Food Stamp Program: Statistical Validity of Agriculture's Payment Error-Rate Estimates
RCED-87-4
Published: Oct 30, 1986. Publicly Released: Oct 30, 1986.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the quality control (QC) system that the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) used to set fiscal year (FY) 1984 error rates in Food Stamp Program benefit payments and to assess sanctions against states for their errors.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Food and Nutrition Service | The Administrator, FNS, should amend FNS policy and guidance to require that an acceptable expected minimum-stratum sample size be established when approving a state's sampling plan. |
Closed – Not Implemented
With the passage of the Hunger Prevention Act, FNS will be pursuing the requirements of the law and is not considering the recommendation.
|
| Food and Nutrition Service | The Administrator, FNS, should amend FNS policy and guidance to require the routine calculation of the sampling error of payment error-rate estimates. |
Closed – Implemented
FNS included this calculation capability in its programming at the Washington Computer Center. FNS will use this capability to generate the sampling error of each state's payment error rate annually.
|
| Food and Nutrition Service | In conjunction with actions taken in response to studies that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) are conducting on food stamp error rates and sanctions, the Administrator, FNS, should amend FNS policy and guidance to eliminate the assumption that cases for which reviews have not been completed have the same error rate as completed cases. |
Closed – Not Implemented
With passage of the Hunger Prevention Act, FNS no longer believes this recommendation to be valid, and intends to implement the requirements of the law.
|
| Food and Nutrition Service | In conjunction with actions taken in response to studies that USDA and NAS are conducting on food stamp error rates and sanctions, the Administrator, FNS, should amend FNS policy and guidance to require that the standard deviation of the regressed payment error rate, instead of the standard deviation from the state samples, be used in calculating the adjusted, or official, error rate. |
Closed – Not Implemented
FNS believes that the standard deviation of the state-reported error rate is a more accurate basis for the calculation. Although FNS agreed that either method may be used, it believes that there is no basis for FNS to change its method, and therefore, do not intend to implement this recommendation.
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Topics
Erroneous paymentsstate relationsProgram managementSanctionsState-administered programsStatistical methodsQuality controlData errorsNutritionFood relief programs