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(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman announced that Nebraska received a high performance bonus of more than $172,600 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for achieving one of the nation’s highest accuracy rates in processing applications for the food stamp program.
“This is quite an honor for our state and the dedicated employees working with Nebraska’s food stamp program who are passionate about helping Nebraska families,” Gov. Heineman said. “This high degree of accuracy helps to ensure that more assistance is available for those who need it most and I want to commend everyone involved in this successful effort for their hard work and attention to detail.”
Kate Coler, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, was in Lincoln to present the check to the Governor and Nancy Montanez, director of Nebraska Health and Human Services (HHS).
Nebraska had the second lowest error rate in the nation in 2004, which translates into more than 99 percent of all ineligible applications for the program being processed accurately. This is the second year the state has received a high performance bonus. Nebraska has had an error rate of less than 1 percent since 1999.
The high performance bonus is based on having low “negative error rates” in the food stamp program, which measures the ability of a state agency to correctly deny applications for the food stamp program, and suspend or terminate benefits for a participating household when warranted. The state will use the award to upgrade equipment and provide for continued improvement. Nebraska is one of only four states receiving a performance bonus. Other states include North Carolina, New Hampshire and Wyoming.
Trish Bergman, HHS Office of Economic and Family Support Administrator, said “Low negative error rates mean food stamps are truly going to those who need them most. This bonus also shows that our employees make the right decisions when denying a food stamp application or closing a case.”
The HHS Food Stamp Program currently serves more than 117,000 people in Nebraska. More information about the HHS food stamp program is available by searching the HHS Web site for “food stamps” online at http://www.hhss.ne.gov.
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