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SNAP E&T services may begin as early as the date Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility is approved. SNAP E&T services must include an employability assessment and Employment Plan (EP). The assessment and EP must be done in consultation with the participant.

The purpose of an assessment is to collect and evaluate information to identify a participant’s employment goals, barriers, and support service needs. The information collected from this assessment is the basis for the EP. The assessment must be completed within 30 days of the referral to SNAP E&T and must consider:

●	The participant's literacy level (see NOTE below).
●	The participant's ability to communicate in the English language.
●	The participant’s education and employment history.
●	The estimated length of time it will take the participant to obtain employment.
●	The participant's employment-related skills and abilities, barriers to employment, steps necessary to overcome the participant's barriers to employment and any special services needed to meet the participant’s needs.

The state does not require that a particular form be used for recording the results of the assessment. Employment Service Providers (ESPs) may develop and utilize their own forms for this purpose or may record relevant information in a standard location in the case notes. Each topic area above should be dealt with on the assessment form or in the case notes.

NOTE: Literacy testing may be routinely included as part of the assessment, but is not required for all participants. The ESP should use available information about the participant (for example, how applications and other forms are completed, the participant’s speech, participant disclosure, reports from other sources) to form an opinion of the participant’s literacy and reading capabilities. The participant’s literacy capabilities should be tested if a problem is perceived. The ESP should record each participant’s perceived and tested literacy and reading capability in the case record.

Participant-Specific Components: The following items must be addressed and provided for in the EP if they apply to the participant:

●	Referral as necessary to available accredited remedial training programs designed to address barriers to employment. This may include placement in:

-	English as a Second Language (ESL) skills programs.
-	Literacy training programs.
-	Adult Basic Education (ABE) or secondary education programs.
-	Other remedial or skill enhancement programs.

●	Referral to other available programs that provide subsidized or unsubsidized employment. This may include:

-	Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
-	American Job Centers.
-	Local agencies or programs geared to help the participant become employable.

●	Other activities designed by the county or the ESP to prepare the participant for permanent employment.

The EP is a written plan specifying in detail the services to be provided to a participant, the requirements with which the participant must comply and the possible consequence of not complying, such as exit from the program, inability to earn additional months of food benefits, or lack of support from the ESP. An EP must be developed within 30 days of the person being referred to SNAP E&T and must be based on the assessment conducted for the participant. The participant must sign and receive a copy of the EP. Participants who refuse to cooperate with development of the plan or to sign the plan are considered non-compliant with SNAP E&T. Development of an EP is required only once in any 12 consecutive months, but must accurately reflect the activities of the participant at any given time.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training Plan (DHS-6020) (PDF) is expected to be used, at minimum, for all time-limited participants.

ESPs may use their own Employment Plan form for participants that are not subject to the work and time limit provisions. At minimum, an alternative form must contain the following:

●	A specific employment objective that the participant is working toward.
●	The specific services to be provided that will lead to that objective.
●	The dates, times, and locations of where services will be provided.
●	Information about the consequences of failing to comply with the EP.
●	The name and telephone number of their contact person.

For time-limited participants, the plan of services must address the need to work or participate in work activities for at least 80 hours per month in order to earn additional months of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. All SNAP E&T activities count toward the 80-hour per month work requirement for these participants, however, participation in Supervised Job Search and Job Search Training is not a countable activity unless it makes up less than 50% of the required 80 hours per month, or the ABAWD is co-enrolled in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), under section 236 of the Trade Act, or a program of employment and training for veterans operated by the Department of Labor or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The ESP is responsible for co-enrolling a participant.

Intermediate Steps: When developing a participant’s EP, it is important to break each employment goal into intermediary steps with specific, easily measured activities which will move the participant along the path toward employment and self-sufficiency. The clearer these intermediary steps are to both the participant and ESP, the less likely it is that there will be disputes about satisfactory progress.

Maximum Participation: The EP must be designed so that the participant is not required to participate in SNAP E&T activities more than 120 hours per month. It also should not place any requirement on a participant that interferes with employment.