Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Food Stamp Program automation costs and benefits in selected state-wide and locally administered programs, focusing on: (1) whether automation helped state agencies to improve program administration and reduce errors; (2) automation costs; and (3) the continued need for federal automation incentives.
GAO found that: (1) Food Stamp Program automation generally improved application processing and policy implementation; (2) although automation eliminated certain program errors, it did not always achieve anticipated reductions in staff, paperwork, processing time, and errors; (3) state agencies did not accurately maintain automatic data processing (ADP) equipment inventories and accounting records; (4) the Food and Nutrition Service's (FNS) funding oversight and cost monitoring of states' ADP development and operation were inadequate; and (5) all of the state agencies had automated the Food Stamp Program to some degree, largely because legislation increased the rate of federal cost-sharing for ADP development from 50 percent to 75 percent.
