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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
Another State agency explained that many E&T providers already create internships and work experiences with private employers. The commenter asked if the requirement to provide work registrants with information about workforce partnerships also requires State agencies to furnish an exhaustive list of all possibilities, including opportunities through E&T, to the participant. The State agency was concerned that such a list could prove unwieldy and create a burden, having to constantly update the evolving available work sites and participating employers.
As discussed above, the Department emphasizes that workforce partnerships described in 7 CFR 273.7n are completely separate concept from the E&T work experience component at 7
CFR 273.7e2iv. In addition, if a State agency is offering an E&T work experience component, the activities provided under the component would be prohibited from inclusion in a workforce partnership, as workforce partnerships may not use funds authorized by the FNA and all E&T
components are supported by FNA
funding. If a State agency has certified one or more workforce partnerships, only the activities associated with those workforce partnerships must be provided to individuals targeted for participation in a workforce partnership, in accordance with 7 CFR
273.7n10.
The State agency also asked if State agencies would be able to use private employers for workfare, if workforce partnerships could include work experience, and if so, if the work experience could more closely mirror TANF work experience. The State agency recommended that the relationship with workforce partners mirror the relationship with partners engaged in TANF work experience to create a more flexible system. As discussed above, workforce partnerships at 7 CFR 273.7n are a separate concept from E&T components at 7 CFR
273.7e2, workfare at 7 CFR 273.7m, or any other activity described in current regulations which provide work experience or training for SNAP
participants. The introduction of workforce partnerships does not change how workfare or any of the E&T
components are regulated or operated.
As stated in 7 CFR 273.7n4i, workforce partnerships must assist SNAP households in gaining highquality, work-relevant skills, training, work, or experience that will increase the ability of the participants to obtain regular employment. Thus, within the bounds of the workforce partnership
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requirements at 7 CFR 273.7n, State agencies will have flexibility in identifying work, training, or experience that increases the employability of SNAP participants.
The same State agency asked what the requirements will be for certification of workforce partnerships, and if the requirements would be flexible and designable by the State. The Act established specific requirements for certification of a workforce partnerships and the Department included these requirements at 7 CFR 273.7n4. The Department encourages any State agency interested in certifying a workforce partnership to reach out to the Department for technical assistance on specific questions regarding the certification requirements.
Two commenters asked if participation with workforce partnerships is all or nothing for participants looking to fulfill the ABAWD work requirement. That is, because ABAWDs can fulfill their work requirement through a combination of work, volunteer hours, and training, can workforce partnerships be offered for fewer than 20 hours per week so that ABAWDs can meet the balance of their work requirement in another way? The commenters felt the proposed requirement to certify that workforce partnerships offer at least 20 hours per week of training, work, or experience may limit the number of workforce partnerships available to participants.
The Department understands that ABAWDs may look to fulfill their work requirement through several types of activities, but the Act requires that, to be certified, workforce partnerships must provide not less than 20 hours a week of training, work, or experience. See sections 6d4NiI and 6d4BiiIbbBB of the FNA. This requirement is reflected at 7 CFR
273.7n4. The Department would also like to emphasize that participation in a workforce partnership must be voluntary; ABAWDs cannot be required to participate in a workforce partnership.
Another State agency explained how they interpreted the proposed workforce partnership regulation to mean State agencies would need to create Workforce Partnerships similar to those in WIOA. The State agency asked how the proposed workforce partnerships would be distinguished from the current WIOA partnerships.
The State agency also explained their interest in examples of partnerships that operate outside of the WIOA
regulations. As discussed above, workforce partnerships described at 7
CFR 273.7n are a new concept created
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by the Act in 2018 and are separate from industry or sector partnerships defined by WIOA, from the E&T program, workfare, and other activities currently described in regulations. Workforce partnerships, as described at 7 CFR
273.7n, must meet very specific criteria, including a set of certification requirements, and are one additional way for SNAP participants to meet their SNAP work requirements and gain skills. The Department is not aware of any existing workforce partnerships that meet the criteria in 7 CFR 273.7n.
The Department also received two comments regarding the burden of providing a list of workforce partnerships to all SNAP work registrants at certification and recertification, as required in proposed 7 CFR 273.7n10. A local government agency felt this requirement, as proposed, was onerous, unnecessary, and potentially confusing to work registrant households who may not be a good match for a slot in a workforce partnership, but who would be required to receive information about them anyway. The local government agency explained they would be in a better place to determine if a work registrant was a good match for a workforce partnership and, therefore, State agencies should be given the flexibility to target information about workforce partnerships to those most likely to benefit. A State agency and a professional association did not oppose providing the list, but felt it would take at least a year to develop and make the system changes to distribute it, particularly given the backlog of system changes resulting from the COVID19
public health emergency. The Departments intent in requiring the State agency to provide the list of workforce partnerships at certification and recertification was to ensure that SNAP households were made aware of their existence. Since SNAP households cannot be required to participate in a workforce partnership, but a workforce partnership can be a way for a SNAP
participant to meet their work requirements, the Department wanted to make sure work registrants who could benefit from participation, received the appropriate information. In response to comments, the Department has concluded that State agencies need not provide a list of workforce partnerships at certification and recertification to all work registrants, as this would be overly burdensome and potentially confusing to some SNAP participants. However, the State agency must inform any SNAP
participant determined as likely to benefit from participation in a
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