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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
training services. In meeting this requirement, State agencies should consider how to best target lists of employment and training opportunities to increase access of work opportunities for SNAP participants, including creating tailored lists for certain regions or municipalities, or for SNAP
participants with particular career interests or barriers to employment.
The Department received five comments on this provision, all of which were generally supportive. The commenters suggested the list of employment and training opportunities be provided in paper whenever possible because some SNAP participants may not have access to reliable internet, and to make sure the list is updated at least annually. The Department agrees that some SNAP participants may not have reliable access to the internet and believes State agencies are in the best position to know how to ensure participants can access the information, either electronically or in paper form.
The Department also believes that the list of training opportunities should be updated as often as is necessary to maintain a reasonable level of accuracy in the information provided, and believes State agencies are in the best position to determine this frequency.
The commenters also recommended that the list of training providers be paired with labor market information to help SNAP participants identify the fastest growing or largest sectors for entry-level jobs and living wage jobs that can be accessed with limited training, and the career pathways associated with them.
While the Department believes this information may be helpful to SNAP
participants and would encourage interested State agencies to provide this additional information, the Department does not believe that requiring the inclusion of labor market information is necessary to meet the statutory obligation and would constitute an additional burden for State agencies that outweighs the benefits. Commenters also recommended that the list be made available to underemployed SNAP
participants and E&T participants. The Department notes that while the list of training opportunities must be provided to the specific set of households with no earned income described in the previous paragraph, State agencies may provide the list to a broader group of SNAP households at their discretion.
In conclusion, the Department finalizes the regulatory text as proposed without any changes.

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Work Programs for Fulfilling the ABAWD Work Requirement Current regulations at 7 CFR
273.24a3 define the types of work programs in which ABAWDs may participate to meet the ABAWD work requirement and thereby remain eligible beyond the 3 months in 36-month time limit. The Act added the following types of programs to that definition in section 6o1 of the FNA: An employment and training program for veterans operated by the Department of Labor or the Department of Veterans Affairs, as approved by the Secretary; and workforce partnerships. The Department proposed to add these programs to the existing paragraph at 7 CFR 273.24a3.
As noted earlier, the Act also changed section 6o1C of the FNA by replacing the term job search program with supervised job search program.
For the purposes of ABAWD work requirements, the Department proposed to implement this terminology change by revising 7 CFR 273.24a3iii.
The Department received four comments on this provision, all of which were generally supportive.
Commenters supported the Departments clarification that job search does not need to be supervised when integrated as a subsidiary activity into one or more other components, so long as it makes up less than half the time in the component, as provided in The Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference issued with the Act Conf. Rept. 1151072, p. 617.
Commenters also supported the Departments reiteration of current policy that job search, whether supervised or not supervised, and job search training activities can count toward the ABAWD work requirement, so long they are offered as part of other E&T program components and comprise less than half the total required time spent in the components. However, commenters did ask for further clarification regarding how total required time spent in the components should be measured for the purposes of ensuring job search, supervised job search, and job search training make up less than half the total required time spent in the component for instance, can the fraction of time spent in job search be calculated over the average length of the component. The Department recognizes that different E&T components run for different lengths of time and comprise different activities at different points in time. For this reason, the Department has always provided flexibility to State agencies to determine the most effective and efficient way to calculate if job search,
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supervised job search, or job search training make up less than half the total required time spent in the component for the purpose of compliance with the ABAWD work requirement. The Department will continue to provide this flexibility to State agencies.
In conclusion, the Department finalizes the regulatory text as proposed without any changes.
Discretionary Exemptions for ABAWDs Subject to the Time Limit Current regulations at 7 CFR 273.24g state that each State agency shall be allotted exemptions equal to an estimated 15 percent of covered individuals, as defined at 7 CFR
273.7gii. States can use the exemptions available to them to extend SNAP eligibility for a limited number of ABAWDs subject to the time limit.
When one of these exemptions is provided to an ABAWD, that one ABAWD is able to receive one additional month of SNAP benefits. The Act changed the number of exemptions allocated by the Department to State agencies each Federal fiscal year from 15 percent to 12 percent of the covered individuals in the State, and this change took effect in Fiscal Year 2020.
The Department proposed replacing the number 15 with the number 12 in paragraphs 7 CFR 273.24g1 and 7
CFR 273.24g3, and also proposed changing the name of these exemptions from 15 percent exemptions to discretionary exemptions in paragraph 7 CFR 273.24g.
The Department received six comments on this section. Two commenters supported the change, three commenters opposed the change, and one did not express a clear opinion. A
not-for-profit agency who supported the change felt that these exemptions hold back able-bodied adults who could otherwise rise out of welfare, thus trapping prospective workers in dependency and taking benefits away from those more in need. The commenter explained that reducing the number of exemptions would provide more opportunity for work to more individuals. The commenter also felt the name change to discretionary exemptions emphasized that States should use discretion when applying the exemptions to unusual circumstances when ABAWDs face unique barriers to work or training not already covered by another exemption.
The commenters who opposed the provision emphasized how important these exemptions are for low-income individuals struggling with multiple barriers to work, including domestic violence survivors. However, the
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