FNS Awards $706,550 to the KS Department for Children and Families to Enhance Efficiency and Access in SNAP

Denver, Sept. 29, 2023 — The Mountain Plains Regional Office of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) awarded the Kansas Department for Children and Families $706,550 to enhance efficiency and access in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. The Process and Technology Improvement Grant, or PTIG, supports efforts by the Kansas Department for Children and Families to improve the experience of SNAP participants by enabling grantees to use technology to streamline operations and provide better customer service.

“We are excited to be able to award Kansas with these grant funds,” said Cheryl Kennedy, Mountain Plains Regional Administrator, USDA Food and Nutrition Service. “FNS is committed to strengthening states’ ability to modernize and operate the SNAP program with a high degree of integrity, and this grant is one of several ways in which we’re partnering with states to reach that goal.” 

The PTIGs demonstrate the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to championing fairness and equity in USDA’s service to program participants. Additionally, the grants build on FNS’s commitment to modernizing programs, reducing administrative burdens, and piloting new online tools and technologies that can provide a simple, seamless and secure customer experience. Previous grantees have used PTIG funding to make SNAP improvements such as making mobile applications easier to use, implementing live call centers, and creating automated text messaging notifications to remind households of key actions required to maintain benefits. Once awarded, grantees have three years to spend the funds and complete their projects.

Previous grantees have used PTIG funding to make SNAP improvements such as making mobile applications easier to use, implementing live call centers, and creating automated text messaging notifications to remind households of key actions required to maintain benefits. Once awarded, grantees have three years to spend the funds and complete their projects.

“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Mountain Plains Regional Office to further enhance our SNAP customer service,” said Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard. “Part of our mission is to strengthen families, so this grant will ensure Kansans have better, more equitable access to food assistance benefits.”

The Kansas Department for Children and Families will use the grant funds to automate manual SNAP administrative tasks using Robotic Process Automation, including case registration, data entry, and creating workflow tasks for caseworkers, thereby improving internal workflows. 

The multi-year grants support efforts by state agencies and their community-based and faith-based partners to develop and implement projects that use technology to improve the quality and efficiency of SNAP application and eligibility determination systems.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and improve food and nutrition security through a suite of more than 16 nutrition assistance programs, such as the school breakfast and lunch programs, WIC and SNAP. Together, these programs serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year, promoting consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being. FNS also provides science-based nutrition recommendations through the co-development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. FNS’s report, “Leveraging the White House Conference to Promote and Elevate Nutrition Security: The Role of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service,” highlights ways the agency will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy, released in conjunction with the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022. To learn more about FNS, visit www.fns.usda.gov and follow @USDANutrition.

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