FAPL 109 (SNAP ARPA Incentive Opportunity Funding)
Fiscal Administrative Procedure Letter No. 109
April 25, 2023
TO: Fiscal Administrative Procedure Manual Holders
FROM: Matt Damschroder, Director
SUBJECT: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Administration American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Incentive Opportunity Funding

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) will incentivize and reward the work of county department of job and family services (CDJFS) striving to maintain the application timeliness rate (APT) of 95% or higher.

ODJFS will issue $3,000,000 of SNAP American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as incentive funding.

The funding is available as cash and is considered earned at time of receipt. Incentives will be paid in May, July, and September of 2023. There are no further restrictions on the use of the funding and will not be considered federal funds but "local dollars."

The $3,000,000 will be divided into three $1,000,000 incentive opportunities. The eligibility criteria will allow for the CDJFS that meet the APT rate to earn incentives, and allow a CDJFS that has significant barriers to earn incentives by making continuous improvement towards meeting the 95% APT.

The incentive does not reward counties who are close to meeting the 95% APT and do not show improvement. For example, ODJFS would not reward a stagnant rate of 91%. Additionally, the incentive is based on the applications the counties approved, not the application’s county of residence.

1.First Incentive Opportunity: Based on APT data for March and April 2023 - Counties would be eligible for an incentive if they achieved:

a.An APT rate at or above 95% for March and April combined, or

b.An APT rate that was between 80-94% combined for March and April 2023 combined, and at least a 5% increase from their February 2023 rate.

2.Second Incentive Opportunity: Based on APT data for May and June 2023 – Counties would be eligible for an incentive if they achieved:

a.An APT rate at or above 95% for May and June combined, or

b.An APT rate that was between 85-94% for May and June 2023 combined, and at least a 5% increase from their March and April 2023 combined rate.

3.Third Incentive Opportunity: Based on APT data for July and August 2023 – Counties would be eligible for an incentive if they achieved:

a.An APT rate at or above 95% for July and August combined, or

b.An APT rate that was at least 90-94% for July and August 2023 combined, and at least a 5% increase from their May and June 2023 combined rate.

The CDJFS receipts in the incentive using JFSFA163-471000.

For fiscal questions please contact your ODJFS Fiscal Supervisor or the BCFTA Helpdesk at CFIS_HELP_DESK@jfs.ohio.gov. For questions regarding SNAP application timeliness or programmatic questions, please contact Program Policy and Systems at OFA-PPS@jfs.ohio.gov .