States scramble to get February food stamps out amid shutdown
WASHINGTON — State and county workers spent the weekend gathering information needed to make sure 38 million low-income people receive their February food stamp benefits early despite a partial federal government shutdown.
The Agriculture Department prompted the flurry of activity when it announced last week that it would tap the remaining budget authority in an expired continuing resolution to provide states $4.8 billion to cover February benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
As a result, states, counties, tribal governments and U.S. territories are scrambling to compile beneficiary information since the USDA’s budget authority for the funding ends Jan. 21. The federal government funds SNAP but state and local authorities administer the benefits.
Some SNAP employees will work up to the Tuesday close-of-business deadline to forward the files to contractors responsible for loading the benefits onto individual electronic cards that people enrolled in SNAP can use to buy food. SNAP was formerly known as the food stamp program.
The contractors then have until Jan. 20 to get the benefits out to recipients. USDA left it to state officials to get the word out to SNAP workers and supervisors.
Minnesota, for example, offered a glimpse into how it will tackle what Alicia Smith, the department’s advisor on American Indian issues, called “significant work in a short timeframe.” She made the comments during a webinar Friday with state SNAP offices.
State officials warned that employees might have to work overtime to meet the Tuesday deadline. Nikki Farago, the state’s deputy assistant commissioner for Children and Family Services, acknowledged that the shutdown will be difficult for staff and recipients.
Minnesota has about 400,000 SNAP beneficiaries, but state officials focused on 32,000 cases of people who recently applied for benefits, require recertification for benefits or are undergoing periodic reviews that typically require more time to process. The benefits for the other beneficiaries should be easier to process because they are certified and do not require additional work, officials said.
Access to the Minnesota’s MAXIS computer system would be provided several hours on Saturday and Sunday with additional hours on Monday and Tuesday. MAXIS is used in Minnesota to determine a person’s eligibility for several programs, including the state-run SNAP program.
SNAP offices in Minnesota and across the United States will continue to accept new applications for benefits after Jan. 20, although it is unclear if USDA will be able to provide funding beyond February. Under federal law, states cannot stop people from applying.
This week state officials said they will meet with SNAP advocates and send letters out to SNAP beneficiaries. Similar meetings are occurring across the country as other states rush to meet the deadlines.