To explore other options for assessing impacts, FNS awarded a contract to provide FNS with new information on: experiences and satisfaction of participants in FNS programs, and impacts of program participation on food security, diet quality, and other indicators of household well-being.
The following policy memoranda are superseded by revisions to the FNS 310 Handbook and are now obsolete. At the end of the memos being cancelled is a list of the current QC policy Memos.
Several state agencies have recently asked FNS to approve increases in their Standard Utility Allowances (SUA’s) for heating and cooling based on projections of substantial price increases in energy sources – particularly natural gas. We are aware of broad interest in the issue of the impact of higher energy prices on household budgets and appreciate the conferences and correspondence that bring this issue to our attention.
This final rule revises Food Stamp Program regulations pertaining to the standards for approval of Electronic Benefits Transfer systems, the participation of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns, and the state agency liabilities and Federal sanctions.
The purpose of this policy memo is to notify state agencies of the specific record retention requirements for recent QC review periods. As required by regulations, QC records must be retained for three years following fiscal closure
This is in reply to your July 21, 2005, memorandum with the above subject in which you ask for clarifications relating to the provision of the regulations at 7 CFR 273.1(b)(7)(vi). This provision provides, in part, that individuals must be considered residents of an institution when the institution provides them with the majority of their meals (over 50 percent of three meals daily) as part of the institution’s normal services.
This report is the latest in a series of publications presenting estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participate in the Food Stamp Program. The participation rate – a ratio of the number of participants to the number of people eligible for benefits – is an important measure of program performance.
FNS and other researchers have used a variety of approaches to calculate food stamp participation rates. While different approaches can look similar in concept, the results – for particular states or for the nation as a whole – can often look quite different. These differences can be confusing for users who seek to describe the success of the Food Stamp Program without becoming experts in statistics and data analysis. This paper provides an overview and comparison of two sets of estimates produced by FNS as indicators of Food Stamp Program performance.
Attached are 18 Questions and Answers about the drug expenses of Food Stamp clients who also receive Medicare. The Questions and Answers concern the phasing out of the Drug Discount Card, Medicare’s implementation of the new Medicare Prescription Drug Program, and Food Stamp Quality Control. We have developed this guidance in consultation with our federal partners.
Memo regarding confusion about the proper way to handle a situation involving a Food Stamp Program participant who receives an increase in benefits after reporting an increase in a deductible expense but subsequently fails to verify that increase in deductible expense.