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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 3

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 18 Chapter 3 Eligibility Determination Groups

3.2.1.D.4 Exemptions from ABAWD Time Limits and ABAWD Work Requirements SNAP benefits received while exempt do not count toward the three-month limit. Eligibility workers must use all available information to verify exemption status, including household attestation. Workers are not required to verify exemption status, unless the situation is questionable. Questionable ABAWD exemption information must be decided on a case-by-case basis. State agencies must apply updated exemptions at certification and recertification. Exemptions cannot be removed unless an individual has been screened. An individual is exempt if he: • Is under 18 or is 65 years of age or older. • Is an Indian, Urban Indian, or California Indian, as those terms are defined in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. o This includes individuals who are members of a federally recognized Indian tribe, band, nation, or Alaska Native village or corporation eligible for federal programs and services provided to Indians; individuals residing in an urban center who meet Indian ancestry or recognition criteria established by the Secretaries of the Interior or Health and Human Services; and individuals of California Indian descent recognized under 25 U.S.C. § 1679(a). • Receives SNAP benefits in a SNAP AG that contains an individual under the age of 14, even if the household member who is under 14 is not eligible for SNAP himself; • Is responsible for the care of an incapacitated person, whether or not the person receiving the care resides with the client, and whether or not the incapacitated person is a member of the AG; o Caring for an incapacitated person must prevent the client from being able to complete a work activity. • Is receiving Unemployment Compensation Insurance (UCI). An individual who has applied for but is not yet receiving unemployment compensation is also exempt if he is complying with the unemployment application process, including those applying out of state. This includes persons receiving benefits under the Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA); • Is certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment according to the provisions in Section 13.15; • Is pregnant, regardless of the expected date of delivery. A pregnant person must not be made to verify their pregnancy as an ABAWD if they have already demonstrated their status as pregnant for another program, i.e. Medicaid;