The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced $5 million for investments in customer service projects to improve and modernize application processing in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The USDA Process and Technology Improvement Grants (PTIGs) support efforts to streamline program administration, improve customer service, maintain the highest integrity, and protect the program and American taxpayer dollars. Grants were awarded to:
- Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance ($815,250) – To test the effectiveness of a text messaging intervention at reducing SNAP churn (recipients leaving and returning quickly from the program).
- Mississippi Department of Human Services ($1,366,223) – To implement SNAP Model Notice Toolkit to modernize recipient notices and transition to a platform that connects with real-time data in the eligibility system to reduce Case and Procedural Error Rates.
- Illinois Department of Human Services ($658,705) –To develop a new single telephonic entry point for customers with a new centralized case maintenance call center and robust phone call data monitoring system.
- Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services ($776,000) – To develop an online assessment that SNAP recipients can use to collaborate with their case managers to develop an individualized Education and Training (E&T) service plan.
- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services ($538,116) – To develop an error-prone profiling system that will nudge specialists and their supervisors to act based upon the error profile to reduce SNAP payment errors.
- Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department in Minnesota ($845,706) – To improve the application process that will request information/verification in an electronic workflow and develop an online self-service portal.
For more information about the grantees and their projects, visit the FY 2019 SNAP Process and Technology Improvement Grants webpage.
SNAP agencies in the 50 states, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, as well as local governments and their community-based and faith-based partners, were eligible to compete for these grants. Grants are awarded for a three-year period and include comprehensive evaluation plans.
##