Summary
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new information collection for the contract of the study titled “Evaluating the Interview Requirement for SNAP Certification.” The purpose of this collection is to help FNS describe the effects of waiving the interview requirement, including SNAP agency processes and staff experiences with implementing the no-interview demonstration, analyzing the differences in outcomes for SNAP applicants and recipients, and identifying key lessons to inform future policy or implementation.
Request for Comments
Written comments must be received on or before June 3, 2024.
- Comments may be mailed to Amanda Wyant, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314.
- Comments may also be submitted via email to Amanda.Wyant@usda.gov.
- Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will be a matter of public record.
Abstract
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the foundation of the nation's nutrition assistance safety net and is a core source of support to millions of Americans, particularly during economic downturns. To help states handle increased need and participation amid the health risks of the pandemic, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) offered states a range of flexibilities which provided support to states administering the program and clients in the application process, including the option to waive the certification and recertification interview requirement. This allowed states to continue administering SNAP during the public health emergency with minimal client contact. FNS required states that waived the interview requirement to document their experiences processing cases without the interview. However, more rigorous evidence is needed to confidently understand the effects of waiving the interview requirement.
The Evaluating the Interview Requirement for SNAP Certification study will collect information in five states to assess how eliminating interviews affects outcomes, including administrative efficiency, costs, benefit accuracy, and client access. The project will include a randomized control trial (RCT) to analyze the impacts of outcomes between those clients assigned to receive an interview (the regular interview process group) and those assigned to not receive an interview (the no-interview group). The project will also include collection of administrative and quality control data, as well as qualitative information. The qualitative data collection will include virtual site visits and observations, a workflow analysis, and a time-use study. During the site visits, the team will conduct interviews with staff involved with all stages of certification and recertification processes. Site visitors will observe verification calls between eligibility workers and no-interview SNAP applicants to collect information about whether staff carry out policies and procedures as intended. The workflow analysis will involve small group interviews with state and local staff and will support the assessment of the changes required when implementing the no-interview demonstration and the possible challenges. Finally, the study will include a staff time-use survey to determine whether application processing requires more or less time for workers when there is an interview compared to when there is not.
Affected Public
Members of the public affected by the data collection include state and local government workers from SNAP agencies in five states, as well as staff at not-for-profit organizations, and individuals who apply for or participate in SNAP. Respondent groups identified include (1) state SNAP directors, (2) state SNAP policy directors, (3) state SNAP field operations managers, (4) state data systems staff, (5) state quality control (QC) staff, (6) local SNAP directors, (7) local SNAP office supervisors, (8) eligibility workers, (9) customer service staff, (10) community based organizations (CBOs) and advocates, and (11) SNAP applicants and participants.