SNAP Employment and Training Programs

Federal requirements for state SNAP E&T programs were first enacted in  1985 and provide state SNAP agencies with flexibility  in how they design  their SNAP E&T programs, including who to serve and what services to  offer. Another type of fraud—trafficking— occurs when recipients exchange benefits with authorized retailers or  other individuals for cash or non-food items (e.g. FNS verifies a retailer’s  compliance with these requirements and generally authorizes retailers for  5 years. A Small Percentage of SNAP Recipients Participate in SNAP E&T Programs, Which Have Experienced Changes in Characteristics and FNS Oversight

		A Small Percentage of SNAP Recipients Participate in SNAP E&T

According to FNS data, about 14 percent of SNAP recipients, or about 6.1  million, were work registrants who were subject to work requirements,  and about 0.5 percent of SNAP recipients, or about 200,000, participated  in state SNAP E&T programs, in an average month of fiscal year 2016. 1.) According to FNS, most SNAP recipients are exempt from  work requirements. For example, according to FNS, almost two-thirds of  SNAP recipients were children, elderly, or adults with a disability in an  average month of fiscal year 2016—groups that are generally exempt. 2.) For example, states have  increasingly moved from mandatory to voluntary programs, focused on  serving ABAWDs, and partnered with state and local organizations to  deliver services. 3.) As part of our ongoing work, we  are continuing to explore the availability  and reliability of data on  ABAWDs. Our prior work has highlighted the value of  coordination between federally funded employment and training programs  to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources. FNS Has Taken Steps to Increase Support and Oversight of SNAP E&T

FNS has taken steps to increase federal support of states’ SNAP E&T  programs by increasing the number of federal staff responsible for SNAP  E&T and providing additional technical assistance to states. FNS officials rely on various information sources to oversee states’ SNAP  E&T programs, including participant outcome data reported by states for  the first time in January 2018. In addition, as of January 2018, FNS has  begun receiving new data on SNAP E&T program participants and  outcomes from states. FNS Has Taken Steps to Address SNAP Program Integrity Issues, but Concerns Remain

FNS and the states partner to address issues that affect program  integrity, including improper payments and fraud, and FNS has taken  some steps to address challenges in these areas, but concerns remain. We currently have ongoing work to assess  the steps FNS and states have taken to address our recommendations  related to recipient and retailer fraud and other program vulnerabilities. SNAP Improper Payments

In 2016, we reviewed SNAP improper payment rates and found that  states’ adoption of program flexibilities and changes in federal SNAP  policy in the previous decade, as well as improper payment rate  calculation methods, likely affected these rates. In 2014, USDA identified SNAP improper payment data quality issues in  some states and has since been working with the states to improve  improper payment estimates. Although USDA reported national SNAP  improper payment estimates for benefits paid through fiscal year 2014,  USDA did not report a national SNAP improper payment estimate for  benefits paid in fiscal years 2015 or 2016. According to USDA, due to the data  quality issues uncovered in 42 of 53 states during the reviews, the  improper payment rates for those states could not be validated, and the  department was unable to calculate a national improper payment rate for  benefits paid in fiscal year 2015. In 2014, we reported on 11 selected  states’ efforts to combat SNAP recipient fraud and made several  recommendations to FNS to address the challenges states faced. Specifically, FNS’s guidance on the use of EBT  transaction data to uncover potential patterns of benefit trafficking  lacked the specificity states needed to uncover such activity, and we  recommended FNS develop additional guidance. In our ongoing work, we are further reviewing states’ use of data analytics  to identify SNAP recipient fraud, including that which may be occurring  during out-of-state transactions. Focus on high-risk retailers: We also found in 2006 that FNS had  not conducted analyses to identify characteristics of retailers at high  risk of trafficking and to target its resources—a shortcoming FNS has  since taken some steps to address. However, FNS has not finalized these rules, and as of fall 2017, the  rules were considered “inactive.”
In our ongoing work, we are continuing to assess FNS’s efforts to  prevent, detect, and respond to retailer trafficking, as well as examining  what is known about the extent of retailer trafficking nationwide. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States.
Why GAO Did This Study

SNAP is the largest federally funded nutrition assistance program. In fiscal year 2017, it provided about $63 billion in benefits. USDA and the states jointly administer SNAP and partner to address issues that affect program integrity, including improper payments and fraud. GAO has previously reported on various aspects of SNAP, including state SNAP E&T programs, improper payment rates, recipient fraud, and retailer trafficking.
This testimony discusses GAO's prior and ongoing work on (1) SNAP E&T programs, including program participants, design, and USDA oversight, and (2) USDA's efforts to address SNAP program integrity, including improper payments, as well as recipient and retailer fraud. As part of its ongoing work on SNAP E&T programs, GAO analyzed E&T expenditures and participation data from fiscal years 2007 through 2016, the most recent data available; reviewed relevant research from USDA; and interviewed USDA and selected state and local officials. The prior work discussed in this testimony is based on four GAO products on E&T programs (GAO-03-388), improper payments (GAO-16-708T), recipient fraud (GAO-14-641), and retailer trafficking (GAO-07-53). Information on the scope and methodology of our prior work is available in each product.

What GAO Found

Overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by states, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) programs served about 0.5 percent of the approximately 43.5 million SNAP recipients in an average month of fiscal year 2016, according to the most recent USDA data available. These programs are generally designed to help SNAP recipients increase their ability to obtain regular employment through services such as job search and training. Some recipients may be required to participate. According to USDA, about 14 percent of SNAP recipients were subject to work requirements in an average month of fiscal year 2016, while others, such as children and the elderly, were generally exempt from these requirements. States have flexibility in how they design their E&T programs. Over the last several years, states have 1) increasingly moved away from programs that mandate participation, 2) focused on serving able-bodied adults without dependents whose benefits are generally time-limited unless they comply with work requirements, and 3) partnered with state and local organizations to deliver services. USDA has taken steps to increase support and oversight of SNAP E&T since 2014, including collecting new data on participant outcomes from states. GAO has ongoing work reviewing SNAP E&T programs, including USDA oversight.
USDA and the states partner to address issues that affect program integrity, including improper payments and fraud, and USDA has taken some steps to address challenges in these areas, but issues remain.
Improper Payments. In 2016, GAO reviewed SNAP improper payment rates and found that states' adoption of program flexibilities and changes in federal SNAP policy in the previous decade, as well as improper payment rate calculation methods, likely affected these rates. Although USDA reported improper payment estimates for SNAP in previous years, USDA did not report an estimate for benefits paid in fiscal years 2015 or 2016 due to data quality issues in some states. USDA has since been working with the states to improve improper payment estimates for the fiscal year 2017 review.
Recipient Fraud. In 2014, GAO made recommendations to USDA to address challenges states faced in combatting recipient fraud. For example, GAO found that USDA's guidance on the use of transaction data to uncover potential trafficking lacked specificity and recommended USDA develop additional guidance. Since then, USDA has provided technical assistance to some states, including on the use of data analytics. GAO has ongoing work reviewing states' use of data analytics to identify SNAP recipient fraud.
Retailer Trafficking. In 2006, GAO identified several ways in which SNAP was vulnerable to retailer trafficking—a practice involving the exchange of benefits for cash or non-food items. For example, USDA had not conducted analyses to identify high-risk retailers and target its resources. Since then, USDA has established risk levels for retailers based on various factors. GAO has ongoing work assessing how USDA prevents, detects, and responds to retailer trafficking and reviewing the usefulness of USDA's estimates of the extent of SNAP retailer trafficking.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is not making new recommendations. USDA generally concurred with GAO's prior recommendations.