USDA Awards $5.1 Million in Grants to Combat SNAP Recipient Fraud

WASHINGTON, DC, July 16, 2019 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today awarded nearly $5.1 million in SNAP Fraud Framework grants to fund innovative state projects designed to reduce recipient fraud and enhance integrity in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The grants focus on implementing different aspects of the SNAP Fraud Framework, a collection of recently formulated procedures, innovative ideas and best-practices designed to improve efforts by state agencies to more effectively detect, investigate and prevent fraud in SNAP.

“These grants will foster new ideas and leverage cutting-edge technology that improves program integrity – now and into the future,” said Brandon Lipps, USDA’s Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. “These grants enhance our work with states in supporting our mission to ensure program integrity.”

The application for the two-year grants was limited to SNAP state agencies for new projects implementing key aspects of the SNAP Fraud Framework.

From 2014 to 2017, FNS partnered with 10 state agencies to pilot new strategies and improve the use of analytics to proactively detect potential fraud, improve administration, and increase oversight. Lessons learned and ideas tested during these pilots led to the development of the SNAP Fraud Framework. The grants announced today are a continuation of the agency’s efforts to reduce fraud and improve program integrity.

There is no simple solution to combat fraud, and each state may require a different approach to improve program integrity. The SNAP Fraud Framework acknowledges the need for state flexibility by offering a variety of options States can implement as they work to improve program operations and anti-fraud efforts.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which administers the SNAP program at the federal level, is continually working to improve administration and oversight of its programs and provide states and local operators with the resources and tools they need to operate the programs with integrity.

The 2019 recipients of SNAP Fraud Framework Grants include the following state departments:

• New Jersey Department of Human Services
• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
• District of Columbia Department of Human Services
• Hawaii Department of Human Services
• Oklahoma Department of Human Services
• Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• Florida Department of Children and Families
• Delaware Department of Health and Social Services
• Tennessee Department of Human Services

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) works to reduce food insecurity and promote nutritious diets among the American people. The agency administers 15 nutrition assistance programs that leverage American’s agricultural abundance to ensure children and low-income individuals and families have nutritious food to eat. FNS also co-develops the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provide science-based nutrition recommendations and serve as the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy.

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