Food Stamps On-Line: A Review of State Government Food Stamp Websites

PDF of this report (19pp.)

Updated July 8, 2009

Related Areas of Research

All states make information regarding the Food Stamp Program,[1] including their applications, state policy manuals or regulations, and general program information, available to the public via the World Wide Web. [2] The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reviewed each state’s web pages to determine what information and services they offer regarding the Food Stamp Program.

This paper provides links to the addresses for each state’s food stamp web pages and also provides an overview of the types of information and services that states provide. Those interested in expanding the services provided on their state’s web page may find the overview section helpful because it highlights the various features states offer, such as benefit calculators or office locators.

Readers may access states’ web page listings and addresses either by clicking on a state in the map below or using the comprehensive list at the end of the paper.

Washington Oregon Nevada Idaho California Montana Wyoming Utah Arizona Alaska Hawaii New Mexico Texas Colorado Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota North Dakota Minnesota Iowa Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Wisconsin Illinois Mississippi Michigan Indiana Kentucky Tennessee Florida Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Virginia West Virginia Ohio Maryland Delaware District of Columbia New Jersey Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts Pennsylvania New York Maine Vermont New Hampshire Maryland New Jersey Connecticut Massachusetts Vermont New Hampshire

Overview of Findings

There is significant variation among states’ food stamp web pages and their on-line services. Some states provide a simple description of the program on their agency’s website. Others offer applications, benefit calculators, pre-screening tools, detailed program operation instructions for caseworkers, known as “policy manuals,” and copies of program memoranda to eligibility workers that describe policy changes to the program. By making all of these materials readily accessible to the public, states can facilitate an improved understanding of the Food Stamp Program. The table below summarizes the types of services available and which states offer them.

TABLE 1:
OVERVIEW OF SERVICES AVAILABLE ON STATE FOOD STAMP WEB PAGES

Features

States that Offer

Total

Printable Applications

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WV, WY

51

On-line Applications

AZ, CA (some counties), DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN (some counties), KS, MD, MA, NE, NJ, NY (some counties), PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI

23

Eligibility Screening Tools

AK, AR, FL, IA, IN, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NJ, NY, RI, TN, TX, VA, WA

18

Benefit Calculators

CA, DE, GA, IL, NJ, ND, OR, PA, SC, TX, WA, WV, WI

13

Link to USDA’s Benefit Calculator

AL, CA, CO, IA, ID, KY, LA, MS, MO, NV, NM, NC, OH, OK, SD, UT, WV, WY

18

On-line Policy Manuals

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

49

Basic Program Information

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

51
  • Printable applications are available on every state website. State food stamp agencies with websites are required by law to make their food stamp application available on-line. In addition, the application must be posted to the website in every language in which the state makes paper copies available. Thirty-seven states make their application available online in Spanish, while 13 states make it available in one or more additional foreign languages. Making applications available on-line is a helpful tool for those interested in increasing access to the Food Stamp Program. It allows potential food stamp participants to review or to complete the application outside of the welfare office, often with the help of a community services agency. By seeing the application in advance of going to the welfare office, individuals can familiarize themselves with the information required to complete the application process. This simple step can help to make the process more transparent and less daunting to potential applicants.
  • On-line applications actually allow individuals to complete and submit an application over the internet. Twenty states offer on-line applications throughout the entire state, in addition to their printable application: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Another three states -- California, Indiana and New York -- offer online applications in certain areas. Fourteen states make their on-line application available in Spanish as well: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.

    On-line applications are a very promising option to facilitate enrollment in the program. Using this tool, individuals can apply for food stamps directly from any computer that has an internet connection. Most applicants will likely have to visit the welfare office to finalize their application and to provide verification of their circumstances, but an on-line application helps them to initiate the process. Getting the process started earlier is important to low-income families — it can mean extra benefits and faster service. Eligible applicants receive benefits retroactive to their date of application and states must process applications consistent with the rules governing paper applications.
  • Eligibility screening tools are available on 18 state websites. This tool asks users several questions about their income and household circumstances and, based on the responses, informs users of their potential eligibility for public benefits. Many eligible individuals do not know or believe that they qualify for food stamps and state-operated screening or self-assessment tools can be very powerful outreach tools to those dubious about their eligibility. Screening tools are most effective if questions are limited to the most pertinent eligibility issues and assist users with the answers rather than requiring users to fill in blank spaces.

