The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides assistance to low-income individuals and families for food purchases.
That basic support is, ideally, a platform for SNAP recipients to advance up the economic ladder. High-quality educational opportunities, job and career training, and support services are important in helping those receiving SNAP benefits achieve economic self-sufficiency.
That’s where SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) programs come in. SNAP E&T’s overall purpose is to assist “members of SNAP households in gaining skills, training, work or experience that will increase their ability to obtain regular employment,” while also meeting “state or local workforce needs.” To that end, state SNAP E&T programs provide career services, education opportunities and wraparound support services like transportation, childcare assistance and mental health counseling to SNAP participants entering the workforce.
The goal of SNAP E&T is to better assist individuals to progress through the workforce and minimize reliance on public assistance programs. Each state can determine what populations they will serve, what employment services they will offer and what governmental, educational or organizational entities will deliver to them.
The most effective and efficient SNAP E&T programs have strong partnerships between state and local agencies, private employers and third-party service providers, such as community-based organizations and community colleges. These third-party providers play a crucial role in expanding the spectrum of services offered, increasing participant engagement and improving overall outcomes for participants.
Despite their critical role in creating successful SNAP E&T models, becoming a third-party provider is not always easy. One of the biggest hurdles for potential third-party providers is navigating the 50/50 reimbursement model. Under this system, organizations must first cover the full cost of their proposed programs. Then, the USDA reimburses 50% of eligible expenses. This means providers need reliable upfront funding that often comes from state, local or philanthropic sources.
SNAP E&T lends itself more to organizations with existing workforce development programs already serving SNAP recipients rather than those trying to establish new services. SNAP E&T acts as more of a stimulant for existing service programs rather than as a viable long-term funding model.
“If you serve two people with your program, SNAP E&T allows you to serve one more person for free,” as Kathi Medcalfe from the Seattle Jobs Initiative put it in a recent training session facilitated by NCRC.
The other major challenge organizations face when becoming third-party providers is being able to adequately match their services to SNAP E&T’s recommended program components. SNAP rules can differ with geography, as the federally-funded program is separately administered from state to state. Identifying which of the services your organization will offer while also ensuring they align with SNAP E&T components requires a strong understanding of your state’s program guidelines, which eligible activities qualify and the populations that will be best served by your organization’s offerings.
Despite these challenges, aspiring SNAP E&T third-party providers shouldn’t become discouraged from getting involved. States across the country have reaffirmed their commitment to robust SNAP E&T programs and have established avenues for community-based organizations to become partners.
For example, in Massachusetts, Jewish Vocational Services successfully worked with a newly elected Governor to help redesign the state’s SNAP E&T program, spurring continued growth in the number of third-party partnerships. And Tennessee recently tripled its SNAP E&T third-party partnerships in a single year, from four in 2019 to 13 by the end of 2020, thanks to work led by Brandee Davis during her time as the Director of WIOA Programs at Workforce Mid-South.
At the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), we are helping community-based organizations across the country identify shared challenges to third-party partnerships with state and local agencies and providing the resources and support to overcome them.
Through webinars, toolkits and regional convenings, NCRC is equipping organizations with the tools they need to succeed in the SNAP E&T program landscape. Follow us on social media for updates on all of our SNAP E&T resources and upcoming trainings. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). If you have any questions or just want to learn more about SNAP E&T, feel free to reach out to me at swang@ncrc.org.
Simon Wang is the Economic Mobility Project Specialist with NCRC’s National Training Academy team.
Photo credit: Mikhail Nilov via Pexels.
