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Certification Periods
CalFresh households shall be assigned certification periods that are the maximum number of months allowable under federal law for the household type or, on a case-by-case basis only, the household’s circumstances require a shorter certification period.
To align with current policy, counties will continue to certify CalFresh households, including at least one ABAWD member, for a 12-month certification period. Counties shall apply the following certification period engagement methods based on the ABAWD’s circumstances.
ABAWDs Exempt from the Time Limit
ABAWDs who meet the criteria for an exemption from the time limit at the time of application or recertification shall be certified for 12 months. In general, ABAWD exemptions are granted for the length of the certification period unless, in limited circumstances, an individual has been granted a temporary exemption.
Exception: If a temporary exemption is granted, the SSBS must notate the case file and follow up with the household prior to the anticipated end date of the exemption. At that time, the SSBS assesses whether the ABAWD continues to meet the criteria for an exemption from the time limit or must satisfy the work requirement.
Households that include an ABAWD who is exempt from the time limit must submit a complete periodic report six months after application and an annual recertification to maintain CalFresh eligibility.
ABAWDs Subject to Time Limit and Satisfying the Work Requirement
ABAWDs subject to the time limit who are satisfying the work requirement through employment or another qualifying activity at the time of application or recertification shall be certified for 12 months. Households that include an ABAWD who is satisfying the work requirement must submit a complete periodic report (SAR 7) six months after application and an annual recertification to maintain CalFresh eligibility. Individual ABAWDs subject to the time limit must answer the supplemental ABAWD questions on the periodic report to determine whether they continue to satisfy the work requirement.
Note: Households assigned to simplified reporting SAR (i.e. all households in California) cannot be required to report and verify hours worked each month. Counties may only determine and verify work hours at application and recertification. Therefore, ABAWDs who are subject to the time limit and satisfying the work requirement at the time of application or recertification are required to report to the county mid-period when they experience a reduction in work hours below 20 hours per week or 80 hours averaged monthly within 10 days of the date the drop in work hours became known to the household.
ABAWD Subject to Time Limit and Not Satisfying the Work Requirement
ABAWDs subject to the time limit who are not satisfying the work requirement at the time of application or recertification may be at risk of reaching the time limit early in their certification period. Therefore, ABAWDs who are subject to the time limit but do not satisfy the work requirement at the time of application or recertification will be certified for 12 months with the addition of monthly engagement by the county. Monthly engagement is intended to ensure that ABAWDs who are subject to the time limit but are not satisfying the work requirement are aware of options available to them to satisfy the work requirement and retain benefits.
Reminder: Households assigned to simplified reporting (i.e. Semi-Annual Reporting) cannot be required to report and verify hours worked each month. Therefore, if an ABAWD who is not satisfying the work requirement at the time of application or recertification becomes employed or begins participating in a qualifying work activity, it is the responsibility of the ABAWD to inform the county of the change, or they will continue to accrue countable months. This is not an additional required mid-period report, but SSBS should inform ABAWDs to report such changes in circumstances as it could prevent the household from inadvertently losing benefits when they may still be eligible.
If an ABAWD subject to the time limit, who is not satisfying the work requirement at the time of application or recertification, does not inform the county that they have engaged in employment, qualifying work activity or have become exempt, the county must assume that the ABAWD has reached the time limit after three countable months of benefits have been issued. The county must send the Notice of Discontinuance for Failure to Meet the ABAWD Work Requirement (CF 377.11) before enforcing the time limit.
Sometimes, the county may have already issued benefits the month after an ABAWD has used their three countable months and reached the time limit. In these circumstances, the SSBS may apply an exemption to avoid an overissuance of benefits.
Note: Households may only be assigned a certification period of less than 12 months if their circumstances require a shorter period. This determination may only be made on a case-by-case basis.
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