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NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance- TA and SNAP Employment Policy Manual

Section 385.8- Page 8 Rev. 3/2022 Denominator for federal All Families: For TANF/SNA MOE, the participation rate denominator is the number of cases headed by an adult or minor head of household in the TANF or SNA MOE universe for the month, without regard to employability status, that remain after cases have been removed due to federal exclusions, which are detailed below. An adult is defined as an active recipient of TA, who is above the age of 17, or is a 16 or 17-year old individual who has completed High School or its equivalency. Denominator for State SNA non-MOE: For SNA non-MOE, the denominator is the number of SNA non-MOE universe cases with an adult, without regard to employability status. For this purpose, an adult is an active recipient of an assistance payment, with an Individual Disposition Status or 07, 10 or 17. There are no adjustments to the SNA non-MOE denominator related to sanction process or caretaker status. Numerator: Represents the cases (individuals for SNA non-MOE) that are participating in a manner sufficient to be included in the participant counts. Countable hours of participation include projected actual (scheduled) hours for paid activities but only actual hours for all unpaid work activities. For SNA non-MOE the numerator also includes the engagement process for limited timeframes. Assignment to Work Activities: Assessing all adults in a comprehensive manner and assigning them to appropriate activities enhances their movement toward self-sufficiency and concurrently ensures that the local district and State achieve the required federal participation rates and avoid significant federal fiscal penalties. Discretion in Making Assignments: Local districts have discretion in making work activity assignments that expedite an individual’s transition to work. Local districts are encouraged to make assignments that address individual needs and self-sufficiency goals and at the same time attain participation rates, to the extent possible. Minimum Participation Guidelines: State and federal regulations establish minimum requirements for engagement in countable work activities for a certain number of hours weekly in order to achieve countability. However, countability does not represent the standard for achieving maximum participation. The goal should be to attain full engagement (up to 40 hours weekly) for all adults. Level of Participation: Employment staff should determine the length and level of client participation in work activities best aligned with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency for that client, within State guidelines. Nonexempt clients may be assigned to one or more work activities for up to 40 hours per week. Work Experience Activity: Work experience participants cannot be required to participate, on a monthly basis, more than the number of hours derived by dividing the total TA grant plus SNAP benefit by the federal or State minimum wage, whichever is higher. Weekly hours of participation are then derived by dividing that number by 4.333. When the maximum number of work experience hours weekly is less than twenty the federal reporting methodology allows the State to deem those hours to meet the requirement of 20 hours in a core activity. Subsequently, any hours of participation in other activities are added to the deemed 20 hours towards achieving the 30-hour weekly standard for those single parent family cases without a child under