(a) Good cause applies only to mandatory work registrants who are required to participate in SNAP E&T services. A Board shall ensure that all good cause claims are forwarded to HHSC for determination before SNAP benefits are denied when mandatory work registrants state that they have a reason for failing to:
  (1) respond to the outreach notification; and
  (2) participate in SNAP E&T activities.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, the following are reasons a Board may consider when making a good cause recommendation to HHSC after a SNAP E&T participant fails to respond to outreach notifications or fails to participate in SNAP E&T activities:
  (1) temporary illness or incapacitation;
  (2) court appearance;
  (3) caring for a physically or mentally disabled household member who requires the recipient's presence in the home;
  (4) no available transportation and the distance prohibits walking; or no available job within reasonable commuting distance, as defined by the Board;
  (5) distance from the home of the mandatory work registrant who participates in SNAP E&T services, to the Workforce Solutions Office, or employment service provider requires commuting time of more than two hours a day (not including taking a child to and from a child care facility), the distance prohibits walking, and there is no available transportation;
  (6) farmworkers who are away from their permanent residence or home base, who travel to work in an agriculture or related industry during part of the year, and are under contract or similar agreement with an employer to begin work within 30 days of the date that the individual notified the Board of his or her seasonal farmwork assignment;
  (7) an inability to obtain needed child care, as defined by the Board and based on any of the following reasons:
    (A) informal child care by a relative or child care provided under other arrangements is unavailable or unsuitable, and based on, where applicable, Board policy regarding child care. Informal child care may also be determined unsuitable by the parent;
    (B) eligible formal child care providers, as defined in Chapter 809 of this title (relating to Child Care Services), are unavailable;
    (C) affordable formal child care arrangements within maximum rates established by the Board are unavailable; or
    (D) formal or informal child care within a reasonable distance from home or the work site is unavailable;
  (8) an absence of other support services necessary for participation;
  (9) receiving a job referral that results in an offer below the federal minimum wage, except when a lower wage is permissible under federal minimum wage law;
  (10) an individual or family crisis or a family circumstance that may preclude participation, including substance abuse and mental health and disability-related issues, provided that the mandatory work registrant who participates in SNAP E&T services engages in problem resolution through appropriate referrals for counseling and support services; or
  (11) a individual is a victim of family violence.
(c) A Board shall ensure that good cause is monitored at least on a monthly basis and results are shared with HHSC if there is a change in the circumstances surrounding the good cause exception.

Source Note: The provisions of this §813.13 adopted to be effective March 29, 2005, 30 TexReg 1799; amended to be effective August 17, 2009, 34 TexReg 5589; amended to be effective August 21, 2018, 43 TexReg 5390; amended to be effective October 26, 2020, 45 Texeg 7611