§326. Duties of the department

            A. The department shall submit to FNS applications for any waiver, exemption, or other formal authorization and any state plan amendment as may be necessary to implement the program provided for in this Subpart. Such submissions by the department to FNS shall provide for all of the following:

            (1) Reinstatement in the parish where the program is established of the limit on receipt of SNAP benefits of three months in a three-year period for ABAWDs.

            (2) Establishment of benefit extensions in six-month increments for customers who meet workforce training or education requirements of the program.

            (3) Any other functions as may be necessary for the department to establish and operate the program in a manner that conforms with applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

            B. The department shall enter into any cooperative endeavor agreements, contracts, and other arrangements with any other government agency or any community partner as may be necessary to ensure adequate availability of workforce training to customers in the parish in which the program is established.

            C. The department shall institute all departmental policies and procedures necessary to ensure that the process for SNAP benefits eligibility redetermination in the parish where the program is established meets all of the following requirements:

            (1) Eligibility redetermination for each customer occurs no less frequently than once every six months.

            (2) Eligibility redetermination for each customer shall include a procedure for collecting and verifying documentation from the customer of his engagement in a workforce training or education activity as provided in R.S. 46:324.

            D.(1)(a) The department shall transmit notice in writing to all ABAWDs in the parish where the program is established indicating that continuation of benefits beyond the three-month limit that is to be reinstated will be conditioned upon engagement by customers in acceptable workforce training or education activities.

            (b) The department may transmit to ABAWDs in the parish where the program is established duplicates of the notice provided for in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, and may take any other actions it deems necessary to provide ABAWDs with adequate notification of the changes in SNAP benefits eligibility to be instituted through the program.

            (2) The department shall transmit to each customer a form that provides a clear description of requirements for continuation of benefits eligibility to be instituted through the program, and a space in which the customer may affirmatively acknowledge that he understands these requirements.

            (3) During the operation of the program, the department shall promptly notify each customer of any decision concerning his eligibility for SNAP benefits made pursuant to the redetermination process provided for in Subsection C of this Section.

            E. The secretary of the department shall promulgate all rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act as necessary to implement the provisions of this Subpart.

            Acts 2014, No. 622, §1; Acts 2018, No. 206, §5; Acts 2025, No. 478, §12, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.