Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services is working to lower the SNAP error rate below six percent by October 2027 to prevent significant financial penalties.
Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services is working to lower the SNAP error rate below six percent by October 2027 to prevent significant financial penalties.
Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services is working to lower the SNAP error rate below six percent by October 2027 to prevent significant financial penalties.
Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services is implementing changes to reduce the error rate in its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which must be below six percent by October 2027 to avoid tens of millions of dollars in penalties.
The SNAP program provides food assistance to hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans, and the current error rate is nearly eleven percent.
Jeffrey Cartmell, director of Oklahoma DHS, explained that fraud is not the primary issue contributing to the error rate.
“Fraud exists in any program, I’m not going to say it does not occur in any program, but the error rate is not a reflection of fraud,” Cartmell said. “It’s not fraud’s fault. Correct. Now does some fraud cause error? Yes. But does every error itself involve some level of fraud? It does not. I mean fraud is going to have to be an intentional act on behalf of a client or someone at the agency to violate the law. On the error rate, often what happens if it’s a misunderstanding of the information that we’re seeking from the client or it’s a client failing to update as their situation has changed throughout the course of the year.”
Cartmell laid out the changes underway at Oklahoma DHS, including a new, much more extensive training program that he says will lead to improvements.
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
The full interview with Cartmell will be featured on this week’s Oklahoma Chronicle, airing Sunday at 10 a.m.
Top Headlines
Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.
Oklahoma aims to reduce SNAP error rate to avoid financial penalties – KOCO
