FRANKFORT, Ky. — The USDA recently announced assistance to Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) participants by way of grants that will go to projects in 10 states.

The $200 million in competitive awards will go toward helping SNAP recipients find and keep better jobs through a variety of projects including trade skills training and higher education.

In a news release, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said helping people find and keep good jobs is the right way to transition recipients off of SNAP assistance and ultimately reduce program costs.

“These pilots will give USDA and our state partners the opportunity to explore innovative, cost-effective ways to help SNAP recipients find and keep gainful employment in order to build a stronger future for their families,” he said. 

The Kentucky Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) will receive $20 million of the grant funds. DCBS Commissioner Teresa James said this grant has the potential to help people in a long-term sort of way.

“This grant really excites me because it gives people a real opportunity,” she said. “There are many working families today that don’t make a wage high enough to pay their bills, and so therefore a lot of them are eligible for food stamps.”

James added that this grant will give people a chance to possibly go back to school, get a degree or get a trade and have an opportunity to move beyond a minimum wage job and actually have a job to support their families.

“I think that should be appealing to everyone in this Commonwealth that we’re giving people not just a handout but a hand up and an opportunity that they may not otherwise have,” she said. “I believe this grant can help folks find true self sufficiency and independence from our food stamp program.” 

DCBS has already begun work on this project through partnerships with both government and educational agencies, including the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. 

James said the network of Kentucky Career Centers will also be pivotal partners as well as Kentucky Adult Education programs and Vocational Rehabilitation.

The state already has an infrastructure of sorts in place that can be utilized for many training programs. But James said the health and behavioral health needs of people will also be looked at and assessments made to determine what types of services people might need to get them better prepared to enter the workforce or enter an educational or training program.

“It is something you can give folks that they really can build on for a lifetime,” she said. 

This grant is but one of three totaling nearly $25 million recently received by Kentucky from the USDA connected to SNAP. 

The state of Illinois is another of the recipients and will receive $21.9 million in this latest round of funding coming from the USDA. The grant will be used to develop and test an Employment and Training Program that will assist SNAP participants to find jobs with local businesses and work toward self-sufficiency, according to an announcement by Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Acting Secretary Gregory Bassi.

The project, known as the JTED-SNAP Pilot Employment and Training Program, is a partnership between IDHS’s SNAP Employment and Training Program and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Job Training and Economic Development (JTED) Program. 

This initiative addresses the needs of underemployed and unemployed SNAP participants in Illinois who require basic and technical skills and work experience to get good jobs, increase earnings, and reduce reliance on public assistance, according to information from IDHS.

“A better trained workforce fosters economic development,” said DCEO Director Jim Schultz. “We will continue our partnership with community-based organizations and other vendors to link unemployed or underemployed individuals with the workforce needs of local industry.”

To learn more about these grants, go to www.fns.usda.gov/2014-snap-e-t-pilots