Located in:
- Employment and Training Programs Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Programs Authorized Under Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)))
- a. General Requirements [27]
The State agency must prepare and submit an Employment and Training (E&T) Plan to its appropriate Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Regional Office. The E&T Plan must be available for public inspection at the State agency headquarters. A State agency may include its plan for the SNAP E&T program in a Combined Plan under WIOA but will require FNS approval prior to implementation and must continue to make a copy of the plan available for public inspection. If a State includes SNAP E&T in a Combined Plan under WIOA, the State agency will detail the following for each year covered by the Combined Plan:
[27] 7 CFR § 273.7(c)(6)
- a. General Requirements [27]
a. 4. The characteristics of the population the State agency intends to place in E&T;
Current Narrative:
I. Summary of the SNAP E&T Program
| Alabama’s SNAP E&T program is called Alabama Resources for Enrichment, Self-Sufficiency, and Employability Training or “A-RESET”. The mission of the A-RESET program is to provide education and training skills for voluntary SNAP participants to improve their employability and to assist them in their endeavors of becoming self-sufficient. The State will focus services on ABAWDs; however, in an effort to expand services to ABAWDs and other SNAP participants, we will also offer E&T services to non-ABAWD work-eligible and adult SNAP clients Statewide who volunteer to participate in the Alabama in twelve counties. We will achieve this mission by both dedicating staff within the Department of Human Resources (DHR) and by partnering with State agencies, educational institutions, community-based organizations (CBOs), and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to help clients move from dependency to self-sufficiency. In order to achieve this goal, upon entry into the program in one of the 11 counties with designated staff, each client will be assessed and an Individual Employment Plan (IEP) will be developed. The purpose of the assessment and IEP will be to determine where a client is on the path to self-sufficiency upon entry into the program. The assessment will also identify any barriers which may exist which might prevent the client from reaching their goal. The IEP will outline the steps the client will take to enable the client to reach their goal. The IEP will be prepared by either DHR staff or the staff of third-party partners under contract to DHR as a “reverse referral.” In an effort to carry out this vision, the State has entered into partnerships with multiple State agencies and community-based organizations. DHR will also embark in partnering with employers throughout out the State. Through these partnerships, the State may assist employers in developing or hosting job fairs, employer tours, screening for applicants, etc., with the unified goal of securing sustainable employment for A-RESET participants. We have started the process by working with some employers across the State to provide the services described. We will continue this endeavor by continuing to establish relationships with willing employers throughout the State. Alabama will now provide services to anyone that chooses to volunteer for A-RESET in twelve counties: Calhoun, Dallas, Elmore, Jefferson, Lee, Lowndes, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, Shelby (new), Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox. With these additions, the State hopes to increase the number of voluntary E&T participants. We will also allow anyone that chooses to volunteer Statewide to participate in A-RESET through four partners, the Alabama Community College System, the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enrichment, the United Ways of Alabama, and WIOA programs accesses through the Alabama Department of Labor. Otherwise, in counties without designated A-RESET staff, we will only serve ABAWD SNAP participants. As a part of DHR’s commitment to the A-RESET program, the State has dedicated E&T staff in the following counties:
During FY2020, the State will continue to critically examine additional strategies to expand A-RESET services beyond the counties with dedicated staff. A-RESET partners will provide some of the following E&T services to SNAP clients: supervised job search, work readiness training, vocational training classes and programs, educational services, including WIOA programs, job retention services to assist in maintaining employment, and services to address some of the barriers that clients face upon entrance into the E&T program, during their participation in the program, after securing employment. Alabama will not request ABAWD waivers for any counties for FY 2020. At this time, Alabama has no plan for the use of the 15% exemption slots for during FY 2020. However, the State will continue to evaluate a justifiable and impartial plan for the future. |