County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Employment Training Number Page 63901 1 of 3 Revision Date 01012020 Background The Food Security Act of 1985 Public Law 99198 also known as the 1985 US Farm Bill mandated that all states develop and implement an Employment and Training ET Program for CalFresh work registrants The County of San Diegos ET Program includes four components Workfare WF Supervised Job Search SJS Education and Work ExperienceApprenticeship WE In January 2012 when several cities in the County were deemed labor surplus areas LSAs and therefore deferred from participation San Diego County changed to a voluntary ET Program This section has been revised to update the ET component in the county of San Diegos ET program Policy 639011 Purpose and Goals Under the ET program certain ablebodied CalFresh recipients are required to be involved in meaningful workrelated activities which will eventually lead to paid employment and a decreased dependence on assistance programs The components of San Diegos ET program are designed specifically to assist CalFresh recipients in gaining skills training and work experience that will increase their ability to obtain regular employment 639012 Participation Effective July 1 2010 participation in ET is limited to a target population of General Relief GRCalFresh recipients and NonAssistance CalFresh NACF volunteers Note While only the target population and NACF volunteers are referred to participate in the ET program all nonexempt CalFresh recipients are required to be work registered for statistical purposes Processing Guide 90101 639013 Exemption Criteria The following people are exempt from work registration for the ET Program A person younger than 16 years of age or a person 60 years of age or older People aged 16 or 17 who are not the head of household or who are attending school or enrolled in an employment training program at least halftime A person physically or mentally unfit for employment A household member registered in the CalWORKs WelfaretoWork Program A parent or other household member who is responsible for the care of a dependent child under 6 or a disabled person A person who is receiving unemployment benefits UIB or who has applied for but has not yet received UIB o Workers are not required to verify that the customer registered for work with EDD Confirmation that the customer has applied for or is receiving UIB through the EDD RealTime Match is sufficient to exempt a customer from ET registration A regular participant in a drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program A person who is employed or selfemployed and working at least 30 hours a week or who is receiving weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Employment Training Number Page 63901 2 of 3 o If the net income from a selfemployment enterprise is less than the Federal Minimum Wage multiplied by 30 hours a week selfemployed people must provide verification that they are working at least 30 hours per week A student who is enrolled at least halftime in any recognized school training program or institution of higher education and has met the student exemption eligibility conditions See 631623 for student exemption eligibility conditions Recognized school or training programs consist of high schools and training courses operated by public or private agencies Verify the status of an ET exemption only when questionable Processing Guide 11701 639014 When to Register Identify and work register all nonexempt CalFresh CF recipients at Intake Recertification When changes occur in the composition of the CF household For Instructions on referring the Target Population and Volunteers see Processing Guide 90101 Procedure Administration ET Social Workers SWs are colocated with eligibility workers in certain County Family Resource Centers FRCs The ET SWs are placed as closely as possible to the workers with whom they work This proximity allows for timely communication between SWs and workers Loss of Exemption Due to Changes in Circumstances During the Certification PeriodSemiAnnual Reporting SAR Households People losing their exemption status due to any change in circumstance and who are subject to SAR requirements must be registered for the ET program at their households next recertification For example a person who was exempt from registration at initial application due to a broken leg would not have to be registered until the next recertification Loss of ET Exemption Due to Failure to Participate in WelfaretoWork People who become ineligible to participate in the WTW program due to a change in household circumstances other than failure to comply with the requirements of that program must be ET work registered within 10 calendar days from the date they lose their eligibility for that program See 63905 for treatment of people who fail to comply with the requirements of another program ET vs GR Work RequirementET The number of hours of Workfare assigned each month is determined by dividing the households CalFresh allotment by the federal or State minimum wage whichever is higher Fractions of hours of obligation will be rounded down GR Job Training JT work hours will be determined by dividing the GR allotment by the federal or State minimum wage whichever is higher As GR workdays are 8 hours hours of obligation will be rounded down to the nearest increment of 8 Note The ET and GR work assignment hours will be completed at the same time not added together Supervised Job Search SJS County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Employment Training Number Page 63901 3 of 3 SJS will require each participant to complete at least 12 hours of job search at one of the San Diego Workforce Partnership Career Centers ET is aligned with current GR SJS requirements The ET Social Worker SW will provide the participant with a Supervised Job Search Form 2246 for each month assigned to be completed and signed by the Career Center staff and to be returned to SW by the 5th of the following month If participants fail to complete their assignments without good cause they will be notified that they will be dropped from the ET program and will no longer be able to receive support services As ET is a voluntary program at this time there is no disqualification from receiving CalFresh benefits for noncompliance CalFresh Processing Guide 90101 Staff Responsibilities CalFresh Processing Guide 90102 ET OrientationAssessment Interview CalFresh Processing Guide 90103 Employment Reporting Other Program Impacts Refer to the GR Program Guide for additional instructions References MPP 63407 Work Registration Requirements CFR 2737 Work Provisions Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance on or before 12312022 Approval for Release RICK WANNE Director Eligibility Operations