As the State of Oklahoma stares down a deadline to lower its error rate for federal food benefits, numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show the rate has slightly increased.
The latest USDA numbers show Oklahoma's error rate for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) slightly increased in the past fiscal year to 11.04%. This is the first measuring stick that states can choose to calculate how much they will have to pay for SNAP in the future.
But Deborah Smith, deputy director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said the figure does not fully reflect the actions the department has taken to lower the error rate.
"We always want the error rate moving in the right direction but at the same time, this release really looks at a period kind of before the new federal requirements were in place," Smith said. "Really we see some slight fluctuations from year to year. All states do."
Using the latest number, Smith said the state would owe about $250 million in SNAP benefit costs. But she is confident it will be lower soon, and some more recent data suggest it could be cut in half for the next fiscal year.
In a statement, Stacy Dykstra, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma's CEO, said the additional millions of dollars in costs would put pressure on the state budget and increase the risk of cuts to essential services.
"For the Regional Food Bank, that could mean more families turning to us for help at a time when the need is already high," Dykstra said in the statement. "Oklahoma needs more time to make thoughtful, accurate improvements to SNAP so we don't unintentionally increase hunger. We urge Congress to delay the cost shift and give states the time needed to get this right."
Oklahoma ranks sixth among states with the highest food insecurity rates, with nearly 17% of households experiencing food insecurity in 2022-2024, according to the USDA report.
Meeting the threshold
Oklahoma and the rest of the nation are facing high costs because of the Trump Administration's Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Under the law, states are responsible for a larger share of administrative costs and might have to pay for a percentage of benefit costs for the first time. The state has until fiscal year 2028 to lower the error rate to 6% to avoid paying the cost for benefits.
Smith said this has been a massive undertaking for Oklahoma's DHS.
"We have really been kind of at an all-hands-on-deck," she said. "It's been a top operational priority for the agency and we've invested significant time, staff resources, system improvements to really strengthen program integrity while still making sure that eligible Oklahomans get their benefits they qualify for."
She said the department began to make plans to address error rates in 2023 and two years later, it began to implement changes including improved new hire training, pre-certification case reviews and having SNAP shoppers use an app to report changes to their situations.
Although the new error rates will not be released until next June, Smith said the state department's preliminary estimate for the first six months of FY 2026 is 6.9%.
Because of the department's initiatives to lower the rate, she said department leaders are confident Oklahoma will fall below the federal threshold.
When the USDA released the new error rates, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a press release that the new numbers show poor state accountability in SNAP.
"USDA has taken historic action to help interested states curb SNAP waste, and I hope other states, regardless of political leadership, prioritize needy families and the American taxpayer over politics," Rollins said.
SNAP error rates are not fraud; they are over- and under-payments made to recipients.
Leaders from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services say the errors are largely due to mistakes by benefit recipients, like not updating information quickly enough if they get a pay raise. In FY 2025, Smith said about 74% of error findings in Oklahoma were due to unreported changes.
"But these findings really tie back to the complexity of the program and just real world changes in people's lives," Smith said.
This comes as SNAP enrollment is falling across the country.
As of March, there were about 113,000 fewer Oklahomans getting food aid compared to the same time last year, according to preliminary USDA data. That's roughly a 16% drop in participation.
Anti-hunger advocates say this is mainly because of the Big Beautiful Bill Act's different changes to SNAP and should not be viewed as a success.
Although the program's participation typically changes with the economy, according to the left-leaning think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it's unlikely that reduced need is leading to the decline.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