    Kansas’s screening tool is a good example of how to structure a short, easy-to-use tool. It is only one page long and for each question provides several answers from which to choose. Based on the information provided by the user, the Kansas screening tool provides a list of potential programs for which the user may be eligible, including food stamps, and a direct link to descriptive information about, and online applications for, those programs.
  • Benefit calculators are available on twenty-nine state websites (18 of these are links to the USDA Benefit Calculator). Benefit calculators are similar to eligibility screening tools; however, they also provide users with an estimate of the amount of benefits for which they might qualify. In addition to the perception that they are not eligible, a major reason low-income individuals do not participate in the Food Stamp Program is they often believe (incorrectly) that they would only receive a low level of benefits. By giving interested individuals an estimate of their potential benefit amount, a benefit calculator addresses this misperception and helps the individual to assess whether applying for assistance would be worth the time and energy.

    Benefit calculators necessarily have to ask more questions than screening tools, typically about a household’s deductible expenses. Nevertheless, it is important to strike a balance between brevity and detail to avoid both bogging down users in programmatic detail and misleading them by omitting pertinent eligibility criteria. One way to achieve this is to keep the calculator concise and to inform users that there are additional eligibility criteria that the state will have to screen for, such as immigration status. For intended users, the calculator could provide basic information about these additional criteria in a tone that encourages users to apply. Similarly, calculators can get overwhelming and cumbersome for users if they attempt to determine eligibility and benefit levels for numerous programs.

    Pennsylvania’s benefit calculator does a good job of asking for needed information on four screens using graphics and simple language to avoid any confusion. The final result includes an estimated benefit and links to immediately apply for a variety of programs online. In addition to food stamps, the program can screen for eligibility for medical benefits, cash assistance, school meals, child care grants, heating assistance, and several other programs. By contrast, South Carolina’s benefit calculator is shorter — one page with only seven questions, although it screens only for food stamps. It provides links to an information page on how to apply and a page with office locations. Both states’ calculators avoid being overly cumbersome by not asking about important eligibility information such as household resources, but include general language warning that there are other eligibility criteria one must satisfy to receive benefits.

    If a state is unable to develop its own benefit calculator, it can provide a link directly to the USDA Benefit Calculator in order to give potential food stamp recipients an approximation of the amount of food stamps that could be received. Eighteen states have chosen to provide this link.
  • On-line policy manuals are an additional tool offered on 49 state websites (all except Connecticut and Vermont). Some states have web-based policy manuals in the form of a searchable database. Providing a searchable manual helps to make state policies easy to locate and transparent to the public. For example, Illinois’s policy manual includes a clear list of contents, a separate listing of new manual releases, and an easy-to-use search-engine that provides clear and detailed search results.

    Another useful feature that some states offer is information about recent changes to the state’s policy manual. Typically, the state posts policy memoranda to caseworkers that describe the changes. In many cases, these memos are difficult for non-experts to navigate because they are written in very technical language. Wisconsin provides a good example of how to make these memoranda, called “green sheets” in Wisconsin, more accessible to the public and potentially more useful to caseworkers. Each green sheet is structured in the same way. It explains the policy change in simple language, provides a rationale for the change, and outlines the differences between old and new policy. This makes it possible for individuals without technical knowledge to comprehend changes to state policies as well as why the changes were made.
  • Program information varies on each state website. States generally offer at least some basic food stamp program information on their websites, including eligibility requirements and a description of how to apply for food stamps. Often times, however, these descriptions focus on the legislative history of the program or jump immediately to program restrictions rather than outline the program’s purpose in helping low-income individuals and families or convey the state agency’s service philosophy. What a state says about the Food Stamp Program on its web page sets a tone and conveys a message to the public about the agency’s philosophy.

