§ 435.552 Demonstrating community engagement.
(a) General rule. An applicable individual demonstrates community engagement for a month if the individual meets one or more of the following conditions:
(1) The individual works not less than 80 hours.
(2) The individual completes not less than 80 hours of community service.
(3) The individual participates in a work program for not less than 80 hours.
(4) The individual is enrolled in an educational program at least half-time.
(5) The individual engages in any combination of the activities described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section, for a total of not less than 80 hours; however, States are not permitted to combine educational program hours with another activity if the individual is enrolled in an educational program at least half-time.
(6) The individual has a monthly income that is not less than the applicable minimum wage requirement under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C)), multiplied by 80 hours.
(7) The individual had an average monthly income over the preceding 6 months that is not less than the applicable minimum wage requirement under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C) multiplied by 80 hours, and is a seasonal worker, as described in section 45R(d)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 45R(d)(5)(B)).
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section—
Community service means unpaid work, completed voluntarily or because of a mandate by court order, with a structured program that is completed for the direct benefit of the community under the auspices of public or nonprofit organizations (including embedded activities of the program that allow an individual to develop skills necessary to complete community service). The public or nonprofit organizations:
(i) Include organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and other organizations.
(ii) Must provide oversight of the activity, which must not serve a partisan purpose, and have a process in place to track the community service completed by individuals, including the type of community service activity, dates and hours the community service is completed, and a point of contact who can confirm the hours completed.
Educational program means a program that is one of the following:
(i) An institution of higher education as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001);
(ii) A program of career and technical education as defined in section 3(5) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302(5));
(iii) A high school as defined in title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.); and
(iv) A State-approved program of study leading to a certificate of high school equivalence for an applicable individual who has not received a high school diploma.
Work means:
(i) Work in exchange for money;
(ii) Work in exchange for goods or services (“in-kind” work); and
(iii) Unpaid work (other than community service as defined in this paragraph (b)).
Work program means a program that is one of the following:
(i) A program under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-128) (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.);
(ii) A program under section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296);
(iii) A program of employment and training operated or supervised by a State or political subdivision of a State that meets standards approved by the Governor of the State, including a program under subsection (d)(4) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)), other than a supervised job search program or job search training program. However, a program under this subsection may include supervised job search or job search training as subsidiary activities as long as such activity is less than half the required hours of the program;
(iv) A program of employment and training for veterans operated by the Department of Labor or the Department of Veterans Affairs. For the purposes of this paragraph, any employment and training program of the Department of Labor or Veterans Affairs that serves veterans must be an approved work program; and
(v) A workforce partnership under subsection (d)(4)(N) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(N)).
(c) Enrollment in an educational program. An applicable individual's enrollment status in an educational program (full-time, half-time, less than half-time) is determined by the school or institution.
(1) The enrollment status of the individual begins on the first day of the school term for the educational program.
(2) The enrollment status will continue through normal periods of attendance, vacation, and recess. During periods of vacation and recess, the enrollment status shall be based on the individual's status just prior to the school break.
(3) The enrollment status will end at the end of the month that the student is expelled, withdraws, completes the school term and is not registered for the next school term (excluding optional terms such as winter or summer sessions), or graduates (unless the student is enrolled in another educational program).
(d) Less than half-time enrollment in an educational program. If an applicable individual is enrolled in an educational program for less than half-time as determined by the school, the educational program hours shall be the following:
(1) For educational programs that use credit hours:
(i) Multiply the number of each one credit hour of instruction by 3 to get the total of education hours in a week.
(ii) Multiply the weekly total as determined under paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section by 4.33 weeks to get total hours in a 1-month period.
(2) For educational programs that do not use credit hours, the hours spent attending class and participating in educational activities will count towards meeting this requirement.
(e) Combination of activities. An applicable individual may demonstrate community engagement for a month if the individual engages in any combination of activities described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section for a total of not less than 80 hours.
(1) The hours for work under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, community service under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, and participating in a work program under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, need only be combined with educational program hours if the individual is enrolled in an educational program less than half-time.
(2) The hours for work under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, community service under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, and participating in a work program under paragraph (a)(3) of this section must be determined separately and based on the time spent on the specific activity in such month.
(i) If the monthly income is less than the applicable Federal minimum wage requirement under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C) multiplied by 80 hours, and the agency does not have documentation regarding the number of hours worked, the agency may calculate the hours for work under paragraph (a)(1) of this section based on the monthly income as determined under paragraph (f)(2) of this section provided that the agency must use a reasonable method to allocate work hours between members of the household.
(ii) If the agency uses the option under paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, the agency must calculate the hours for work by dividing the monthly income as determined under paragraph (f)(2) of this section by the applicable Federal minimum wage requirement under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C).
(3) The hours for less than half-time enrollment in an educational program must be calculated as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.
(4) After the agency determines an applicable individual's hours for work, completing community service, participating in a work program, and less than half-time enrollment in an educational program, the hours must be added together. Adding the hours will provide the total hours for the combined activities.
(f) Monthly income. (1) An applicable individual demonstrates community engagement for a month if the individual has a monthly income that is not less than the applicable Federal minimum wage requirement under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C) multiplied by 80 hours.
(2) The agency must determine the monthly income based on the individual's MAGI-based income, for their MAGI-based household, as defined at § 435.603, and applied to a month in the period under § 435.556(a), as applicable for demonstrating community engagement.
(g) Average monthly income for seasonal workers. (1) An applicable individual demonstrates community engagement for a month if the individual is a seasonal worker as described in 26 U.S.C. 45R(d)(5)(B) and had an average monthly income over the preceding six months that is not less than the applicable Federal minimum wage requirement under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)(C) multiplied by 80 hours.
(2) The agency must determine the average monthly income based on the individual's MAGI-based income, for their MAGI-based household, as defined at § 435.603, and applied to a month in the period under § 435.556(a), as applicable for demonstrating community engagement.