[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7 Volume 4]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR273.22]

[Page 779-788]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 273--CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 273.22  Optional workfare program.

    (a) General. This section contains rules which are to be followed in 
operating a Food Stamp Workfare Program. Under this program, nonexempt 
food stamp recipients may be required to perform work in a public 
service capacity as a condition of eligibility to receive the coupon 
allotment to which

[[Page 780]]

their household is normally entitled. The primary goal of workfare is to 
improve employability and enable individuals to move into regular 
employment.
    (b) Program administration. (1) A food stamp workfare program may be 
operated as part of a State's employment and training program, required 
in Sec. 273.7(f) or may be operated independent of such a program. If 
the workfare program is part of the State's employment and training 
program it shall be included as a component in the State's employment 
and training plan in accordance with the requirements of Sec. 273.7(c). 
If it is operated independent of the E&T program, the State must submit 
a workfare plan to FNS for its approval in accordance with the 
requirements of this section. For the purpose of this section, a 
political subdivision is any local government, including, but not 
limited to, any county, city, town or parish. A State agency may 
implement a workfare program statewide or in only some areas of the 
State. The areas of operation must be identified in the State workfare 
or employment and training plan.
    (2) Political subdivisions are encouraged, but not required, to 
submit their plans to FNS through their respective State agencies. At a 
minimum, however, plans shall be submitted to the State agencies 
concurrent with their submission to FNS. Workfare plans and subsequent 
amendments shall not be implemented prior to their approval by FNS.
    (3) When a State agency chooses to sponsor a workfare program by 
submitting a plan to FNS, it shall incorporate the approved plan into 
its State Plan of Operations. When a political subdivision chooses to 
sponsor a workfare program by submitting a plan to FNS, the State agency 
shall be responsible as a facilitator in the administration of the 
program by disbursing Federal funding and meeting the requirements 
identified in paragraph (d) of this section. Upon notification that FNS 
has approved a workfare plan submitted by a political subdivision in its 
State, the State agency shall append that political subdivision's 
workfare plan to its own State Plan of Operations.
    (4) The operating agency is that administrative organization which 
has been identified in the workfare plan as being responsible for 
establishing job sites, assigning eligible recipients to the job sites, 
and meeting the requirements of this section. The operating agency may 
be any public or private, nonprofit organization. The State agency or 
political subdivision which submitted the workfare plan shall be 
responsible for monitoring the operating agency's compliance with the 
requirements of this section or of the workfare plan. The Secretary may 
suspend or terminate some or all workfare program funding, or withdraw 
approval of the workfare program from the State agency or political 
subdivision which submitted the workfare plan upon finding that that 
State agency or political subdivision, or their respective operating 
agencies have failed to comply with the requirements of this section or 
of the workfare plan.
    (5) State agencies or other political subdivisions shall describe in 
detail in the plan how the political subdivision, working with the State 
agency and any other cooperating agencies that may be involved in the 
program, shall fulfill the provisions of this section. The plan shall 
include workload projections, staffing plans, interagency communication 
plans, and specific operational agreements developed by the agencies 
involved. The plan shall be a one-time submittal, with amendments 
submitted as needed to cover any changes in the workfare program as they 
occur.
    (6) State agencies or political subdivisions submitting a workfare 
plan shall submit with the plan an operating budget covering the period 
from the initiation of the workfare program's implementation schedule to 
the close of the Federal fiscal year. In addition, an estimate of the 
cost for one full year of operation shall be submitted together with the 
workfare plan. For subsequent fiscal years, the workfare program budget 
shall be included in the State agency's budget.
    (7) If workfare plans are submitted by more than one political 
subdivision, each representing the same population (such as a city 
within a county), the Department shall determine which political 
subdivision will have its plan