    For example, the Nevada web page is very welcoming and explains how the program can help:
    “Many Nevadans have trouble making ends meet each month. After paying for rent, utilities, transportation, and child care, there is often little left over to buy nutritious food. But it doesn't have to be that way. Each month thousands of families across the state turn to the Nevada State Division of Welfare and Supportive Services for assistance in the form of food stamp benefits to help feed their families. Read on to learn how you can receive help if you qualify.”
    This introduction is followed by a number of links designed to address common concerns and provide important information. The information provided is similar in content to what many other states provide, but it is very easy to understand and it focuses on the program from the low-income individual’s perspective rather than from a program operations perspective.

    In addition to basic program information, more than half the states offer office-locator tools such as maps and zip-code searches to help individuals locate their local community service office. For example, Oklahoma’s website provides an office locator feature using a map of the state. Users click on the county where they live and the site provides the address, phone number, operating hours, and a picture of each county’s welfare offices. Even a simple list of offices, organized by county, as many states provide, may be very helpful to prospective applicants.

    Some states also provide additional administrative forms on their sites that may be very useful for clients. Maryland, for example, provides printable versions of hearing request forms or forms to report changes in household circumstances. Traditionally, states provided these forms only at the local office. By making this type of paperwork available on the web, states potentially reduces administrative burden on local office staff because clients can access the forms they need directly or seek the help of a community group to obtain and to complete the forms.

State Government Websites on the Food Stamp Program

Below is a listing of state government resources regarding the Food Stamp Program posted on the web. For a comprehensive list of states resources on all major low-income programs, see “Online Information About Key Low-Income Benefit Programs”.

There are several important caveats to consider when using this list. States are not consistent in their use of terms such as “policy manual.” Furthermore, this list was not developed via a comprehensive survey of states and may not be complete. Please notify Tina Marshall at the Center to update or revise this list.

ALABAMA — Department of Human Resources

ALASKA — Division of Public Assistance

ARIZONA — Family Assistance Administration

ARKANSAS — Department of Human Services

CALIFORNIA — Department of Social Services

COLORADO — Department of Human Services

CONNECTICUT — Department of Social Services

DELAWARE — Department of Health and Social Services

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — Department of Human Services

FLORIDA — Department of Health and Human Services

GEORGIA — Department of Family and Children Services

HAWAII — Department of Human Services

IDAHO — Department of Health and Welfare

ILLINOIS — Department of Human Services

INDIANA — Family and Social Services Administration

IOWA — Department of Human Services

KANSAS — Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services

KENTUCKY — Cabinet for Families and Children

LOUISIANA — Department of Social Services

MAINE — Bureau of Family Independence

MARYLAND — Department of Human Resources

MASSACHUSETTS — Department of Transitional Assistance

MICHIGAN — Family Independence Agency

MINNESOTA — Department of Human Services

MISSISSIPPI — Department of Human Services

MISSOURI — Division of Family Services

MONTANA — Department of Public Health and Human Services

NEBRASKA — Health and Human Services System

NEVADA — Welfare Division

NEW HAMPSHIRE — Department of Health and Human Services

NEW JERSEY — Division of Family Development

NEW MEXICO — Human Services Department

NEW YORK — Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

NORTH CAROLINA — Department of Health and Human Services

NORTH DAKOTA — Department of Human Services

OHIO — Department of Job and Family Services

OKLAHOMA — Family Support Services Division

OREGON — Department of Human Services, Adult and Family Services Division

PENNSYLVANIA — Department of Public Welfare

RHODE ISLAND — Department of Human Services

SOUTH CAROLINA — Department of Social Services

SOUTH DAKOTA — Department of Social Services

TENNESSEE — Department of Human Services

TEXAS — Health and Human Services Commission

UTAH — Department of Workforce Services

VERMONT — Department of Children and Families Economic Services Division

VIRGINIA — Department of Social Services

WASHINGTON — Department of Social and Health Services

WEST VIRGINIA — Office of Family Support

WISCONSIN — Department of Health and Family Services

WYOMING — Department of Family Services

End Notes:

[1] Effective October 1, 2008, the 2007 farm bill renamed the Food Stamp Program the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

[2] For purposes of this paper, the term “state” includes the fifty states and the District of Columbia, but not U.S. territories such as Guam or the Virgin Islands.

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