FNS Awards $662,689 to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to Improve Recipient Fraud Prevention, Detection and Investigation Efforts

Chicago, Sept. 15, 2023 – The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has awarded the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS)

$662,689 to help improve their recipient fraud prevention, detection and investigation efforts by implementing principles from the SNAP Fraud Framework. The SNAP Fraud Framework provides states tools and options they can implement in order to improve program operations and outcomes.

FNS is committed to expanding and improving efforts to combat fraud in the delivery of these critical nutrition assistance benefits.

“SNAP is a cornerstone of the USDA nutrition assistance programs,” said FNS Midwest Regional Administrator Dr. Vista Suarez Fletcher. “We applaud DHS’ commitment to program integrity, and congratulate Wisconsin on being selected for this grant for the second consecutive year enabling DHS to further strengthen its program through innovative efforts to prevent and detect fraud.”

The award will support Wisconsin in the development of new Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card features for recipients. The new features include Personal Identification Number (PIN) updates, opt-in protections for out-of-state SNAP transactions, and cardholder text alerts and education. These tools will aim to reduce the impacts of stolen SNAP benefits through electronic means, including card skimming, card cloning, and similar fraudulent methods.

“We appreciate FNS for supporting our fraud prevention and investigation efforts,” said DHS Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson. “This grant allows us to enhance protections already in place with new tools to further safeguard the integrity of our FoodShare program and ensure our members are able to buy the food they need.”

Wisconsin is one of five states awarded a SNAP Fraud Framework Implementation Grant. Each state will use the grant funds to support new fraud prevention projects that fall under any of the seven components of the SNAP Fraud Framework: organizational management, performance measurement, recipient integrity education, fraud detection, investigations and dispositions, analytics and data management, and learning and development.

Grantees will use funds in a variety of ways. For example, states will:

• Utilize media campaigns to educate recipients about the security of their EBT, cards.
• Establish trainings for county offices to proactively prevent and recognize fraud during the application stages.
• Implement new features in EBT technology to reduce the impacts of stolen SNAP benefits through electronic methods, including card skimming, card cloning and other similar methods.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and improve food and nutrition security through a suite of more than 16 nutrition assistance programs, such as the school breakfast and lunch programs, WIC and SNAP. Together, these programs serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year, promoting consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being. FNS also provides science-based nutrition recommendations through the co-development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. FNS’s report, “Leveraging the White House Conference to Promote and Elevate Nutrition Security: The Role of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service,” highlights ways the agency will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy, released in conjunction with the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022. To learn more about FNS, visit www.fns.usda.gov and follow @USDANutrition.

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