Food Stamp Program: Payment Errors and Trafficking Have Declined Despite Increased Program Participation

Download or read book Food Stamp Program: Payment Errors and Trafficking Have Declined Despite Increased Program Participation written by Sigurd R. Nilsen and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Stamp Program is intended to help low-income individuals and families obtain a better diet by supplementing their income with benefits to purchase food. This testimony discusses two issues related to ensuring integrity of the program: (1) improper payments to food stamp participants; and (2) trafficking in food stamp benefits. For the payment error report, the auditor analyzed program quality control data and interviewed program stakeholders, including state and local officials. For the trafficking report, the auditor interviewed agency officials, visited field offices, conducted case file reviews, and analyzed data from the USDA¿s retailer database. Charts and tables.