I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4417 
To improve outreach and enrollment for the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 12, 2010 
Mr. SESTAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To improve outreach and enrollment for the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SNAP Education and 
Outreach Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO IMPROVE OUTREACH AND ENROLL-
MENT FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION 
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) OUTREACH
AND ENROLLMENT GRANTS; NA-
TIONAL CAMPAIGN.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appro-
priated under subsection (g), subject to paragraph 
(2), the Secretary of Agriculture shall award grants 
to eligible entities during the period of fiscal years 
2010 through 2014 to conduct outreach, enrollment, 
and renewal assistance efforts that are designed to 
increase the enrollment and participation of eligible 
individuals and families under the supplemental nu-
trition assistance program established under the 
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. 
(2) TEN PERCENT SET ASIDE FOR NATIONAL 
ENROLLMENT CAMPAIGN.—An amount equal to 10 
percent of such amounts shall be used by the Sec-
retary for expenditures during such period to carry 
out a national enrollment campaign in accordance 
with subsection (h). 
(b) PRIORITY FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to el-
igible entities that— 
(A) propose to target geographic areas 
with high rates of— 
(i) eligible but unenrolled individuals; 
or 
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(ii) racial and ethnic minorities, in-
cluding those proposals that address cul-
tural and linguistic barriers to enrollment; 
who are not participating in the supplemental 
nutrition assistance program; or 
(B) propose to target— 
(i) households containing elderly or 
disabled individuals to expand access to 
nutrition; 
(ii) families with children with special 
coordination with both the special supple-
mental nutrition assistance program for 
women, infants, and children (WIC) and 
the school nutrition program to ensure 
seamlessness; 
(iii) homeless populations, including 
both sheltered and nonsheltered families 
and individuals; 
(iv) persons applying for or receiving 
unemployment benefits; 
(v) families with physically or men-
tally disabled children in the household (in-
cluding families whose children receive 
Medicaid under a State plan waiver); 
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(vi) special attention to working fami-
lies with children in the household who at-
tend day care programs; 
(vii) recipients or applicants seeking 
or receiving training for employment or ad-
vancement to reduce or eliminate depend-
ency; or 
(viii) applicants and recipients of dis-
ability benefits from government agencies; 
(C) encourage supplemental nutrition as-
sistance program enrollees participation in nu-
trition education programs; or 
(D) provide case management assistance 
through the application process; and 
(2) OUTREACH.—Submit the most demon-
strable evidence required under paragraphs (1) and 
(2) of subsection (c). 
(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 
receive a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an appli-
cation to the Secretary in such form and manner, and con-
taining such information, as the Secretary determines to 
be appropriate. Such application shall include— 
(1) evidence demonstrating that the entity in-
cludes members who have access to, and credibility 
with, ethnic or low-income populations in the com-
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munities in which activities funded under the grant 
are to be conducted; 
(2) evidence demonstrating that the entity has 
the ability to address barriers to enrollment, includ-
ing a lack of knowledge of eligibility criteria, stigma 
concerns, or other barriers to applying for and re-
ceiving governmental food assistance and nutrition 
education; 
(3) specific quality or outcomes performance 
measures to evaluate the effectiveness of activities 
funded by a grant awarded under this section; and 
(4) an assurance that the eligible entity shall— 
(A) conduct an assessment of the effective-
ness of such activities against the performance 
measures; 
(B) cooperate with the collection and re-
porting of enrollment data and other informa-
tion in order for the Secretary to conduct such 
assessments; 
(C) in the case of an eligible entity that is 
not the State or a State agency, provide the 
State with enrollment data and other informa-
tion as necessary for the State to make nec-
essary projections of eligible individuals and 
families; and 
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(D) provide an assessment of legislative 
and administrative barriers to increasing eligi-
ble enrollment and recommendations for im-
provement. 
