Emergency appropriation to Department of Human Services for developing a new eligibility system to reduce payment errors.

The bill provides an emergency appropriation of $5,467,164 to the Department of Human Services for fiscal year 2024-2025. This funding is intended to support modifications to the development of a new eligibility system for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The goal is to reduce payment error rates, which increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in processing requirements and high staff turnover. If the new system successfully lowers the error rate below the national average of 11.68%, the state can avoid paying the remaining penalty amount.

Emergency appropriation to Department of Human Services for developing a new eligibility system to reduce payment errors.

The bill provides an emergency appropriation of $5,467,164 to the Department of Human Services for fiscal year 2024-2025. This funding is intended to support modifications to the development of a new eligibility system for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The goal is to reduce payment error rates, which increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in processing requirements and high staff turnover. If the new system successfully lowers the error rate below the national average of 11.68%, the state can avoid paying the remaining penalty amount.