Further, 80 percent of the states took each of five  actions: (1) case file reviews by supervisors or special teams to verify the  accuracy of food stamp benefit payments, (2) special training for  caseworkers, (3) analyses of quality control data to identify causes of  payment errors, (4) electronic database matching to identify ineligible  participants and verify income and assets, and (5) use of computer  software programs to assist caseworkers in determining benefits. Some states had automated  case management systems that integrated Food Stamp Program records  with their Medicaid and other assistance programs, which facilitated the  administration of these programs. FNS Has Encouraged States to Reduce Payment Error Rates, but Simplifying Food Stamp Rules May Reduce Errors Further

To encourage the states to reduce error rates, FNS has employed financial  sanctions and incentives, approved waivers of reporting requirements for  certain households, and promoted initiatives to improve payment accuracy  through the exchange of information among the states. FNS officials and advocates for food stamp participants, however, have  expressed concern about some possible options for simplifying the rules  for determining eligibility and calculating benefits. We selected the 28 states to  include states with the lowest payment error rates, states with the highest  error rates, and the 10 states with the most food stamp participants in fiscal  year 1999. To examine what the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition  Service (FNS) has done and could do to help states reduce food stamp  payment errors, we relied in part on information obtained from our  telephone interviews, as well as with information obtained from  discussions with officials at FNS’ headquarters and each of its seven  regional offices.
Why GAO Did This Study

In fiscal year 2000, the Department of Agriculture's Food Stamp Program, administered jointly by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and the states, provided $15 billion in benefits to an average of 17.2 million low-income persons each month. FNS, which pays the full cost of food stamp benefits and half of the states' administrative costs, promulgates program regulations and oversees program implementation. The states run the program, determining whether households meet eligibility requirements, calculating monthly benefits the households should receive, and issuing benefits to participants. FNS assesses the accuracy of states' efforts to determine eligibility and benefits levels. Because of concerns about the integrity of Food Stamp Program payments, GAO examined the states' efforts to minimize food stamp payment errors and what FNS has done and could do to encourage and assist the states reduce such errors.

What GAO Found

GAO found that all 28 states it examined had taken steps to reduce payment errors. These steps included verifying the accuracy of benefit payments calculated through supervisory and other types of casefile reviews, providing specialized training for food stamp workers, analyzing quality control data to determine causes of errors and developing corrective actions, matching food stamp rolls with other federal and state computer databases to identify ineligible participants, and using computer software to assist caseworkers in determining benefits. To reduce payment errors, FNS has imposed financial sanctions on states with high error rates and has waived some reporting requirements.