DHS secretary tells House panel HR1 SNAP work rules require IT upgrades, more staff to prevent benefit losses

The House Human Services Committee heard a detailed briefing from Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Valerie Arkoosh on changes to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) introduced under HR1 and the operational steps the state is taking to implement them.

"SNAP recipients who must meet work and reporting requirements to keep benefits are now known as peers," Arkoosh said, describing the new terminology and the program mechanics that peers must meet to remain eligible. She told the committee peers must either meet exemptions, live in a waived area or satisfy community engagement requirements — 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month — through work, volunteering or qualifying training programs.

Arkoosh said HR1 altered waiver and exemption criteria, noting that HR1 ties geographic waivers to a county unemployment rate of at least 10 percent and that "currently, 0 counties in Pennsylvania now qualify for a waiver." She added that several previously automatic exemptions were narrowed: veterans and former foster youth no longer receive blanket exemptions and age exemptions have changed, with some households losing prior protections as renewals come due.

On administration and verification, Arkoosh described both short-term and longer-term measures. In the short term, she said, DHS has enabled a lock/unlock feature in the PA DHS SNAP mobile app to reduce card-theft losses and is referring suspected trafficking to the Office of State Inspector General. Longer-term work includes consent-based connections to payroll processors (for example ADP) so DHS can electronically verify wages and a planned migration off legacy mainframe systems to cloud platforms.

"We need about 250 more workers in our county assistance offices," Arkoosh told members, and she estimated the combined work to update SNAP and to prepare for upcoming Medicaid community engagement rules will cost on the order of $20 million. Arkoosh asked legislators to amplify outreach, saying "we are making use of every channel possible" to ensure recipients open mail and report address changes that are needed for accurate case handling.

Committee members pressed DHS on several operational questions. Representative Arvin Venkat asked whether states should pursue a statutory definition of "medically frail." Arkoosh said states are awaiting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidance but would pursue flexibility if federal rules allow. Representative John Schlegel asked about a multi-year trafficking scheme; Arkoosh described close work with OSIG and reiterated the department’s interest in moving toward chip-enabled EBT cards to reduce skimming.

Data presented drew attention. Arkoosh said the department’s most recent numbers indicate "about 59,000 people have been dropped from the SNAP program" since waivers expired on Sept. 1 (figure current as of end of January), a point that several members raised when discussing the urgency of outreach and IT fixes. Feeding Pennsylvania and other witnesses offered higher estimates (see related article), underscoring differing counts and the difficulty of real-time roll-off tallies.

There were no formal committee votes or motions during the hearing. The secretary and other witnesses emphasized implementation risk tied to legacy systems and urged investment in staffing and IT to reduce administrative errors and avoid unintended benefit losses. The panel adjourned after two hours of testimony and questioning with members saying they would submit follow-up questions to DHS for written responses.

What happens next: DHS said it will continue IT modernization work (including pilot launches in portions of the state before full rollout), expand outreach via district offices, and follow up with committee staff on specific questions about forms and timing.