Evaluation of Reaching the Underserved Elderly and Working Poor in SNAP

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In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for the contract Evaluation of Reaching the Underserved Elderly and Working Poor in SNAP.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 21, 2010.

Less than one-third of eligible elderly (age 60 and older) persons and less than three-fifths of persons in eligible households with someone working participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to the latest (2007) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates. These participation rates suggest that many people in these two groups who may need nutrition assistance are not receiving SNAP benefits. Without SNAP, elderly individuals may not be able to meet their nutritional needs or may forgo medicine for food; working people may not be able to adequately feed their families, despite their work efforts. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), responding to a Congressional request, has funded six State demonstration projects to increase SNAP access to eligible households with either persons over age 60 or with adult members who are working or looking for work. FNS is conducting an evaluation of the demonstration projects. By evaluating these demonstrations, FNS will be able to advise Federal policymakers and State administrators on the best approaches to increasing SNAP access for these two populations.

The evaluation of the demonstration projects has several objectives. The evaluation will describe each demonstration project and the implementation process; assess the impact on SNAP participation in the target groups, application barriers, client satisfaction, household benefits, administrative costs, and payment errors; and assess the sustainability and replicability of each demonstration project. To meet these objectives, FNS will collect information from the pilot and comparison sites before, during, and after the intervention. FNS will collect and analyze administrative data in each demonstration State and will conduct site visits to each demonstration project and conduct focus groups with SNAP applicants.