U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Administrative and Financial Management, Procurement and Property Branch, 14th & Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 1310 South Building, Washington, D.C. 20250

B -- STUDY OF RE-ENGINEERING THE WELFARE SYSTEM SOL 18-3K06-98 POC POC Cheryl Norris, Contract Specialist, (202) 720-7479 The USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) seeks a contractor to conduct a study of Re-Engineering the Welfare System: The Indentification of Changes in Food Stamp Administration Processes Related to Welfare Reform. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 introduced unprecendented change in the Federal Welfare system, primarily through eliminating the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and replacing it with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program which gives block grants to States to design and administer their own cash assistance programs. The tremendous increase in State and local discretion introduced through welfare reform, combined with technological advances in social service delivery and evolving cultural expectations in customer service, have created an environment supportive of experimentation and innovation in State welfare administrative practices. To the extent that TANF and the Food Stamp Program (FSP) are jointly administered, the efforts to re-engineer the adminstrative processes resulting from welfare reform may well affect the FSP. The factors of primary interest are the quality and timeliness of food stamp client/applicant service and program efficiency and integrity. The contractor will develop a survey of all 50 States and the District of Columbia that identifies planned or implemented innovations in the way that States administer the FSP as a result of welfare reform, including pre-TANF waivers. The contractor will also produce a report that describes these new administrative practices and how they differ from pre-welfare reform practices, the specific problems or needs they are intended to address and the problems encountered in their implementation. The study is estimated to take approximately twelve (12) months to complete. The anticipated solicitation release date is May 26, 1998. Interested parties should submit a written request, (telephonic requests will not be honored) with four self-addressed mailing labels, to the point of contact identified in this notice. (0114)

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