The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is soliciting applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Longitudinal Data Project (LDP) Grant Program.
Donor Name: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/26/2023
Size of the Grant: $5,000,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
The SNAP LDP aims to enable research on participation in and the operation of SNAP, including duration of participation in the Program over time and across State lines. Section 17(n) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended in December 2022, allows States the option to participate in the SNAP LDP. Key aspects of SNAP LDP include:
- Provides $20 million in grant funding for FY 2021 and $5 million for each FY thereafter, for State agencies interested in establishing longitudinal research databases with eligibility, benefit, and demographic information about SNAP households and individual SNAP participants;
- Requires unique identifiers to protect individual privacy and to enable comparison of participation data across States and over time as part of a national longitudinal database;
- Requests SNAP data elements from States, if available, including demographic characteristics, income and financial resources, employment status, household circumstances, and monthly allotment amounts; and
- Requests data from other State sources, if available, including: earning and employment data, health insurance program data, and participation in other State programs.
The overarching goal of the SNAP LDP is to enable research on participation in and the operation of SNAP, specifically over time (e.g., duration) and across State lines. FNS has established an inter-agency agreement (IAA) with the Census Bureau to reduce the burden on States who choose to participate in the SNAP LDP and may already be transmitting other SNAP data with the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau will receive State-submitted SNAP data, assign a unique identifier for individuals, de-identify data, and create a secure longitudinal database. Participating States, at a minimum, will securely transmit the required data elements, if available, to the Census Bureau to be available for longitudinal research. Any research conducted using the national SNAP LDP data must meet the following requirements:
- Aligns with provisions set forth in Section 17(n) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended in December 2022,
- Adheres to the Census Bureau and State requirements as specified in the State agreements, to include the project description, and
- Meets the research goals and objectives of the SNAP LDP as determined by approval from the Census Bureau and FNS
Objectives
- Securely transmit and/or enable the secure transmission of the monthly required data elements for the SNAP LDP with FNS/Census Bureau on an annual basis
- Securely transmit and/or enable the secure transmission of the monthly optional data elements for the SNAP LDP with FNS/Census Bureau on an annual basis
- Improve the evaluation of SNAP data across State lines by progressing toward the Gold Standard1 data format
- Enable SNAP longitudinal research.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $5,000,000
- Award Floor: $2,500,000
Project Period
Proposed grant projects may have a period of performance of up to four years.
Eligible Applicants
State governments
Additional Information on Eligibility
This grant opportunity is open to the 53 State agencies that administer SNAP. FNS will consider only one application per State agency. To be eligible, the SNAP administering agencies must have the capacity to provide, on a periodic and ongoing basis, household and participant data derived from their eligibility system and other data sources of the State. Applications for consideration must align with the stated program objectives. Funds from this RFA may not be used to offset costs for existing personnel who are completing activities unrelated to this grant, i.e., the percentage of staff costs attributed to this project must be properly allocated.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