[[Page 781]]

approved. Under no circumstances shall a food stamp recipient be subject 
to more than one food stamp workfare program. If a political subdivision 
chooses to operate a workfare program and represents a population which 
is already, at least in part, subject to a food stamp workfare program 
administered by another political subdivision, it must establish in its 
workfare plan how food stamp recipients will not be subject to more than 
one food stamp workfare program.
    (c) Operating agency responsibilities. (1) The operating agency, as 
designated by the State agency or other political subdivision which 
submits a plan, shall be responsible for establishing and monitoring job 
sites, interviewing and assessing eligible recipients, assigning 
eligible recipients to appropriate job sites, monitoring participant 
compliance, making initial determinations of good cause for household 
noncompliance, and otherwise meeting the requirements of this section.
    (2) Establishment of job sites. Workfare job slots may only be 
located in public or private, nonprofit agencies. Contractual agreements 
must be established between the operating agency and organizations 
providing jobs which include but are not limited to designation of the 
slots available and designation of responsibility for provision of 
benefits, if any are required, to the workfare participant.
    (3) Notifying State agency of noncompliance. The operating agency 
shall notify the State agency of noncompliance by a household with a 
workfare obligation when it has determined that the household did not 
have good cause for the non-compliance. This notification shall occur 
within five days of such determination so that the State agency may make 
a final determination as provided in paragraph (d)(4) of this section.
    (4) Notifications. Notices shall be established to be used as 
follows: (i) For the State agency to notify the operating agency of 
workfare-eligible households. Included in this notice shall be the case 
name, case number, names of workfare-eligible household members, address 
of the household, certification period, and indication of any part-time 
work. If the State agency is calculating the hours of obligation, this 
shall also be included in this notice. If the operating agency is 
computing the hours to be worked, the monthly allotment shall be 
included.
    (ii) For operating agencies to notify the workfare participant of 
where and when the participant is to report, to whom the participant is 
to report, a brief description of duties for the particular placement, 
and the number of hours to be worked.
    (iii) For operating agencies to notify the State agency of failure 
by a household to meet its workfare obligation.
    (5) Recordkeeping requirements. (i) Files must be maintained which 
record activity by workfare participants. At a minimum, these records 
must contain job sites and hours assigned, hours completed, and 
communications with the State agency and job sites.
    (ii) Program records shall be maintained in an orderly fashion, for 
audit and review purposes, for a period of 3 years from the month of 
origin of each record. Fiscal records and accountable documents shall be 
retained for 3 years from the date of fiscal or administrative closure 
of the workfare program. Fiscal closure, as used in this paragraph, 
means that workfare program obligations for or against the Federal 
government have been liquidated. Administrative closure, as used in this 
paragraph, means that the operating agency or Federal government has 
determined and documented that no further action to liquidate the 
workfare program obligation is appropriate. Fiscal records and 
accountable records shall be kept in a manner which will permit 
verification of direct monthly reimbursements to recipients, in 
accordance with paragraph (f)(4) of this section.
    (6) Reporting requirements. The operating agency shall be 
responsible for providing information needed by the State agency to 
fulfill the reporting requirements stated in paragraph (d)(6) of this 
section.
    (7) Disclosure. The provisions of Sec. 272.1(c) restricting the use 
and disclosure of information obtained from food stamp households shall 
be applicable to the administration of the workfare program.
    (8) Grievance procedures. The operating agency may establish a 
system

[[Page 782]]

