States are facing major changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding. Beginning in FFY 2028, states with a Payment Error Rate (PER) above 6% will be required to share the cost of program benefits —potentially hundreds of millions of dollars.

What is Critical to Success?

1. Strong Team Alignment: States that improve the fastest share a unified understanding of goals, communicate well, and manage performance proactively.
2. Data‑Driven Corrections: Deep data analysis is essential—but only works when paired with targeted interventions. States must act on identified error trends quickly and consistently.
3. Measuring Progress: PER improvements take months to appear in Quality Control (QC) data. States need methods to track progress outside formal QC to see whether interventions are working.

Three Trends PCG Is Seeing

1. Quality Assurance (QA) Teams Are Growing: States are rapidly expanding or redesigning QA teams to catch and correct errors before they reach QC sampling. These teams also monitor interventions in near‑real time and identify trends across statewide, regional, office, unit, and individual levels.
2. Data Is Challenging Old Assumptions: State analyses show that experienced workers aren’t always more accurate, and high‑output workers are no more likely to make mistakes. Even “stable” cases like SSI and elderly households experience changes that require close attention.
3. Training Isn’t the Magic Fix: Retraining alone doesn’t resolve persistent error‑prone elements, prompting states to rethink their approach. Many are now refining training format, delivery, targeting, and evaluation to ensure real impact.

Ready to Strengthen Your State’s SNAP Accuracy?

Public Consulting Group’s (PCG) SNAP experts can help agencies improve SNAP accuracy, timeliness, and program operations.

Book a consultation with PCG’s SNAP accuracy experts today.