Washington state is at risk of facing penalties due to its high food stamp error rates. The state’s error rate was 6.98% in the 2025 federal fiscal year, with most mistakes coming from overpayments to recipients under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as Basic Food in Washington.

Penalties and Error Rates

The state’s error rate, although below the national average of 10.6%, may still result in penalties. Under the new law, states will have to cover between 5% and 15% of food stamp benefits usually paid for by the federal government, depending on their error rates. Mistakes must be worth at least $57 to count toward a state’s error rate.

Washington state falls into the first bracket, with an error rate between 6% and 8%, which would require the state to pay for 5% of benefits, amounting to over $90 million. The state came close to getting under 6% last year, with an error rate of 6.06% in the 2024 fiscal year.

Efforts to Improve Error Rates

The state is making an effort to reduce its error rate. In this year’s supplemental budget, lawmakers included money for quality control staffers in the state Department of Social and Health Services to focus on reducing the error rate. The state is also spending millions of dollars to deal with the federal law, including over $45 million to cover administrative costs and $44 million to continue benefits for refugees, asylees, and other lawfully present immigrants who lost them under the federal law.

Original reporting: Renton Reporter — read the source article.