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Alabama committee presses DHR on millions spent for SNAP/TANF IT systems and EBT-fraud mitigation
Summary
Committee members questioned a string of DHR contracts and renewals tied to SNAP/TANF eligibility systems and EBT fraud-mitigation efforts; DHR lawyers and officials defended a sole-source quality-assurance renewal and said anti-fraud measures have reduced theft of benefits.
The Alabama Contract Review Committee spent extended time reviewing Department of Human Resources contracts tied to an integrated eligibility system and related fraud-mitigation work, with members pressing agency representatives about large, overlapping contract amounts and whether the state has seen results.
DHR legal counsel Jennifer Bush told the committee the item before them was a one-year renewal of a quality-assurance contract with Tetris Corporation, which the agency said was originally chosen through an RFP and is now being renewed as a sole-source contractor. "It is a federal requirement that we have a quality assurance contractor," Bush said, explaining that the contract oversees the build and implementation of the agency's new eligibility system.
A committee member recited a series of prior and overlapping contracts the agency has used for SNAP, TANF and related programs — including multiple engagements with Tetris and Conduent — and asked whether the spending had produced measurable benefits. The member listed prior contract amounts from the record, questioning the aggregate cost and seeking clarity on duplication and outcomes.
Stan Landers, identified by DHR as a special assistant to the commissioner, told the committee the work has had a clear effect in reducing EBT card theft and other fraud, saying, "The answer is a resounding yes. It has had an effect, a positive effect." Landers and other DHR officials described a public accountability division and new systems intended to detect and mitigate fraud that DHR officials said had been used to stop large-scale thefts of benefits.
Agency staff said some contracts are federally required and that parts of the work involved replacing a decades-old system. DHR told the committee the legacy system dated back to a used purchase from the 1980s and that modernizing the platform required multiple contractors and quality assurance oversight. Jennifer Bush described the Tetris renewal as mandated by federal oversight of the project.
No formal vote was recorded on the Tetris renewal during the session. The committee's questions emphasized the scale of past contracts, the federal requirements guiding quality-assurance work, and members' desire for clearer documentation of outcomes and spending. The committee adjourned with the docket moving to the next scheduled meeting on July 8.
