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SNAP work‑requirement changes take effect Dec. 1; county staff cannot yet quantify local impacts
Summary
County staff explained statewide SNAP rule changes expanding work requirements to ages 18–64 and narrowing exemptions; staff estimated up to 173,000 statewide may be affected but said local Beaufort County impact is 'not specified' while NC FAST updates proceed.
County social services staff briefed the board on changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work rules that took effect Dec. 1 under HR1 provisions explained at the meeting. The able‑bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) category now spans ages 18 to 64, up from 18 to 54, and a number of prior exemptions (foster youth, certain veterans, and many forms of informal homelessness) were narrowed or removed.
"With the new changes for the HR1 bill ... the age group is changing from 18 to 54 to 18 to 64," the presenter said. Staff said some exemptions, such as foster‑care youth protections and broad definitions of homelessness (couch‑surfing), have been restricted, and that definitions of homelessness now generally require chronic street‑level homelessness or shelter residency.
Staff estimated the state‑level impact could be about 173,000 individuals but did not yet have a county‑level count: "I do not have a number of how many individuals that may impact for Beaufort County at this time due to the fact that they are working on the changes in the NC FAST system," the presenter said. Commissioners requested historical SNAP recipient data to compare pre‑COVID (2019) levels with current counts; staff agreed to resend requested county numbers after confirming distribution lists.
Commissioners emphasized interest in numbers and trends and pressed staff to provide the requested historical data. The board did not take a policy vote on SNAP at the meeting; staff said they will return with local impact figures when NC FAST reporting is updated.
