FNS Awards $421,471 to the Mississippi Department of Human Services to Improve Recipient Fraud Prevention, Detection and Investigation Efforts

Atlanta, GA, September 20, 2023 – The Southeast Regional Office of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has awarded the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) $421,471 to help improve their recipient fraud prevention, detection and investigation efforts by implementing principles from the SNAP Fraud Framework. The award is designed to support Mississippi as officials develop new efforts or improve on existing ones.

“FNS values the ability of SNAP in helping people afford nutritious food that is essential to their health and well-being,” said Southeast Regional Administrator Willie C. Taylor, USDA Food and Nutrition Service. “The SNAP Fraud Framework Grant will help provide MDHS with the tools they need to reinforce and intensify their efforts to prevent, detect, and eliminate fraud in Mississippi.”

FNS is committed to expanding and improving efforts to combat fraud in the delivery of these critical nutrition assistance benefits. The SNAP Fraud Framework provides states tools and options they can implement to improve program operations and outcomes.

"This Grant will allow MDHS to develop and implement a SNAP Fraud Prevention Training and Education Program aimed to decrease SNAP fraud within the state by informing, educating, and training MDHS staff, SNAP applicants and recipients, and the general public on how to prevent, detect and deter SNAP fraud," said Sandra Griffith, Inspector General and Principal Deputy Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Human Services.

MDHS will use the funding to educate SNAP recipients on SNAP fraud through various channels. Additionally, MDHS will establish semi-annual training for county offices to equip them with the information needed to proactively prevent and recognize fraud during the application stages and develop e-training modules to educate and inform staff on how to handle client complaints regarding EBT skimming.

The awards will support new projects under any of the seven components of the SNAP Fraud Framework, which include organizational management, performance measurement, recipient integrity education, fraud detection, investigations and dispositions, analytics, data management, and learning and development.

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

• Utilize media campaigns to educate recipients about the security of their Electronic Benefit Transfer, or 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.

###

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.