Rep. Marvin Lim Asks DHS to Consider Additional SNAP Improvements to Lower Error Rate

ATLANTA - State Representative Marvin Lim (D-Norcross) is asking the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) to consider additional changes as they work to lower Georgia's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment error rate.

"I appreciate the work DHS and DFCS have already done here," said Rep. Lim. "They have shared a lot of information with me and spent time walking through the problems and what they are already doing about them. We have also worked together before going through Gateway and looking for ways to make it work better. I think we can lower the error rate, save money, make the job easier for DHS and DFCS staff and still make sure people who qualify for SNAP are not being asked to jump through unnecessary bureaucratic hoops."

Rep. Lim notes that the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 2027) state budget requires DHS to report to the Georgia General Assembly on its plan to reduce Georgia's SNAP payment error rate to six percent or below and minimize potential federal financial penalties. DHS submitted that report this summer, along with additional data requested by Rep. Lim. He emphasizes that his recommendations follow his review of those materials and several months of conversations with DHS and the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) regarding SNAP and Gateway. Rep. Lim also notes that DHS reported a 15.21 percent payment error rate for Fiscal Year 2025, with 651,073 active cases and more than 1.3 million recipients as of June 1, 2026.

"The savings question is bigger than avoiding federal penalties," added Rep. Lim. "Beginning October 1, 2026, the federal share of SNAP administrative costs will drop from 50 percent to 25 percent, shifting more of those costs to states."

Last December, Rep. Lim joined State Representatives Karen Lupton (D-Chamblee) and David Wilkerson (D-Powder Springs) in asking the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts to audit DHS's Federal Eligibility Benefit Services, including SNAP administrative costs, error rates and possible Gateway improvements. The lawmakers noted that Georgia funded $447 million for Federal Eligibility Benefit Services in Fiscal Year 2026, including $162 million in state funds.

"There is money to save here even apart from federal penalties," added Rep. Lim. "Every unnecessary verification request, repeat interview, avoidable caseworker correction or eligible person who falls off SNAP and must reapply creates more work. Getting the decision right the first time saves the state money and saves caseworkers time - without making someone who needs SNAP go through the process again. Federal SNAP requirements are also changing, making it harder for some households to qualify and keep their benefits. Georgia should carry out those requirements accurately without adding extra state-created barriers for people who still qualify."

Rep. Lim also notes that DHS is already making changes, including Gateway quality checks, a SNAP interview assistant, Second Party Review, improved data matching, staff training, mentoring and other changes. He adds that the department also reports that only about 40 percent of current caseworkers have more than two years of experience, compared with 80 percent before the pandemic, and that more experienced workers process cases more quickly and accurately.

"We can save money and get the error rate down without making SNAP harder to get for people who qualify," concluded Rep. Lim. "If we use information that the government already has, fix agency mistakes, focus extra review where there is actually a reason for it and pay attention to whether eligible people are falling out because of process, we can do all those things at once. We should have fewer wrong payments, fewer wrong denials, less actual fraud, less unnecessary work for caseworkers and fewer hoops for people who qualify for SNAP."

Rep. Lim's recommendations include tracking denials, closures, churn and underpayments alongside the payment error rate; checking whether shorter certification periods cause eligible households to lose benefits and reapply; fixing agency errors before adding paperwork; pursuing DHS's "Verified Upon Receipt" waiver to use reliable information already available while allowing households to correct bad matches; requiring human review of action based on the AI-supported "Find It, Fix It" model; separating actual fraud from ordinary payment errors, which he emphasizes are not automatically fraud and may instead result from a caseworker mistake, underpayment or database discrepancy; and expanding Second Party Review so another trained worker checks cases where the original decision may be wrong.

Rep. Lim is releasing his full recommendations to DHS and DFCS, which may be found here, along with DHS's General Assembly corrective action plan, available here.

Representative Marvin Lim represents the citizens of District 98, which includes a portion of Gwinnett County. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety, Health and Retirement committees.

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