SNAP to Skills

SNAP to Skills Project (S2S) was our first initiative designed to strengthen SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) programs on a national scale. It was built out of a growing urgency for states to best use their SNAP E&T funding to connect participants with job opportunities and skills-based training to reduce their reliance on SNAP over time.

Launched in 2015, S2S began as an initiative to help ten states build more effective, skills-based SNAP E&T programs—and blossomed into a ten year-long, nationwide project that included peer learning events, training for E&T stakeholders, and new tools and resources. Though E&T has grown significantly since 2015 and we’ve introduced new initiatives like the More Than a Job campaign, many of the S2S resources are still valuable today.

A core element of S2S has been its hands-on support for state SNAP agencies, helping them design and implement strategies to grow and strengthen their SNAP E&T programs. Through this initiative, we helped states assess and develop day-to-day operations to support program expansion and position their programs within the state's broader workforce development landscape.

• Using Team-Based Case Management in SNAP E&T
• SNAP E&T and WIOA: Partnering to Raise Skills and Employment
• Integrating SNAP E&T into Career Pathway Systems to Boost Outcomes
• Building an Employer-Driven SNAP E&T Program by Utilizing Labor Market Information
• Building State Capacity to Support Expanded SNAP E&T Programs
• Securing Third-Party Partners for SNAP E&T Programs

As interest in SNAP E&T expanded among states, so did the focus on ensuring participants were actively engaged and benefited from the program. SNAP to Skills supported states by applying behavioral science, the study of how and why people make decisions, to identify barriers and design processes that better meet participant needs. Through technical assistance, states implemented strategies such as adjusting the timing and content of communications to improve engagement. Building on these efforts, we developed The Road to Engagement: A Toolkit for SNAP E&T Programs, which provides a structured approach for using behavioral science to identify and address challenges that limit participation.