Section 4022 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized and funded the SNAP employment and training pilots and the evaluation. The four issue briefs present findings drawn from the evaluation of the 10 pilots.
This final report integrates key findings from previous reports regarding the National Accuracy Clearinghouse (NAC) pilot evaluation.
Section 4022 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized and funded the SNAP employment and training pilots and the evaluation. The final summary report presents findings drawn from the 10 pilot-specific final evaluation reports. The pilot-specific final reports and issue briefs on lessons from the pilots on administering and delivering services in SNAP E&T programs are also available.
The SNAP E&T pilot projects give Congress, USDA, and states the opportunity to test innovative strategies and approaches that connect low-income households to good paying jobs and thereby reduce their reliance on public assistance.
The SNAP E&T pilot projects give Congress, USDA, and states the opportunity to test innovative strategies and approaches that connect low-income households to good paying jobs and thereby reduce their reliance on public assistance.
This study reports on a project launched in 2010 to pilot and evaluate innovative strategies to reduce SNAP participation barriers for low-income elderly by leveraging new data-sharing requirements related to Medicare assistance programs that help pay for prescription drugs or Medicare premiums. SNAP accesses the medical assistance program data and contacts those individuals that appear SNAP eligible. Grants were awarded to New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
A fundamental issue in the design of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) is the form benefits should take.
A fundamental issue in the design of the Food Stamp Program is the form the benefits take. From the inception of pilot programs in the early 1960s to the contemporary program, the vehicle of choice has been the food stamp coupon, a voucher that can be redeemed for food at authorized retailers. For nearly that same period analyses have considered the relative merits of cash--or, in practice, checks--as an alternative. Advocates of the current coupon system argue that coupons are a direct and inexpensive way to ensure that food stamp benefits are used to purchase food, that the unauthorized use of food stamps is relatively limited despite some evidence of fraud and benefit diversion, and that coupons provide some measure of protection to food budgets from other demands on limited household resources. Advocates of cash benefits argue that the current system limits the purchasing choices of participants; places a stigma on participation; does not prevent the diversion of benefits (as evidenced by the existence of illegal trafficking); and entails excessive costs for coupon production, issuance, transaction, and redemption.