(d) DISSEMINATION OF ENROLLMENT DATA AND IN-
FORMATION DETERMINED FROM EFFECTIVENESS AS-
SESSMENTS; ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) make publicly available the enrollment data 
and information collected and reported in accordance 
with subsection (c)(4)(B); 
(2) make publicly available and provide to the 
grantee the approval rate for applications submitted 
by the targeted population (whether geographic and 
or demographic in nature) and specifically those ap-
plications submitted through the grantee; and 
(3) submit an annual report to Congress on the 
outreach and enrollment activities conducted with 
funds appropriated under this section. 
This report shall also contain a compiling of the assess-
ments required under subsection (c)(4)(D) along with the 
Secretary’s findings and legislative suggestions to maxi-
mize eligible enrollment. 
(e) NO MATCH REQUIRED FOR ANY ELIGIBLE ENTI-
TY AWARDED A GRANT.—No eligible entity awarded a 
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grant under subsection (a) shall be required to provide any 
matching funds as a condition for receiving the grant. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means any of the following: 
(A) A State with an approved supple-
mental nutrition assistance plan under the 
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. 
(B) A local government or State agency. 
(C) An Indian tribe or tribal consortium, a 
tribal organization, an urban Indian organiza-
tion receiving funds under title V of the Indian 
Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1651 
et seq.), or an Indian Health Service provider. 
(D) A Federal health safety net organiza-
tion. 
(E) A national, State, local, or community- 
based public or nonprofit private organization, 
including organizations that use community 
health workers or community-based doula pro-
grams. 
(F) 
A 
faith-based 
organization 
or 
consortum, to the extent that a grant awarded 
to such an entity is consistent with the require-
ments of section 1955 of the Public Health 
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Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–65) relating to a 
grant award to nongovernmental entities. 
(2) FEDERAL HEALTH SAFETY NET ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘‘Federal health safety net organi-
zation’’ means— 
(A) a federally qualified health center (as 
defined in section 1905(l)(2)(B)) of the Social 
Security Act; 
(B) a hospital defined as a dispropor-
tionate share hospital for purposes of section 
1923 of the Social Security Act; 
(C) a covered entity described in section 
340B(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 256b(a)(4)); and 
(D) any other entity or consortium that 
serves children under a federally funded pro-
gram, including the special supplemental nutri-
tion program for women, infants, and children 
(WIC) established under section 17 of the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), Head 
Start and Early Head Start programs under 
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.), 
the school lunch program established under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 
and an elementary or secondary school. 
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(3) INDIANS; INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZA-
TION; URBAN
INDIAN
ORGANIZATION.—The terms 
‘‘Indian’’, ‘‘Indian tribe’’, ‘‘tribal organization’’, and 
‘‘urban Indian organization’’ have the meanings 
given such terms in section 4 of the Indian Health 
Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 
(4) COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER.—The term 
‘‘community health worker’’ means an individual 
who promotes health or nutrition within the commu-
nity in which the individual resides— 
(A) by serving as a liaison between com-
munities and health care agencies; 
(B) by providing guidance and social as-
sistance to community residents; 
(C) by enhancing community residents’ 
ability to effectively communicate with health 
care providers; 
(D) by providing culturally and linguis-
tically appropriate health or nutrition edu-
cation; 
(E) by advocating for individual and com-
munity health or nutrition needs; and 
(F) by providing referral and followup 
services. 
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(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(g) 
AUTHORIZATION.—There 
is 
authorized 
$100,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2010 through 
2014, for the purpose of awarding grants under this sec-
tion. 
(h) NATIONAL ENROLLMENT CAMPAIGN.—From the 
amounts made available under subsection (a)(2), the Sec-
retary shall develop and implement a national enrollment 
campaign to improve the eligible enrollment of under-
served populations in the supplemental nutrition assist-
ance program. Such campaign may include— 
(1) the establishment of partnerships with the 
Secretary and other Federal agencies that are con-
ducting similar national efforts that would contain 
significant overlapping of target populations; 
(2) the integration of this program and other 
Department of Agriculture efforts to increase sup-
plemental nutrition assistance program enrollment 
percentage; 
(3) increased financial and technical support for 
enrollment hotlines maintained by the Secretary to 
ensure that all States participate in such hotlines; 
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