Building Skills through SNAP Employment & Training: Recommendations from Lessons Learned in Four States

The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) program supports employment and training activities to increase self-sufficiency for SNAP participants. In 2015, the National Skills Coalition and Seattle Jobs Initiative partnered with Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, and Oregon to help them expand their skills-based SNAP E&T programs. This policy brief shares the following recommendations based on lessons learned from that work: 1) Staff and stakeholders should work with SNAP E&T agency leadership to develop a vision for a skills-focused program and implement a strategy to achieve that vision; 2) States should use pilot programs to test strategies for expanding SNAP E&T programs; 3) SNAP E&T programs should build on the strengths of existing workforce development efforts and align with other programs, such as TANF; and 4) SNAP E&T programs should use federal funding and administrative tools to partner with community colleges and community-based organizations to provide services.