SNAP state agencies are required to develop corrective action plans (CAPs) to respond to program deficiencies, including:
- Payment error rate (PER) of 6 percent or greater;
- Case and procedural error rate (CAPER) above the national average; or
- Five percent or more of a state’s quality control (QC) caseload coded as incomplete.
The purpose of this study was to review fiscal year (FY) 2019 PER, CAPER and QC completion rate CAPs for eight states and describe the approaches used to develop, implement, and monitor CAPs; identify challenges and promising practices throughout the CAP process; and develop recommendations for improving states’ abilities to conduct corrective action activities.
Each of the selected study states produced at least one FY 2019 PER, CAPER or QC completion CAP. The FY 2019 CAPS were the most recent CAPs available for the study. Key findings are presented below, and state-specific findings are presented in the report and appendices.
Key Findings
- State agencies emphasized limited staffing as a challenge throughout the CAP process.
- Data-driven approaches and detailed investigations are needed to identify the root causes of errors.
- SNAP state agency and other federal program staff identified valuable technical assistance including example CAPs, CAP templates, meetings with states, and information sharing between states.