Executive Summary
Pennsylvania launched this work in response to HR1, which introduced new requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and increased operational pressure on states. The Commonwealth needed to help eligible Pennsylvanians continue to access benefits while also improving administrative accuracy. At the same time, Pennsylvania was operating with a SNAP payment error rate (PER) above the new federal threshold. PER measures how often benefits are issued in the wrong amount and directly reflects both resident experience and system performance.
HR1 was signed into law in July 2025, and Pennsylvania moved from discovery to pilot launch by October 2025, delivering and scaling solutions within a three-month window. Before this work, applicants struggled to understand their application status, submit usable documents, and verify income. As one caseworker described, “It feels like we’re flying blind… by the time an error is actually reported back to us, the employee forgot the reason they made the decision.” Pennsylvania delivered a set of digital service improvements that reduced friction and enabled earlier identification of payment error risks. The result is a shift from reactive correction to proactive error prevention.
