Losing Eligibility

An ABAWD who has exhausted their three countable months during the 36-month period and is not otherwise exempt is ineligible for CalFresh benefits. The individual shall remain ineligible for the remainder of the 36-month period unless they regain eligibility, qualify for an ABAWD exemption, or move to a waived county or area.

The SSBS must discontinue an ABAWD’s CalFresh benefits with timely and adequate notice if they have exhausted their three countable months and reached the time limit. The SSBS must send the Notice of Discontinuance for Failure to Meet the ABAWD Work Requirement (CF 377.11) informing the client of the discontinuance and explaining how the client may regain eligibility. This notice must be sent no later than 10 days after the ABAWD individual reports a drop in work hours or the county becomes aware they are no longer satisfying the work requirement.

ABAWDs subject to the time limit have an additional mandatory reporting requirement and must inform the county of a reduction in work hours below 20 hours per week (averaged monthly) within 10 days of the date the drop in work hours became known to the household.

If it is discovered that a client has used their third countable month and the next month of benefits has already been issued, the county may determine that the ABAWD had good cause for failure to satisfy the work requirement; assign an exemption for the month following the third countable month. In these instances, the SSBS must notify the client their case will be discontinued effective the following month.

Note: In the event the SSBS is already aware that the client is not satisfying the work requirement, and has received their third countable month, the SSBS has flexibility to send the NOA in the third countable month to provide the household more time to respond. If the client later reports that they did in fact satisfy the work requirement, the third countable month can be retroactively removed.

Note: There will be some cases where a client will receive a discontinuance NOA in month 3 and others where a client will receive their NOA in month 4. The SSBS must send the Notice of Discontinuance for Failure to Meet the ABAWD Work Requirement at least 10 days prior to case closure, but the SSBS has flexibility to send it sooner to provide the household more time to respond. In the event the client reports a drop in work hours after CalFresh benefits have been issued and all three countable months have been used, the NOA should be sent no later than 10 days following the date of the mandatory report. This discontinuance NOA will be sent in the fourth month because the ABAWD is allowed 10 days after the end of the month to make a mandatory report of a drop in work hours for the prior month.

If the ABAWD individual has been discontinued and is no longer eligible for benefits, he/she is now considered an ineligible household member. Such individuals shall be excluded when determining the size of the CalFresh household. The entirety of their resources and a prorated share of their income shall be used when calculating the household’s CalFresh allotment.

Note: In CalFresh households of more than one, benefits are only discontinued for the ABAWD member who is subject to the time limit and failed to satisfy the work requirement, not the entire household.

Administrative Hearings

The following procedures apply if an ABAWD requests an administrative hearing:

• The 36-month period is paused by removing the third countable month and benefits will continue until there is a hearing decision;
• If the hearing decision is in the county’s favor, the original third countable month is counted and the case will close (if there are no other eligible members) and an overissuance will be established for any CalFresh benefits received in error following the third countable month; or
• If the hearing decision is in the client’s favor, benefits received are retained and the SSBS must review ABAWD participation status for ongoing months.