The US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, which adminsters a number of federal food programs, recently released their progress report on direct certification. Direct certification eliminates the need for children whose families receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps) to submit separate paperwork in order to receive a free or reduced lunch at school.
Mathematica Policy Research found that 97% of school age, SNAP participant, children were directly certified for free school lunch in Connecticut during school year 2010-2011. Behind Alaska, Connecticut is ranked the second highest state for direct certification in the US! Compared to school year 2009-2010, Connecticut increased their direct certification by 42%!
At a time when we hear so much about government programs not being run efficiently or working well, we thought we should share this good news about eliminating paperwork and making it easier for low-income families to feed their children!
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