Food and Nutrition Service May 25, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, USDA FNS is providing notice of a new computer matching program (CMP) between FNS and the State agencies that administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The CMP allows State agencies access to the National Accuracy Clearinghouse (NAC), a national database operated by FNS, as a tool to prevent individuals from receiving SNAP benefits in more than one State simultaneously, commonly referred to as duplicate participation. State agencies provide information about SNAP applicants and participants to the NAC that is then compared to discover potential duplicate participation. The NAC CMP employs a Privacy-Preserving Record Linkage (PPRL) approach that identifies and links records that correspond to the same individual across different databases, without the need to collect or retain the names, Social Security numbers, or dates of birth of the individuals being matched. State agencies use the PPRL process to convert this information to a secure cryptographic hash before sharing it to the NAC. When a match is found, indicating potential duplicate participation, the NAC notifies the affected State agencies and facilitates communication between the State agencies as they each take action to resolve the match.