Work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents who receive food assistance benefits are changing in 10 Michigan counties, the Michigan Department of Health Human Services announced.

Starting Jan. 1, food assistance recipients in the 10 counties - Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Clinton, Eaton, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Ionia, Kalamazoo and Livingston - will have three months to meet the reinstated work requirements.

The change will impact about 16,000 people.

The work requirements include:

Working an average of 20 hours per week.

Participating in an approved employment and training program for an average of 20 hours per week.

Participating in community service by volunteering at a nonprofit organization. The amount of time an individual must volunteer would depend upon how much he or she receives in food assistance.

A news release from MDHHS says the state, because of a significant reduction in the state's unemployment rate, is no longer eligible for a federal waiver from the work requirements that was first received in 2002.

The state expects to transition all counties statewide to the new requirements by October of 2018, said MDHHS spokesman Bob Wheaton. Four counties -- Kent, Oakland, Ottawa and Washtenaw -- have already made the change.

"MDHHS will work with individuals affected by this change and our community partners to assist them in meeting the reinstated work requirements," MDHHS director, Nick Lyon, said in a statement.

Able-bodied adults are people between ages 18 to 49 who do not have a disability that prevents them from working. There are exemptions for pregnant women, individuals who are physically or mentally unable to work for 20 hours, as well as people who care for a child under age 6 or someone who is incapacitated, according to the agency.

MDHHS, along with Michigan Works! agencies and the state Talent and Investment Agency, will attempt to help affected residents in nine of the counties meet the new requirements by providing resources, such as approved training programs.

In the remaining county, Grand Traverse, MDHHS will pilot "an approach that includes employment and self-initiated community service." That approach, according to the agency, is being taken because of limited funding for Michigan Works! agencies to serve Grand Traverse and the "relatively small number of affected people" in the county, the agency said.

For more information, recipients are urged to call their MDHHS case specialist or visit the agency's website.