for handling complaints filed by workfare participants regarding their 
working conditions, perceived noncompliance by job sites with the 
provisions of this section, or any other area related to their workfare 
participation. This procedure need not handle complaints that can be 
pursued through a fair hearing nor may choosing not to use this 
procedure preclude a participant from requesting a fair hearing. If 
established, a description of this system shall be included in the 
workfare plan. Complaints which have not been resolved through this 
system and those against the operating agency shall be forwarded to the 
State agency and handled by the State agency according to the provisions 
of Sec. 271.6. Workfare participants shall be informed of the grievance 
procedure.
    (d) State agency responsibilities. (1) If a political subdivision 
chooses to operate a workfare program, the State agency shall cooperate 
with the political subdivision in developing a plan. This includes 
providing caseload and cost estimates, as well as being available for 
consultation on the design of the administrative structure and 
interagency communications for the program. The State agency may decide 
what its workfare policy shall be in three areas. They are the 
definition of reimbursable expenses, the definition of good cause, and 
the sanctioning of members of divided households (paragraphs (f)(4), 
(f)(5), and (f)(6)(ii) of this section, respectively). The State agency 
may either accept the policies contained in these paragraphs or 
determine its own policies, subject to the requirements of section 20 of 
the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended, and the approval of FNS. Until 
the Food and Nutrition Service approves any alternate policies of the 
State agency, the provisions of paragraphs (f)(4), (f)(5), and 
(f)(6)(ii) of this section shall apply.
    (2) The State agency shall determine at certification or 
recertification which household members are eligible for the workfare 
program and inform the household representative of the nature of the 
program and of the penalties for noncompliance. If the State agency is 
not the operating agency, each member of a household who is subject to 
workfare under paragraph (e)(1) of this section shall be referred to the 
organization which is the operating agency. The information identified 
in paragraph (c)(4)(i) of this section shall be forwarded to the 
operating agency within 5 days after the date of household 
certification. Computation of hours to be worked may be delegated to the 
operating agency.
    (3) The State agency shall inform the household and the operating 
agency of the effect of any changes in a household's circumstances on 
the household's workfare obligation. This includes changes in benefit 
levels or workfare eligibility.
    (4) Upon notification by the operating agency that a participant has 
failed to comply with the workfare requirement without good cause, the 
State agency shall make a final determination as to whether or not such 
failure occurred and whether there was good cause for any such failure. 
If the State agency determines that the participant did not have good 
cause for noncompliance, a sanction shall be processed as provided in 
paragraph (f)(6) of this section. The State agency shall immediately 
inform the operating agency of the months during which the sanction 
shall apply.
    (5) The State agency shall maintain in each household's casefile all 
workfare-related forms used by the State agency in meeting the 
requirements of this section.
    (6) The State agency shall submit quarterly reports to FNS within 45 
days of the end of each quarter identifying for that quarter for that 
State:
    (i) The number of households referred to the operating agency as 
containing workfare-eligible recipients. A household shall be counted as 
referred each time it is referred to the operating agency.
    (ii) The number of households assigned to jobs each month by the 
operating agency.
    (iii) The number of individuals assigned to jobs each month by the 
operating agency.
    (iv) The total number of hours worked by participants.

[[Page 783]]

    (v) The number of households against which sanctions were applied. A 
household being sanctioned over two quarters should only be reported as 
sanctioned for the earlier quarter.
    (7) The State agency may, at its option, assume responsibility for 
monitoring all workfare programs in its State to assure that there is 
compliance with this section and with the plan submitted and approved by 
FNS. Should the State agency assume this responsibility, it would act as 
agent for FNS which is ultimately responsible for ensuring such 
compliance. Should the State agency determine that noncompliance exists, 
it may withhold funding until compliance is achieved or FNS directs 
otherwise. FNS shall be notified prior to the withholding of funds of 
the circumstances leading to that action. At a minimum, the State agency 
shall perform onsite reviews of each workfare program once within six 
months of the program's implementation and then in accordance with the 
Management Evaluation review schedule for that program area.
    (e) Household responsibilities--(1) Persons subject to workfare. 
Household members subject to the work registration requirements as 
provided in Sec. 273.7(a) shall also be subject to the workfare 
requirements. In addition:
    (i) Those recipients exempt from work registration requirements due 
to being subject to the work incentive program (WIN) under title IV of 
the Social Security Act shall be subject to workfare if they are 
currently involved less than 20 hours a week in WIN. Those recipients 
involved 20 hours a week or more may be subject to workfare at the 
option of the political subdivision.
    (ii) Those recipients exempt from work registration requirements due 
to the application for or receipt of unemployment compensation shall be 
subject to workfare requirements; and
    (iii) Those recipients exempt from work registration requirements 
due to being a parent or other household member responsible for the care 
of a dependent child between the ages of six and twelve shall be subject 
to workfare requirements. If the child has its sixth birthday within a 
certification period, the individual responsible for the care of the 
child shall be subject to the workfare requirement as part of the next 
scheduled recertification process, unless the individual qualifies for 
another exemption.
    (2) Household obligation. The maximum total number of hours of work 
required of a household each month shall be determined by dividing the 
household's coupon allotment by the Federal or State minimum wage, 
whichever is higher. Fractions of hours of obligation may be rounded 
down. The household's hours of obligation for any given month may not be 
carried over into another month except when the household wishes to end 
a disqualification due to noncompliance with workfare in accordance with 
paragraph (f)(8) of this section.
    (f) Other program requirements--(1) Priority placements. The State 
agency or political subdivision submitting the plan shall indicate in 
the plan how it will determine priority for placement at job sites when 
the number of eligible participants is greater than the number of 
available positions at job sites.
    (2) Conditions of employment. (i) Recipients may be required to work 
up to, but not to exceed, 30 hours per week. In addition, the total 
number of hours worked by a recipient under workfare together with any 
other hours worked in any other compensated capacity, including hours of 
participation in a WIN training program, by such recipient on a regular 
or predictable part-time basis, shall not exceed thirty hours a week. 
With the recipient's consent, the hours to be worked may be scheduled in 
such a manner that more than thirty hours are worked in one week, as 
long as the total for that month does not exceed the weekly average of 
thirty hours a week.
    (ii) No participant shall be required to work more than eight hours 
on any given day, except that with the recipient's consent, more than 
eight hours may be scheduled.
    (iii) No participant shall be required to accept an offer of 
workfare employment if such employment fails to meet the criteria 
established in Sec. 273.7(i)(1) (iii) and (iv); and Sec. 273.7(i)(2) 
(i), (ii), (iv), and (v).

