SNAP E&T FAQ
How can a community college get involved with the SNAP E&T program?
Do support services need to ONLY be for SNAP E&T participants?
Can colleges use SNAP E&T dollars to support staff dedicated to administering the program at their colleges?
Will the local One Stops or workforce boards be involved?
Is any work being done related to educating/better informing local administrators of the SNAP program about the E&T component and how community colleges can play a role?
Are there standardized referral templates that are used for tracking or do community colleges create their own process?
Can local DHS agencies share SNAP participant contact information with colleges for proactive outreach?
Are there any release forms current colleges use for the purpose of sharing information to the state SNAP ET administrator?
Will the SNAP recipients be required to complete a work activity?
Is there a time limit on training? Or is this only for short term certificate programs?
Are programs for SNAP E&T required to be strictly credit or non-credit programs? If no requirement, how can community colleges determine which approach to take?
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How can a community college get involved with the SNAP E&T program?
Colleges can become SNAP E&T contracted providers if they enter into a contract with a SNAP E&T agency (in most states, the State SNAP agency, but in some states, the county SNAP agency). The process to do this looks different for each state, but a state will have a procurement process to add on a new SNAP E&T provider. That provider must be written into the State’s annual SNAP E&T state plan. Many states add providers on mid-year through a state plan amendment process. The first step is understanding the SNAP E&T onboarding/procurement process in your state and communicating with the administrating agency.
Do support services need to ONLY be for SNAP E&T participants?
Support services may be offered to any student but SNAP E&T dollars can only be used on eligible SNAP E&T participants (participants whose eligibility has been verified by the SNAP agency and have been enrolled into SNAP E&T) this means that if the college uses non-federal dollars to cover the expenses of a support service and issues that service to a SNAP E&T participant, they can draw down up to 50% reimbursement through the SNAP E&T invoicing process. They may not draw down 50% reimbursement for services provided to non-SNAP E&T participants.
Can colleges use SNAP E&T dollars to support staff dedicated to administering the program at their colleges?
YES. It is often the case that staff will spend time serving both SNAP E&T and non-SNAP E&T students, so a cost allocation methodology will need to be applied to the portion of the Staff time/salary spent on SNAP E&T participants (for allowable SNAP E&T activities and services)
Will the local One Stops or workforce boards be involved?
Some One Stops and Workforce boards are contracted to provide SNAP E&T services while others serve as referral partners or others have no role in SNAP E&T at all. It depends on the State/County. SNAP E&T agencies are encouraged to coordinate and collaborate with their workforce agencies when developing their SNAP E&T programs. For more information on SNAP E&T program structure for your state, please see the State Information Guide.
Is any work being done related to educating/better informing local administrators of the SNAP program about the E&T component and how community colleges can play a role?
YES, many states who are expanding their SNAP E&T programs have efforts to incorporate SNAP E&T referral (including referral to SNAP E&T providers) into SNAP outreach and eligibility work. The effectiveness or progress of this efforts varies greatly from state to state. USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has invested considerable resources in educating states and the public about the benefits of SNAP E&T partnerships. FNS has hired and assigned seven regional SNAP E&T Analysts whose primary role is to educate the states in their region and help them develop and grow robust and effective SNAP E&T programs. FNS also created the SNAP to Skills website containing mounds of resources and educational materials for all interested stakeholders.
Are there standardized referral templates that are used for tracking or do community colleges create their own process?
Each state has their own referral process and process for communication between the provider and the SNAP agency to verify SNAP E&T eligibility. The best practice is to work with your state agency to understand their process. Many times, these templates will be included in a State or County’s SNAP E&T provider handbook. The requirements for these documents and processes will be overseen by the state, so it's best to defer to their requirements.
Can local DHS agencies share SNAP participant contact information with colleges for proactive outreach?
There are some instances where the SNAP agency has an agreement with the SNAP E&T provider college to make direct referrals into SNAP E&T or to cross match data. There are many restrictions to protect students/SNAP clients’ information and to restrict colleges from doing a “batch process” of referring every eligible SNAP student into E&T without going through an assessment process, so there are limits to how this process can work. If you are a college SNAP E&T provider, check with your state agency to see what agreements are possible to refer SNAP E&T participants.
Are there any release forms current colleges use for the purpose of sharing information to the state SNAP ET administrator?
When a college becomes a contracted SNAP E&T provider, they will need to obtain a release of information from each SNAP E&T student. Each state has their own release of information document that they will require the provider to have individuals sign and keep the signed releases on file.
Will the SNAP recipients be required to complete a work activity?
SNAP E&T participation is considered a “work activity” for SNAP eligibility purposes. Some states have a “Mandatory” program for their ABAWD (Able Bodied Adult Without Dependents) population. ABAWD participants face a 3-month limit on their benefits unless they complete a certain number of hours per week of “work activity” so they are required to participate in SNAP E&T to meet this requirement. Other states have a “Mandatory” SNAP E&T program for all work registrants (a broader category than ABAWD) where SNAP E&T participation is mandatory to receive their SNAP benefits. Other states have voluntary SNAP E&T programs. Even in voluntary programs, unless states have applied for specific waivers (based on unemployment rates in the area) ABAWD individuals face the 3-month time limit on their benefits unless they complete a work activity and SNAP E&T is often used as a means to meet work activity requirements.
Is there a time limit on training? Or is this only for short term certificate programs?
There is no time limit for training in SNAP E&T.
Are programs for SNAP E&T required to be strictly credit or non-credit programs? If no requirement, how can community colleges determine which approach to take?
SNAP E&T can support non-credit training (often training that isn’t covered by PELL) such as IBEST or Adult Basic ED as well as other credit bearing vocational education within the college. Colleges can offer both types of training to their SNAP E&T students.
Funding for this project was provided by United States Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
