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.
FNS has received many questions on the interim final rule implementing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training Program Monitoring, Oversight and Reporting Measures, published in the Federal Register on March 24, 2016. FNS released one Q&A in response to those questions on July 26, 2016. Since that time, FNS has received additional questions and is issuing this second Q&A to address them.
As states expand and improve SNAP Employment and Training 50 percent reimbursement programs, they should consider how E&T can be incorporated into existing career pathways systems to get better results for their participants.
Since the goal of SNAP E&T is to help SNAP participants gain the skills and credentials they need to obtain good jobs leading to economic self-sufficiency, state SNAP agencies should partner with workforce development system stakeholders and use Labor Market Information to identify and support employer-driven training programs that provide the greatest opportunities for quality employment.
This memorandum identifies and clarifies several statutory and regulatory requirements that state agencies operating mandatory E&T programs must implement to ensure adequate protections for SNAP applicants and recipients as well as proper administration of the program.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide policy clarification reinforcing the importance of carefully monitoring the funding of E&T activities-especially education components-operated by state agencies as part of their SNAP E&T programs.
Attached are policy clarification questions and answers on the SNAP Employment and Training program in response to questions raised by the states in various discussions about E&T requirements.