The US Department of Agriculture has announced (Jan. 4, 2021) a final rule enhancing employment and training opportunities for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants.
SNAP participants have exclusive access to training and support services to help them enter or move up in the workforce through state SNAP Employment and Training programs. The final rule makes a wide range of enhancements to these services to empower more SNAP participants to gain the skills, training or work experience they need to move forward.
USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Brandon Lipps says the agency has a long-standing commitment to increasing opportunities for SNAP participants to move into employment. He says this rule continues USDA’s efforts to connect more SNAP households with the dignity and hope work provides.
In March, USDA published the proposed rule, “Employment and Training Opportunities in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” The rule finalizes many of those changes—improving E&T programs by ensuring states use evidence-based strategies to help participants get the skills local employers need most, by requiring the use of case management services for E&T participants and by allowing E&T funds to be used for subsidized employment and apprenticeships.
The final rule underscores USDA’s commitment to improving SNAP E&T programs, in partnership with states. Each year, USDA provides more than $100 million for states to operate their E&T programs. In addition, if a state invests its own money or outside funding to improve its SNAP E&T programs, the federal government will reimburse the state for 50% of those funds. Beyond funding, USDA efforts to support SNAP E&T include:
- Hosting the first ever SNAP E&T National Forum. The virtual, three-day conference took place Oct. 13-15 and connected more than 1,500 partners from across the country to share and learn best practices to promote and boost employment among SNAP households through state E&T programs.
- Operating SNAP to Skills, which provides states and their partners with coaching and intensive technical support on how to build strong E&T programs. This year, seven states – Oregon, Colorado, Louisiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island – joined the 22 other states that have participated in SNAP to Skills since the program was launched in 2015.
- Providing training, such as the SNAP E&T State Institutes and Learning Academies, to develop expertise in administering SNAP E&T among individuals, partner organizations, and state agencies across the country.
- Issuing more than $6.7 million in SNAP E&T National Partnership Grants in 2020 to help four national nonprofit organizations expand program capacity and develop networks of third-party partners to serve SNAP participants.
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