[[Page 784]]

    (iv) If the workfare participant is unable to report for job 
scheduling, to appear for scheduled workfare employment, or to complete 
the entire workfare obligation due to compliance with Unemployment 
Insurance requirements, the additional work requirements established in 
Sec. 273.7(e) (1), (2), (3), or (4), or the job search requirements 
established in Sec. 273.7(f), such inability shall not be considered a 
refusal to accept workfare employment. If the workfare participant 
informs the operating agency of the time conflict, the operating agency 
shall, if possible, reschedule the missed activity. If such rescheduling 
cannot be completed before the end of the month, this shall not be cause 
for disqualification.
    (v) The operating agency shall assure that all persons employed in 
workfare jobs receive job-related benefits at the same levels and to the 
same extent as similar non-workfare employees. These shall be benefits 
related to the actual work being performed, such as workers' 
compensation, and not to the employment by a particular agency, such as 
health benefits. Of those benefits required to be offered, any elective 
benefit which requires a cash contribution by the participant shall be 
optional at the discretion of the participant.
    (vi) All persons employed in workfare jobs shall be assured by the 
operating agency of working conditions provided other employees 
similarly employed.
    (vii) The provisions of section 2(a)(3) of the Service Contract Act 
of 1965 (Pub. L. 89-286), relating to health and safety conditions, 
shall apply to the workfare program.
    (viii) Operating agencies shall not provide work to a workfare 
participant which has the effect of replacing or preventing the 
employment of an individual not participating in the workfare program. 
Vacancies, due to hiring freezes, terminations, or lay-offs, shall not 
be filled by a workfare participant unless it can be demonstrated that 
such vacancies are a result of insufficient funds to sustain former 
staff levels.
    (ix) The workfare jobs shall in no way infringe upon the promotional 
opportunities which would otherwise be available to regular employees.
    (x) Workfare jobs shall not be related in any way to political or 
partisan activities.
    (xi) Workfare assignments should, to the greatest extent possible, 
take into consideration previous training, experience, and skills of a 
participant.
    (xii) The cost of workers' compensation or comparable protection 
provided to workfare participants by the State agency, political 
subdivision, or operating agency is a matchable cost under paragraph (g) 
of this section. Whether or not this coverage is provided, in no case is 
the Federal government the employer in these workfare programs (unless a 
Federal agency is the job site), and therefore, USDA does not assume 
liability for any injury to or death of a workfare participant while on 
the job.
    (xiii) The nondiscrimination requirement provided in Sec. 272.6(a) 
shall apply to all agencies involved in the workfare program.
    (3) Job search period. The operating agency may establish a job 
search period of up to 30 days following certification prior to making a 
workfare assignment during which the potential participant is expected 
to look for a job. This period may only be established at household 
certification, not at recertification. The potential participant would 
not be subject to any job search requirements beyond those required 
under Sec. 273.7 during this time.
    (4) Participant reimbursement. Participants shall be reimbursed by 
the operating agency for transportation and other costs that are 
reasonably necessary and directly related to participation in the 
program. These other costs may include the cost of child care, or the 
cost of personal safety items or equipment required for performance of 
work if these items are also purchased by regular employees. These other 
costs shall not include the cost of meals away from home. No participant 
cost which has been reimbursed under a workfare program operated under 
Title IV of the Social Security Act or any other workfare program shall 
be reimbursed under the food stamp workfare program. Only reimbursement 
of participant costs which are up to but not in excess of $25 per month 
for any participant will be

