SNAP State Agency Performance Reporting Tool

TO: State Agencies Administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SUBJECT: Annual Performance Reporting on the SNAP-NDNH Matching Program

PURPOSE: Explanation and Detailed Instructions on How to Complete and Submit the “SNAP Agency NDNH Matching Program Performance Reporting Tool”

BACKGROUND:

The federal Office of Management and Budget requires the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to periodically report performance measures of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS), which includes the NDNH. These performance measures demonstrate how the NDNH supports OCSE’s strategic mission, goals and objectives, and cross-agency collaboration.

To assist OCSE in its compliance with federal reporting requirements, a state agency administering the SNAP must report performance outputs and outcomes attributable to the state agency’s use of NDNH match results, as noted in the Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) between OCSE and state agencies administering SNAP. Please see section XIV, “Periodic Reporting of Performance Outcomes of the CMA” for more information.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The information in the SNAP Agency NDNH Matching Program Performance Reporting Tool should represent what happened to the applicant and recipient with verified employment—specifically if the individual’s benefits were reduced or if the case they were a part of was closed. State agencies will report data annually to OCSE by December 31, which is 90 days after the end of the federal fiscal year (October 1-September 30).

Each state agency participating in the NDNH matching program is required to report annually on the four items listed in the SNAP Agency NDNH Matching Program Performance Reporting Tool for the NDNH new hire, quarterly wage, and unemployment insurance information received from OCSE.

All match results should be reported in the month the match was conducted, not the month of case action or when costs are avoided. In the example below, the actions taken for the 350 adults in October (resulting in cost avoidance in November) would be reported on the July row of the reporting form.

Consider the following example:

Date Action

End of July: June SNAP adults are matched to the NDNH (15,000 adults)

Early August: July match results are returned to the state (4,000 total New Hire matches)

September: Match results verified and sent to local offices for action (400 adults verified to have employment that was previously unknown to the agency)

October: Based on verified employment information (350 adults have actions taken)

October 31: States report and submit outcomes on the SNAP Agency NDNH Matching Program Performance Reporting Tool

November: Adult receives adjusted benefit/no benefit as a result of action (350 adults)

FURTHER EXPLANATION OF REPORTING ITEMS:

Item 1. Unduplicated Individuals Verified as Employed (receiving SNAP benefits): The number of unduplicated individuals with previously unknown employment that had an NDNH match and were verified as being employed while receiving SNAP benefits in your state.

“Unduplicated individuals” means counting the same person no more than once per federal fiscal year. If the individual was found in more than one of the three NDNH datasets (new hire, quarterly wage, or unemployment insurance), they should be reported under the data match that triggered the verification resulting in case action. Consider the following example:

A match reveals verified income that is insufficient to trigger benefit reduction or case closure, but in a later match the individual is again identified as employed but this time has income significant enough to result in benefit reduction or case closure.

The first verified match (revealing income but not enough for a benefit change) should be reported under item 1 as previously unknown employment but would not be reported on items 2, 3, or 4 on the tool. The reporting on the second match resulting in case action depends on whether the employment is different than the employment discovered in the earlier match and when in the federal fiscal year the match occurs. If the later match identifies the same employment as the first match (although the person may be working a different number of hours or may be paid more or less than before), this would not meet the definition of “previously unknown employment” and should not be reported. If the second match is for a different employer but within the same federal fiscal year as the first match, it should not be reported a second time. However, if the second match is for a different employer and in a new federal fiscal year, it should be reported in the new federal fiscal year under item 1 as previously unknown employment and also under items 2, 3, and 4 if applicable.

Matches that are not acted upon should still be reported under item 1 as previously unknown employment, even though there would be nothing to report under items 2, 3, and 4.

Item 2. Unduplicated SNAP Cases Closed Due to Earnings: The number of unduplicated individuals reported in item 1 whose SNAP benefits were terminated as a result of employment verified from an NDNH match.

As the explanation to items 2 and 3 specifies, these items should represent the “number of unduplicated individuals reported in item 1 [adults with previously unknown employment that were verified as employed] . . . whose SNAP benefits were terminated [or reduced].” Therefore, information reported in items 2 and 3 should represent the number of individuals with previously unknown employment that had their benefits reduced or terminated, not the number of individuals in the case that were affected by these actions.

Item 3. Unduplicated SNAP Cases with Benefits Reduced: The number of unduplicated individuals reported in item 1 whose SNAP benefits were reduced as a result of employment verified from an NDNH match.

As the explanation to items 2 and 3 specifies, these items should represent the “number of unduplicated individuals reported in item 1 [adults with previously unknown employment that were verified as employed] . . . whose SNAP benefits were terminated [or reduced].” Therefore, information reported in items 2 and 3 should represent the number of individuals with previously unknown employment that had their benefits reduced or terminated, not the number of individuals in the case that were affected by these actions.

Item 4. Unduplicated First-Month Avoided SNAP Costs: The total first-month SNAP costs avoided from items 2 and 3.

First-month avoided costs equal the difference between 1) the monthly benefit the SNAP case would have been given in the absence of verified employment information resulting from an NDNH match, and 2) the monthly benefit the SNAP case actually received after the verified employment information was used to modify benefits. For example, suppose an NDNH match is verified and reveals previously unknown employment. The state verifies the income and recalculates the SNAP benefit for the case, resulting in the case receiving monthly SNAP benefits that are $100 less than what they would have received in absence of the employment information found through the NDNH. As a result of the NDNH match, the state has avoided $100 in costs in the month when benefits were reduced. The state should report a $100 first-month avoided cost in item 4 of the report. There is no need to report costs avoided in subsequent months.

Overlap between NDNH and the State Directory of New Hires

States should report on all NDNH verified matches that reveal previously unknown employment, not just those that are out-of-state or federal agency matches that would not be available from the State Directory of New Hires. If information is received as a result of an NDNH match, the individual is verified as employed, and the employment was previously unknown to the agency it should be reported on item 1 of the form regardless of whether the match would also be found in the State Directory of New Hires.

SUBMISSION DATES:

Report data by December 31, which is 90 days after the end of the federal fiscal year (October 1-September 30).

SUBMITTAL PROCEDURE:

Submit electronically reports to:

Linda Boyer, Data Access and Security Manager

linda.boyer@acf.hhs.gov

ATTACHMENTS:

SNAP Agency NDNH Matching Program Performance Reporting Tool

QUESTIONS:

Please direct questions to:

Annette Hocker, OCSE

annette.hocker@acf.hhs.gov

202-260-2785

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995(Pub.L. 104-13)

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.625 hours, per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

3