Food Stamp Employment and Training program.

Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as the Food Stamp Program, under which food stamps allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing federal law requires all food stamp recipients, unless otherwise exempt, between 15 to 60 years of age, inclusive, who are physically and mentally fit, to register for employment and participate in the Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) program. This bill would require a county that elects to participate in the FSET program to screen food stamp work registrants to determine whether they will participate in, or be deferred from, the FSET program, and would describe the criteria for deferral. The bill would authorize a food stamp work registrant who is deferred from mandatory participation in FSET to request to enroll in the program as a voluntary participant. The bill would require a county that participates in the FSET program to screen work registrants to determine whether they will participate in, or be deferred from, the FSET program, and would authorize a deferred work registrant to request to enroll in the FSET program as a voluntary participant. The bill would defer an individual from mandatory placement in the FSET program under designated circumstances. This bill, commencing October 1, 2011, would require a county that elects to participate in the FSET program to allow work registrants who are mandatorily placed in the program to meet the work requirements of the mandatory placement through self-initiated workfare, as defined. This bill would require a county that elects to participate in the FSET program to demonstrate in its FSET plan how it is effectively using FSET funds, as specified, but would not be construed to require a county to offer a particular component as part of its FSET plan. The bill would impose specified requirements on these counties with respect to the use of FSET and other federal funds and the implementation of FSET and other workfare programs. This bill would provide that it would not require a county to provide for workers' compensation coverage for an FSET participant who elects to participate in self-initiated workfare, as specified. This bill would require the department to adopt implementing regulations by October 1, 2012.