[[Page 785]]

subject to Federal cost sharing as provided in paragraph (g)(1) of this 
section. Child care costs which are reimbursed may not be claimed as 
expenses and used in calculating the child care deduction for 
determining household benefits. Pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) of this 
section, a State agency may decide what its reimbursement policy shall 
be.
    (5) Good cause. For the purpose of this section, unless a State 
agency has determined its good cause policy pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) 
of this section, good cause shall include:
    (i) Circumstances beyond a household member's control, such as, but 
not limited to: Illness; the illness or incapacitation of another 
household member requiring the presence of the workfare participant; a 
household emergency; or the lack of transportation when transportation 
is not provided by the operating agency;
    (ii) Necessity for a parent or other responsible household member to 
care for a child between the age of six and 12 because adequate child 
care is not otherwise available;
    (iii) Becoming exempt from the workfare eligibility requirements 
under the terms established in paragraph (e)(1) of this section.
    (iv) Household moving out of the area of the workfare project.
    (v) Instances where cost of transportation and other costs have 
exceeded $25 per month and are not being reimbursed by the operating 
agency.
    (6) Failure to comply. (i) Where a workfare participant has been 
determined by the State agency to have failed or refused without good 
cause to comply with the requirements of this section, the entire 
household shall be ineligible to participate. Such ineligibility shall 
continue until either the household meets the provisions of paragraph 
(f)(8) of this section or for 2 consecutive months, whichever occurs 
earlier. Within 10 days after receiving notification of the household's 
failure to comply with the requirements of this section, the State 
agency shall, if it determines that there is not good cause for the 
noncompliance, provide the household with a notice of adverse action, as 
specified in Sec. 273.13. Such notification shall contain the proposed 
period of disqualification and shall specify the terms and conditions on 
which disqualification can be ended. Information shall also be included 
with the notification on the procedures and requirements contained in 
paragraph (f)(8) of this section. The disqualification period shall 
begin with the first month following the expiration of the adverse 
notice period, or following a fair hearing decision if a fair hearing is 
requested, in which the household would normally have received benefits. 
A household member shall not be required to perform work at a job site 
when the household is no longer receiving benefits unless the household 
has chosen to meet the conditions for ending disqualification specified 
in paragraph (f)(8) of this section. Until the disqualification is 
actually invoked, the household, if otherwise eligible, will continue to 
have a workfare obligation.
    (ii) Should a household have two or more consecutive months of 
noncompliance while being certified for food stamps, the total 
corresponding months of sanction shall be a cumulative total; that is, 
two months of noncompliance shall entail a four-month sanction. Should a 
household which has been determined to be noncompliant without good 
cause split into more than one household, the sanction shall follow all 
the members of the household at the time of the noncompliance. None of 
those household members shall be eligible to participate in the food 
stamp program for the length of the sanction beginning at the point when 
the sanction can be placed against any one of them.
    (iii) If a sanctioned household member joins another food stamp 
household, that household's eligibility and benefit level shall be 
determined as follows:
    (A) Income, resources, and deductible expenses. The income and 
resources of the household member(s) disqualified for noncompliance with 
workfare shall count in their entirety, and the entire household's 
allowable earned income standard, medical, dependent care and excess 
shelter deductions shall apply to the remaining household members.
    (B) Eligibility and benefit level. An individual disqualified for 
noncompliance

