Officials say verification mismatch is reducing benefits for some unhoused SNAP applicants

County Human Services officials told the board that discrepancies between county intake practice and state QA verification have resulted in reduced SNAP benefits for some people experiencing homelessness. Presenters said the state policy grants waivers from work requirements for unhoused clients and that counties have followed that policy, but that QA has sometimes reclassified those cases in post-review and counted them as errors.

Officials gave an example of a person transitioning out of homelessness for whom the county granted a waiver; state QA later disagreed about the exemption and attributed an error to the county. Commissioners raised concerns about the impact on clients and local service providers: staff reported an increase in lobby visits and noted that losing even modest monthly benefits can push people to seek emergency food and other community resources.

Human Services staff said they are piloting voluntary reminders for clients to bring shelter verification to redetermination appointments, but that counties cannot require documentation; staff said broader access to verification tools could substantially reduce these errors and lessen downstream harm to clients and community safety nets.