NA Lead Participant Selection
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This section is about why and how an NA lead participant is selected.
Policy
When an NA lead participant fails to comply with the NA Work Requirements, a disqualification is imposed, which stops benefits for the entire budgetary unit.
FAA with the assistance of the budgetary unit, when available, determines an NA lead participant when any of the following occurs:
●A budgetary unit re-applies and is found eligible, and a participant is disqualified for one of the following:
Quitting a job
Reducing work hours
Refusing a job offer
Receiving a UI-comparable disqualification
●An NA lead participant is disqualified in one budgetary unit and joins another budgetary unit.
The NA lead participant may be one of the following:
●A disqualified participant.
●A participant who is exempt from the NA work requirements. (See NA Work Requirements to determine whether a participant is a work registrant or meets a work requirement exemption.)
Once designated, the participant remains the NA lead participant until the next renewal or until a change in budgetary unit living arrangements results in no adult with children in the budgetary unit.
To select the NA lead participant, FAA uses one of the following selection rules based on the budgetary unit composition:
●One adult
When only one adult is in the budgetary unit, FAA designates that adult as the NA lead participant.
●More than one adult and at least one child
FAA with the assistance of the budgetary unit designates the NA lead participant when all of the following apply:
●There is more than one adult in the budgetary unit.
●One of the adults has a child, or parental control(g) of a child, under age 18, living in the budgetary unit.
A participant is considered an adult when one of the following applies:
●At least age 18
●When under age 18 and is not under parental control.
The NA lead participant can be any adult in the budgetary unit. The budgetary unit must agree on the NA lead participant.
When the adults cannot agree on the NA lead participant, FAA designates the NA lead participant and informs the Primary informant(g) of the designation.
●More than one adult without children
FAA determines the NA lead participant as the adult participant who has the highest total of earnings in the two months before all of the following applicable situations:
●The date of application at initial approval
●The date of disqualification of the current lead participant when selecting a new lead participant for an active case.
●The date a new participant who is disqualified is added to the existing budgetary unit.
FAA designates the NA lead participant at the interview based on any of the following circumstances:
●A participant works at least 20 hours per week or has weekly earnings equivalent to the Federal minimum wage(g) multiplied by 20 hours.
●Two participants have identical earnings.
●The participant with the best interests and preferences of the budgetary unit.
The NA lead participant cannot be any of the following:
●A participant who is exempt from the NA work requirements because of a physical or mental disability. (See Unfit for Work for more information about what is considered for this exemption.)
●A participant is not an adult parent and is included in the same budgetary unit as a parent or someone acting as a parent.
Selection of an NA lead participant includes, and is not limited to, a parent of an adult child or an adult parent in the budgetary unit. The choice of the NA lead participant could include someone registered for work or exempt from the work requirements for any of the following:
●Mandatory Jobs participation
●Receipt of, or in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) application process
●Employment (or self-employment), working at least 30 hours per week
●Employment (or self-employment), receiving earnings equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours
When FAA disqualifies an NA lead participant for noncompliance with NA Work Requirements, the NA benefits stop for the entire budgetary unit. The disqualification includes one of the following periods:
●First violation – One month
●Second violation - Three months
●Every additional violation - Six months per violation
●See Disqualification or Benefit Reduction Time Frames for more information about how FAA determines the length of disqualifications.
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.1(d)
last revised 02/27/2023