[[Page 786]]

with workfare shall not be included when determining the household's 
size for the purpose of assigning a benefit level to the household or of 
comparing the household's monthly income with income eligibility 
standards. The State agency shall ensure that no household's coupon 
allotment is increased as a result of the disqualification of one or 
more household member for workfare noncompliance.
    (7) Fair hearings. Each household has a right to a fair hearing to 
appeal a denial or termination of benefits due to a State agency 
determination of failure to comply with the requirements of this 
section. The fair hearing requirements provided in Sec. 273.15 shall 
apply. If a fair hearing is scheduled, the operating agency shall be 
available to participate in the hearing. The State agency shall provide 
the operating agency sufficient advance notice to permit the attendance 
of an operating agency representative.
    (8) Ending disqualification. Following the end of the 2-month 
disqualification period for noncompliance with the workfare provisions 
of this section, a household may resume participation in the program if 
it applies again and is determined eligible. Eligibility may be 
reestablished during a disqualification period and the household shall 
(if it makes application and is determined otherwise eligible) be 
permitted to resume participation if the member who failed to comply or 
any other workfare-eligible member of the household satisfies all 
outstanding workfare obligations. A workfare position shall be made 
available for a household which wishes to end disqualification in this 
manner.
    (9) Benefit overissuances. If a benefit overissuance is discovered 
for a month or months in which a participant has already performed a 
workfare or work component requirement, the State agency shall follow 
claim recovery procedures specified below.
    (i) If the person who performed the work is still subject to a work 
obligation, the State shall determine how may extra hours were worked 
because of the improper benefit. The participant should be credited that 
number of hours toward future work obligations.
    (ii) If a workfare or work component requirement does not continue, 
the State agency shall determine whether the overissuance was the result 
of an intentional program violation, an inadvertent household error, or 
a State agency error. For an intentional program violation a claim 
should be established for the entire amount of the overissuance. If the 
overissuance was caused by an inadvertent household error or State 
agency error, the State agency shall determine whether the number of 
hours worked in workfare are more than the number which could have been 
assigned had the proper benefit level been used in calculating the 
number of hours to work. A claim shall be established for the amount of 
the overissuance not ``worked off,'' if any. If the hours worked equal 
the amount of hours calculated by dividing the overissuance by the 
minimum wage, no claim shall be established. No credit for future work 
requirements shall be given.
    (g) Federal financial participation--(1) Administrative costs. Fifty 
percent of all administrative costs incurred by State agencies or 
political subdivisions in operating a workfare program shall be funded 
by the Federal government. Such costs include those related to recipient 
participation in workfare, up to $25 per month for any participant, as 
indicated in paragraph (f)(4) of this section. Such costs shall not 
include the costs of equipment, capital expenditures, tools or materials 
used in connection with the work performed by workfare participants, the 
costs of supervising workfare participants, the costs of reimbursing 
participants for meals away from home, or reimbursed expenses in excess 
of $25 per month for any participant.
    (2) Funding mechanism. The State agencies shall have responsibility 
for disbursing Federal funds used for the workfare program through the 
State agencies' Letters of Credit. The State agency shall also assure 
that records are being maintained which support the financial claims 
being made to FNS. This will be for all programs, regardless of who 
submits the plan. Mechanisms for funding local political subdivisions 
which have submitted

[[Page 787]]

