The Alabama Department of Human Resources received
notification from the United States Department of Agriculture that the Alabama Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been awarded a performance bonus in the
amount of $2,669,264 for low payment error rate. Alabama’s payment error rate
for fiscal year 2017 was 4.19%, well below the national average payment error
rate of 6.30%.
The performance bonus payment may be used only for SNAP
related expenses such as investments in technology, improvements in
administration and distribution, and actions to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.
“This award is a tremendous achievement by our food
assistance staff in both the state and county offices in Alabama,” said DHR
Commissioner Nancy Buckner. “It helps validate what we already knew here at
DHR, that our employees are highly dedicated to their jobs and work very hard
to ensure that the assistance programs we administer are operated at a
professionally high standard.”
“The Alabama Department of Human Resources takes
very seriously the responsibility of ensuring that only those qualified and in
need of assistance receive benefits and that tax dollars are used effectively so
as to help the truly needy,” Commissioner Buckner added. “I am extremely proud
of the work our employees do every day to help Alabama’s most vulnerable while
maintaining the programs integrity and managing funding responsibly.”
This performance bonus marks the second time in
three years that DHR’s food assistance program was recognized for its high
performance by the USDA. Two years ago, Alabama DHR was recognized by the USDA
for its high timeliness rate of 95.60%.
“The Alabama Department of Human Resources takes
pride in the effectiveness of its delivery of SNAP benefits to those in need
and strives to continue to do so in the most efficient and accurate means
possible,” stated Food Assistance Division Director Brandon Hardin. “We would
like to thank everyone in our Department for helping us achieve this honor.”
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The Food Assistance Division administers the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Alabama. The Food
Assistance Program's purpose is to end hunger and improve nutrition by
providing monthly benefits to eligible low income households to help them buy
the food they need for good health. The eligibility rules and benefit amounts,
based on income and household size, are determined by regulations issued by the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service.