Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Social Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County staff warn SNAP error-rate review could cost counties millions
Summary
Clermont County Job & Family Services staff told commissioners July 15 that a federal/state review of SNAP error rates could require state contributions and that the state plans to pass costs to counties; staff cited a statewide error-rate threshold of 6%, recent cuts to local SNAP administrative funding and local quality-assurance practices.
County Job & Family Services staff on July 15 briefed commissioners about changes to how SNAP error rates are being reviewed and the potential fiscal consequences for local governments, saying recent federal and state procedures could shift costs to counties.
"The number is 6," Studdy Meyer, a department staff member, said of the federal error-rate threshold that can trigger state liabilities. Meyer said Ohio's statewide error rate is now a little over 6 percent (it had been over 10 percent earlier), and that officials at the state level are considering or planning to pass the financial contribution for errors down to counties. "The contributions are not gonna be absorbed by the state. It's going to be passed down to the local governments," Meyer said.
Meyer described Clermont County's internal quality-assurance efforts and attributed the county's relatively low local error rate to supervisory case pulls and QA reviews. He said roughly 20,000 county residents receive SNAP benefits and that federal cuts reduced the county's SNAP administrative funding by about $800,000 (Meyer phrased the figure as "$800,000 specifically for our county"). Meyer also noted that about 60 percent of reported errors stem from incomplete or incorrect information provided by clients, not always issues correctible by staff training alone: "60% of the errors that happen, no amount of training for our workers is gonna fix that."
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about sampling methodology, whether the states random pulls allow for case corrections, and whether the states stated approach aggregates error rates across the entire state rather than protecting counties with low local rates. Meyer said the state is pulling cases and providing feedback, and that some of the reporting pool is used for federal reporting; he said counties will need to coordinate with the County Commissioners Association and state partners as the issue evolves.
What this means: If the state moves to hold counties collectively accountable for a statewide error rate above the federal threshold, counties that have low local error rates could nonetheless face a share of costs. Meyer told the board Clermont County is working to maintain low error rates through QC practices but that the county has limited ability to control all sources of error.
No formal action was taken; the briefing was provided for information and to inform county-level coordination with state officials and the County Commissioners Association.
