The state Department of Transitional Assistance is buckling under surging SNAP caseloads and chronic understaffing, leaving Massachusetts at risk of hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties under federal law.
A new Massachusetts Law Reform Institute report warns that mounting administrative strain, long wait times and steep federal accuracy requirements could force the state to pay up to 15% of all SNAP benefits issued if it cannot dramatically improve its error rate under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Advocates say the consequences could hit both the state budget and the low-income families who rely on the program…