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Kansas DCF says SNAP payment accuracy improving; waiver to restrict sugary purchases remains under federal review
Summary
Dr. Carla Whiteside Hicks told the Committee on Welfare Reform that DCF is lowering SNAP payment errors through training, technology and consulting support, reported a recent month with a 5.5% error rate, and said a federal waiver to restrict sugary item purchases has been revised and remains under review while the agency seeks a project manager for implementation.
Dr. Carla Whiteside Hicks, representing the Kansas Department for Children and Families, told the Committee on Welfare Reform that DCF is taking a multipronged approach to reduce SNAP payment errors and to implement (if approved) a waiver that would restrict purchases of certain sugary items with SNAP benefits.
“We are working diligently to get our numbers up so that we are above so that we are below the 6%,” Dr. Hicks said, reporting that the agency’s payment error rate for the month of August was 5.5% and noting steady improvement from earlier rolling figures above 9%.
Dr. Hicks described error sources and verification processes: roughly 50% of payment errors are client-side (for example, households failing to report moves, income or rent changes), while the agency is focused on reducing agency errors through centralized training, process standardization and quality-control work. “About 50% of those errors are client errors,” she said, and DCF has begun standardized statewide training and contracted the Human Services Group to review procedures.
Staffing and capacity were discussed in detail. Dr. Hicks said DCF has about 363 fully funded positions, roughly 308 filled and approximately 290 fully trained staff; she estimated about 220 eligibility workers are typically available on any given day after accounting for leave. Dr. Hicks told the committee the $275,000 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation will be used for technology — including training platforms and system flags to identify high-risk cases — and that the eligibility-determination vendor (Accenture) will be a partner for implementation.
On the grocery-restriction waiver (aimed at limiting purchases such as candy or soda with SNAP benefits), Dr. Hicks said DCF submitted a revised waiver on May 14, 2025, and has been working with USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) staff in monthly meetings to supply additional implementation details. She said the agency lacks internal capacity to run full implementation immediately and has posted an RFP for a project manager to coordinate public communications, retailer outreach and technical changes; the RFP will close next month.
Committee members pressed Dr. Hicks on retailer readiness, potential opt-outs and geographic effects. Dr. Hicks said some retailers have expressed concern they could not comply and might stop accepting SNAP; she said DCF will track which retailers accept benefits if implementation proceeds and will provide requested waiver drafts and RFP cost estimates to the committee.
The committee did not vote on any measures. Members asked DCF to provide the waiver documents, the consulting recommendations list, RFP cost details and subgroup-level error-dollar estimates for follow up.
