The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Act), requires verification of household eligibility for SNAP benefits, confirm household eligibility throughout participation in the program, and ensure that households receive the correct benefit amount. State agencies are responsible for determining the eligibility of applicant households and issuing benefits to those households entitled to benefits under the Act.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection.
USDA FNS is proposing to add a new system of records, entitled USDA/FNS–13, Mercury, which is a Consumer Off the Shelf workflow system designed to automate the correspondence tracking and management process within FNS.
This is a new collection for the contract Assessment of Mobile Technologies for Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (Mobile Payment Pilot evaluation). The purpose of the Mobile Payment Pilot evaluation is to assess the effects of five pilot projects that will allow SNAP participants to use mobile payments to purchase food as an alternate option to a physical electronic benefit transfer card.
The purpose of this new collection is to collect qualitative and quantitative stakeholder feedback through meetings, focus groups, interviews, other stakeholder interactions and surveys, as well as requests for administrative data, as part of the planning process for FNS regulatory actions, the semi-annual regulatory agenda, research studies, outreach, training and the development of guidance.
FNS is required to develop standards for identifying major changes in the operations of state agencies that administer SNAP. State agencies must notify the Department when planning to implement a major change in operations and to collect any information required by the Department to identify and correct any adverse effects on program integrity or access, including access by vulnerable households.
This is a new information collection request. SNAP and Medicaid serve similar populations, which provides opportunities for state agencies administering the programs to coordinate policies and processes to improve efficiency, customer service, and program access. This study will conduct case studies in up to five states to understand the challenges with improving program coordination and highlight the best practices that could be shared with other states.
FNS requires states agencies to issue a warning notice to withhold replacement electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards or a warning notice for excessive EBT card replacements for individual members of a SNAP household requesting four EBT cards in a 12-month period. These notices are being issued to educate SNAP recipients on use of the EBT card and to deter fraudulent activity.
State agencies are required to operate a SNAP E&T program and have considerable flexibility to determine the services they offer and populations they serve. FNS seeks to ensure the quality of the services and activities offered through SNAP E&T programs by investing resources and providing technical assistance to help states build capacity, create more robust services, and increase engagement in their programs.