The program has been labeled as “a powerful anti-poverty program” that has helped people of all demographics.
A continuous error from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, is causing one in ten households to go without the correct amount of benefits per month.
“We cannot tolerate high error rates in a program that impacts millions of lives. States must take immediate action to improve the accuracy of SNAP payments—or they will face financial penalties.”
Constant error rates diminish these numbers as they indicate the accuracy of how each state is determining eligibility and benefit amounts. According to Newsweek, states and districts in the Northeast had the highest rates of underpayments. Washington, D.C. had the highest rate with 4.58% and Maryland came in second place with 3.91%. Delaware was next up at 3.57% and Maine at 3.41%.
For overpayments, Alaska had the highest rate, coming in at a whopping 59.59%, and New Jersey was the runner-up at 33.43%.
To streamline their process, the department has requested additional funds to be added to the president’s FY25 Budget to improve the program’s payment accuracy and program integrity. The improvements would include funding for quality control, new computer systems, and a new Office of Training and Development.
The states with poor error rates will be required to submit a plan of corrective action, with the goal of addressing the cause of the errors.
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Source: Black Enterprise
