After reading that shitty article and looking for other sources to get more info, I found this article which shines a little light on their situation.

Dustin Pugel, a policy analyst for the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, explains that's 10,000 people, many of whom live in communities with insufficient job opportunities.

"There are still parts of the state that have not recovered from the Great Recession or have always been economically behind and so expecting folks in those parts of the state to go out and find a job when there are no jobs available to them just doesn't make a lot of sense," he states.

Pugel notes that there is very little evidence that work requirements for public assistance programs like SNAP will produce better work outcomes.

"People who have to adhere to a work requirement often don't end up with any better employment than other people who are like them,” he points out. “It doesn't reduce poverty and there's some evidence that it could increase extreme poverty."

There have been many other analysts who’ve said the same. Too lazy to dig up links.