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. 1. The nature of the E&T components the State agency plans to offer and the reasons for such components, including cost information. The methodology for State agency reimbursement for education components must be specifically addressed;
Current Narrative:
Indiana offers services on a voluntary basis to SNAP recipients who choose to participate in the Indiana Manpower Placement and Comprehensive Training (IMPACT) Employment, Training, and Support Services Program. Voluntary SNAP IMPACT participants, including Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), begin with a comprehensive orientation that details the benefits of the program. Each person is assessed and a Self-Sufficiency Plan (SSP) is developed. Clients are then placed in appropriate activities, referrals are made, and supportive services are provided.
The Combined Plan offers Indiana the opportunity to evaluate the overlap of employment and training services offered through IMPACT with similar services offered at our American Job Centers (WorkOnes). WorkOnes are Indiana’s one-stop centers for jobseekers and employers when it comes to career and employment resources. IMPACT, however, can offer much more than job training services to low-income individuals, because it seeks to address a broad range of barriers that may inhibit individuals from seeking and maintaining employment, such as supportive services like transportation reimbursement. As a way for Indiana to maximize its resources in the talent development space and reduce duplicated efforts, IMPACT will coordinate more closely with WorkOnes regarding funding training and education.
Currently, IMPACT services/activities include:
- Assessment
- Job Search
- Job Search Readiness
- Job Retention Services
- Job Skills Training
- Adult Basic Education
- English as a Second Language
- High School
- High School Equivalence Program
- Vocational Training
- On-the-job Training and apprenticeships
- Community Work Experience (CWEP), also known as Workfare
- Work Experience Program
Because all of these services are offered through our WIOA Core Programs, a critical step in integrating how Indiana administers its federal workforce development programs is to merge SNAP E&T workforce development programs with the WorkOnes. Offices for the Division of Family Resources will continue to determine eligibility and refer any SNAP recipient to the WorkOne (either the physical location or the embedded staff members) for career development and training opportunities. For Hoosiers eligible for SNAP benefits, we intend on co-enrolling those individuals in our employment and training programs offered through our WorkOnes. The federal agency support for the co-enrollment design through WIOA is central to the connectivity design described in this Plan. Co-enrollment between WIOA and SNAP E&T means that the individual is fully enrolled in both programs and counted in both programs’ performance accountability reporting data.
Once an individual qualifies for SNAP E&T, s/he should be referred to the WorkOne to learn about potential education and training programs either through the state, an employer, or a third-party training provider, as well as adult education programs for those without a high school diploma, and the training partner program offerings associated with each. Communication between partners will be ongoing to ensure the constituent’s engagement after the referral was made. After this orientation, WIOA Core Programs can fund the constituent’s completion of any intake assessment needed to determine his/her current level of educational attainment and skills, training and career goals.
SNAP individuals looking for work experience or training will be referred to WorkOnes through WIOA funding, with SNAP E&T able to supplement training costs and cover supportive services. Through co-enrollment in both federal programs, SNAP and TANF resources could be used to support any goals for the participant that cannot be funded by WIOA Title I and Title II dollars. The primary benefit of closer coordination between SNAP E&T offices and Indiana’s workforce system will include us maximizing our federal dollars to provide Hoosiers with the supports they need to attain economic mobility.
Beginning July 1, 2015, Indiana reinstated time limited benefits for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). This will continue in FFY 2020. ABAWDs who are not employed 80 hours or more per month are referred to the IMPACT program upon authorization of the SNAP case. An IMPACT appointment is auto-scheduled to give the individual an opportunity to fulfill the work requirement and remain eligible for SNAP. As a way for Indiana to maximize its resources in the talent development space and reduce duplicated efforts, IMPACT will coordinate more closely with WorkOnes regarding training and education.