plans must be established by the State agencies.
    (3) Fiscal recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Workfare-
related costs shall be identified by the State agency on the Financial 
Status Report (Form SF-269) as a separate column. All financial records, 
supporting documents, statistical records, negotiated contracts, and all 
other records pertinent to workfare program funds shall be maintained in 
accordance with Sec. 277.12.
    (4) Sharing workfare savings--(i) Entitlement. A political 
subdivision is entitled to share in the benefit reductions which occur 
when a workfare participant begins employment while participating in 
workfare for the first time, or within thirty days of ending the first 
participation in workfare.
    (A) To begin employment means to appear at the place of employment 
and to begin working.
    (B) First participation in workfare means performing work for the 
first time in a particular workfare program. The only break in 
participation which shall not end first participation shall be due to 
the participant's taking a job which does not affect the household's 
allotment by an entire month's wages and which is followed by a return 
to workfare.
    (ii) Calculating the benefit reductions. The political subdivision 
shall calculate benefit reductions from each workfare participant's 
employment as follows.
    (A) Unless the political subdivision knows otherwise, it shall 
presume that the benefit reduction equals the difference between the 
last allotment issued before the participant began the new employment 
and the first allotment which reflects a full months wages, earned 
income deduction, and dependent care deduction attributable to the new 
job.
    (B) If the political subdivision knows of other changes besides the 
new job, which affect the household's allotment after the new job began, 
the political subdivision shall obtain the first allotment affected by 
an entire month's wages from the new job. The political subdivision 
shall then recalculate the allotment to account for the wages, earned 
income deduction, and dependent care deduction attributable to the new 
job. In recalculating the allotment the political subdivision shall also 
replace any TANF grant received after the new job with the one received 
in the last month before the new job began. The difference between the 
first allotment that accounts for the new job and the recalculated 
allotment shall be the benefit reduction.
    (C) The political subdivision's share of the benefit reduction is 
three times this difference, divided by two.
    (D) If, during these procedures, an error is discovered in the last 
allotment issued before the new employment began, that allotment shall 
be corrected before the savings are calculated.
    (iii) Accounting. The reimbursement from workfare shall be reported 
and paid as follows:
    (A) The political subdivision shall report its enhanced 
reimbursement to the State agency in accordance with paragraph (g)(3) of 
this section.
    (B) The Food and Nutrition Service shall reimburse the political 
subdivision in accordance with paragraph (g)(2) of this section.
    (C) The political subdivision shall, upon request, make available 
for review sufficient documentation to justify the amount of the 
enhanced reimbursement.
    (D) The Food and Nutrition Service shall reimburse only the 
political subdivision's reimbursed administrative costs in the fiscal 
year in which the workfare participant began new employment and which 
are acceptable according to paragraph (g)(1) of this section.
    (h) Coordination with other workfare-type programs. State agencies 
and political subdivisions may operate workfare programs as provided in 
this section jointly with a workfare program operated under Title IV of 
the Social Security Act to the extent that provisions and protections of 
the statute are maintained or with other workfare programs operated by 
the subdivision to the extent that the provisions and protections of 
this section are maintained. Statutory provisions include, but are not 
limited to, eligible recipients as provided in paragraph (e)(1) of this 
section, maximum hours of work per week as provided in paragraph 
(f)(2)(i) of this

[[Page 788]]

section and the penalty for noncompliance as provided in paragraph 
(f)(6)(i) of this section. When a household receives benefits from more 
than one program with a workfare requirement and the household is 
determined to have a food stamp workfare obligation, the food stamp 
obligation may be combined with the obligation from the other program. 
However, this may be done only to the extent that eligible food stamp 
workfare participants are not required to work more than 30 hours a week 
in accordance with paragraph (f)(2)(i) of this section. Any intent to 
coordinate programs should be described in the plan. Waivers of 
provisions in this section, for the purpose of operating workfare 
jointly with local general assistance workfare-type programs may be 
requested and provided in accordance with Sec. 272.3(c). Statutory 
provisions, shall not be waived.
    (i) Voluntary workfare program. State agencies and political 
subdivisions may operate workfare programs whereby participation by food 
stamp recipients is voluntary. In such a program, the penalty for 
failure to comply as provided in paragraph (f)(6) of this section shall 
not apply for noncompliance. The amount of hours to be worked will be 
negotiated between the household and the operating agency, though not to 
exceed the limits provided under paragraph (f)(2) of this section. In 
addition, all protections provided under paragraph (f)(2) of this 
section shall continue to apply. Those State agencies and political 
subdivisions choosing to operate such a program shall indicate in their 
workfare plan how their staffing will adapt to anticipated and 
unanticipated levels of participation. The Department will not approve 
plans which do not show that the benefits of the workfare program, in 
terms of hours worked by participants and reduced food stamp allotments 
due to successful job attainment, are expected to exceed the costs of 
such a program. In addition, if the Department finds that an approved 
voluntary program does not meet this criteria, the Department reserves 
the right to withdraw approval.


[Amdt. 217, 47 FR 44697, Oct. 8, 1982, as amended by Amdt. 240, 48 FR 
1173, Jan. 11, 1983; Amdt. 269, 51 FR 10793, Mar. 28, 1986, 53 FR 31646, 
Aug. 19, 1988; Amdt. 356, 59 FR 29713, June 9, 1994]