SNAP quality control payment error rates by fiscal year. 

The Program Access Index  is one of the measures FNS uses to reward states for high performance in the administration of SNAP. Performance awards were authorized by the 2022 Farm Bill. The PAI is designed to indicate the degree to which low-income people have access to SNAP benefits. The purpose of this step-by-step guide is to describe the calculation of the PAI in detail. It includes all of the data, adjustments, and calculations used in determining the PAI for every state.

The physical presence waiver, issued under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, allowed WIC state and local agencies to remotely certify participants into WIC during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report summarizes data collected from surveys of WIC state and local agencies about the use of the physical presence waiver and the impact it had on WIC services.

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the USDA FNS issued certain programmatic waivers to state agencies to support continued access to WIC services and provide flexibilities to some administrative requirements. This brief report summarizes findings about the use and impact of these waivers from surveys of WIC state and local agencies.

The Characteristics report is published annually, dating back to 1976, and provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of SNAP households. Using a sample of SNAP Quality Control data that is representative at both the state and national level, this report summarizes the characteristics of households and individuals who participated in SNAP in fiscal year 2019.  Because SNAP is available to most low-income households, participants represent a broad cross section of the Nation's poor. 

National completion rates for SNAP QC reviews have generally declined since peak levels in the 1980s, and State-level completion rates vary widely. This study examines the factors contributing to incomplete reviews of cases and describes best practices associated with high SNAP QC completion rates.