Alaska looks to improve SNAP benefit policy after USDA penalty [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska is facing a heavy fee for inaccurately determining eligibility for food stamp benefits, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

The USDA announced on Friday that it’s issuing the state an $11.9 million fine for having a payment error rate 6% or greater than that of the national performance measure for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP. The fine is based on Alaska holding a 60% error rate for two years in a row, with states like New Jersey trailing in second at 36% and South Carolina in second at 23%.

In the letter, the USDA states that under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, a 2-year liability system was established to require the USDA to determine an amount when there’s a 95% statistical probability that a state’s payment error rate will exceed 105% of the national …