Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: More Complete and Accurate Information Needed on Employment and Training Programs
Fast Facts
To be eligible for benefits, some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients must comply with work requirements, which may include participating in a state’s SNAP Employment and Training program. These programs are intended to help recipients become self-sufficient.
We found that only a small number of SNAP recipients participated in these programs—less than 1% per month on average in 2016. However, USDA has limited data on these programs, so it can’t monitor whether recipients are still eligible to receive benefits, or are achieving self-sufficiency.
We recommended that USDA collect better data on these programs.
Resource Center for Participants in a SNAP Employment and Training Program
Photo of people working at computers.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) programs, which are overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by states, have served a small percentage of SNAP recipients over time, and information on participant characteristics and outcomes is limited. In an average month of fiscal year 2016, SNAP E&T served about 0.5 percent of the 43.5 million SNAP recipients. Further, since 2008, the percentage of SNAP recipients served by SNAP E&T has declined. Participation in SNAP E&T may be low, in part, because most SNAP recipients were exempt from work requirements, according to USDA data. In addition, SNAP recipients may participate in other activities to comply with work requirements. Although data on the number of recipients served in SNAP E&T are generally reliable, USDA lacks reliable data on participant characteristics and outcomes because of imprecise instructions on data collection forms and staff confusion at the state level. USDA has taken some steps to address these issues, but data reliability issues persist. As a result, USDA's ability to assess whether agency goals are being met through the SNAP E&T program is limited, as is the department's ability to monitor states' implementation of work requirements and ensure program integrity.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Recipients Subject to Work Requirements and Participating in SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) Programs in an Average Month of Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2018, most state SNAP agencies partnered with workforce development system entities, such as community colleges and workforce agencies, to provide services to SNAP E&T participants, according to USDA data. Regional and state officials reported that state SNAP agencies often have used these partnerships to leverage non-federal funding sources and provide additional capacity and expertise to help expand SNAP E&T services. However, 3 states operated their own SNAP E&T programs without partnering with any other program, and a total of 20 states lacked partnerships with workforce agencies, according to USDA data for fiscal year 2018. Federal regulations require that SNAP E&T services be delivered through the state's workforce development system unless the services are not available locally through this system. USDA and state officials described challenges to forming effective partnerships with workforce agencies, including perceived disincentives to serving SNAP recipients. However, states that are not fully leveraging resources available through the workforce development system may miss opportunities to provide a wider variety of services to SNAP E&T participants and serve a greater number of SNAP recipients through SNAP E&T.
Why GAO Did This Study
SNAP is the nation's largest federally funded nutrition assistance program. In fiscal year 2017, it provided about $64 billion in benefits. To maintain eligibility for benefits, certain SNAP recipients must comply with the program's work requirements, which may include participating in a state's SNAP E&T program if required by the state.
This report examines (1) what is known about SNAP E&T program participants and outcomes over time and (2) the extent to which state SNAP E&T programs have partnered with other programs offering similar services. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and guidance; analyzed USDA data on SNAP recipients, work registrants, and SNAP E&T participants from fiscal years 2008 through 2016, the most recent data available; reviewed states' fiscal year 2017 SNAP E&T plans and outcome reports; and interviewed USDA officials and state officials in five states selected, in part, to reflect a range of SNAP E&T program characteristics.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations, including that USDA take additional steps to address SNAP E&T data reliability issues and to help states leverage available workforce development system resources. USDA officials generally agreed with our recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Food and Nutrition Service | The Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) should identify and disseminate strategies to states and service providers for increasing the participation of SNAP recipients referred to the SNAP E&T program. (Recommendation 1) |
FNS developed various resources for increasing participation of SNAP recipients referred to the SNAP E&T program and disseminated these to states and service providers through its SNAP2Skills technical assistance initiative and related website. From 2020 to 2021, FNS provided intensive technical assistance to seven states to help them improve participation and engagement in their SNAP E&T programs by drawing upon behavioral science to identify and generate solutions to problems limiting participation. In 2021, FNS published "The Road to Engagement: A Toolkit for SNAP E&T Programs" on its SNAP2Skills website. This toolkit also uses behavioral science and human-centered design principles to help states and service providers identify and generate solutions to problems that may be limiting engagement and participation in SNAP E&T programs. Finally, FNS has included other relevant resources responsive to this recommendation on its Snap2Skills website, including a webinar on increasing SNAP E&T participation. By supporting SNAP E&T programs in overcoming the challenge of successfully referring and engaging would-be participants, FNS may be able to help more SNAP recipients access resources intended to increase their self-sufficiency.
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| Food and Nutrition Service | The Administrator of FNS should take additional steps to address data reliability issues in the state-reported data on SNAP E&T participant characteristics and outcomes, including steps to address imprecise instructions on data collection forms and staff confusion at the state level. (Recommendation 2) |
FNS agreed with our recommendation and took several steps to improve the reliability of state-reported data on SNAP E&T participants and outcomes. Subsequent to our recommendation, FNS officials began providing targeted technical assistance to state officials with the goal of addressing data quality issues. For example, in 2020, regional officials published informational sheets for states to address possible points of confusion on data collection forms. In October 2022, the agency's contractor completed an assessment of SNAP E&T data reporting that included recommendations to enhance how national, regional, and state staff collect and use E&T program data. The report also described the state and federal systems that collect, validate, and analyze E&T data, and assessed the current and future data needs of E&T programs. Finally, in 2022 FNS revised its SNAP E&T program activity report form (FNS-583) to improve the quality of data obtained from states. The revised form includes new reporting elements and modified instructions to clarify the reporting requirements.
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| Food and Nutrition Service | The Administrator of FNS should determine and communicate to states how the agency will use newly reported outcome and participant characteristics data to assess the effectiveness of state SNAP E&T programs. (Recommendation 3) |
FNS officials agreed with this recommendation and took steps to address it. Specifically, in 2020, at the SNAP E&T National Forum, FNS provided guidance to state officials in attendance regarding how participant characteristics and outcome data can be used to ultimately help answer the question of whether E&T programs were helping people get the skills and jobs they need to move toward self-sufficiency. FNS provided examples of discussion questions that state officials could use to analyze the data and determine which services were working well. Further, in October 2022, SNAP E&T Regional Offices scheduled meetings with state officials to review their annual outcome data to strategically assess the effectiveness of states' E&T program. To facilitate these reviews and analysis of the data, FNS regional offices provided questions that state officials could use to assess whether the services they were offering through their SNAP E&T programs were contributing to desired outcomes. Regional officials also provided multiple years of state outcome and participant characteristics data for discussion.
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| Food and Nutrition Service | The Administrator of FNS should take additional steps to assist states in leveraging available workforce development system resources. Such steps should include ensuring that state SNAP E&T plans provide the agency with sufficient information to verify that states have assessed available workforce development system providers. (Recommendation 4) |
FNS officials agreed with this recommendation and took steps that address it. FNS issued addenda to the fiscal year 2020 SNAP E&T state plan handbook and template to reflect the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 requirement for SNAP agencies to consult with state workforce development boards, private employers, or employer organizations in designing their SNAP E&T programs. Further, FNS officials said they will ensure that state plans provide sufficient information for FNS to verify that states have assessed available workforce development system providers. By ensuring that all states take steps to identify potential workforce development system partners, FNS will help to promote a more effective use of resources among SNAP E&T programs and the broader workforce development system.
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