAP Employment Policy Manual Section 385.3 - Page 33 Rev. 4/2025 Part C - Questions and Answers ABAWDs Q.1 Are all adults in a household that contains a child under 18 years of age exempt from the ABAWD requirements? A.1 Yes. All adults in a SNAP household that includes a child under 18 years of age are exempt from the ABAWD requirements. (The definition of a SNAP household can be found at 18 NYCRR 387.1(w)). Districts must determine how ABAWD requirements affect individuals who reside in the same dwelling unit but receive SNAP benefits separately. For example, if a dwelling unit contains a SNAP household consisting of four persons (including a child under 18 years of age), and a separate SNAP household consisting of a single able-bodied adult, all adults in the four-person SNAP household would be exempt from ABAWD requirements based on the presence of the child under 18 years of age. The adult in the other SNAP household is considered an ABAWD and is subject to ABAWD requirements. Q.2 Are districts required to assign ABAWDs to work programs to maintain eligibility for SNAP? A.2 Yes. Districts that do not have an approved ABAWD waiver for all residents of the district are required to offer and provide an ABAWD qualifying work or training opportunity to all ABAWDs who are subject to the ABAWD requirements to maintain or re-establish eligibility for SNAP benefits. The offer of a qualifying work or training opportunity must be provided at certification, recertification, and anytime during the certification period when an individual’s status changes and the individual is subject to the ABAWD time limit. Q.3 Is an ABAWD who lost a job or work assignment eligible for an additional 3 months of SNAP benefits (grace period)? A.3 No. Only an individual who has regained eligibility following ABAWD noncompliance and subsequently loses a job or work assignment may be eligible for the additional 3-month grace period. Q.4 Are individuals who are determined to be ABAWDs allowed three “free” months of SNAP benefits before becoming subject to the ABAWD requirements? A.4 No. Individuals who are determined to be ABAWDs are allowed only three months of SNAP benefits during the fixed 36-month period if not meeting the ABAWD requirement. Districts must inform these individuals of the SNAP work requirements they are subject to, including the ABAWD work rules by issuing the LDSS-5193 Important Information about SNAP Work Rules (General, Mandatory E&T, and ABAWD) to the household and providing them with an oral explanation of the pertinent work requirements. The written notice and the oral explanation must be provided to the household at application, recertification, and when a previously exempt household member or a new household member becomes subject to