TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) program has announced the awarding of a Process and Technology Improvement grant to Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF).

DCF officials said the grant of $706,550 will enhance the digital system that accepts SNAP, known as Food Assistance in Kansas, applications.

“Our main goal is to reduce status wait times, improve data accuracy, and enhance the overall client experience,” DCF Secretary Laura Howard shared. “This will result in Kansans receiving Food Assistance benefits in a timely manner and ensuring that Food Assistance continues to effectively serve as the primary defense against hunger.”

DCF officials indicated the FNS Process and Technology Improvement grants support efforts by state agencies and their community-based and faith-based partners to develop and implement projects that use technology to improve the quality and efficiency of SNAP application and eligibility determination systems.

According to DCF officials, they will automate manual Food Assistance administrative tasks using BOT automation. Using this technology, the agency can register cases, enter data, and create workflow tasks for caseworkers without human intervention. Workers will receive notification of an issue with an application and then will follow-up with the Kansan to ask questions or get additional details.

DCF officials indicated in Fiscal Year 2022, DCF received Food Assistance applications for 147,224 people. Currently, the state has 95,047 Food Assistance cases that are made up of 106,699 adults and 84,343 children. DCF is working in partnership with Accenture, the technology business manager of the data management system used by the agency for the benefit programs.

DCF officials noted the teams will begin working immediately on the upgrades and have up to three years to complete the project using the funding from the FNS grant.

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