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opportunities for program improvements. Provider recruitment, onboarding, training, and annual monitoring are typically conducted jointly. DTA and UMass Chan staff cooperatively review all provider submitted program descriptions, budgets, and claims. In addition to communicating via the PATH system: • Weekly meetings between the DTA and UMass Chan SNAP E&T managers are held. • Biweekly meetings between the DTA and UMass Chan SNAP E&T managers and the UMass Chan marketing team are held. • Quarterly joint DTA/UMass Chan full E&T unit meetings are held. • SNAP E&T ISAs between DTA and UMass Chan are reviewed and amended as needed and at least annually. • Special topic meetings/trainings are scheduled as needed. • Ongoing email, Microsoft Teams, and verbal communication between DTA and UMass Chan E&T staff is maintained. • Documents and information that needs to be shared securely can be sent via secure email or exchanged via the password protected UMass Chan Secure File Transfer System (SFTS). ONGOING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DTA/UMASS CHAN AND SUBCONTRACTED PROVIDERS • New provider onboarding training is held every September and mid-year for new providers who have subsequently joined. Provider organizations who have seen staff turnover or otherwise require refresher training are also invited to participate. Topics include a general overview of the program, data management, participant eligibility, enrollment and tracking processes, budget and claims processes, reporting requirements and the use of the PATH system. Should a provider contract at another time during the year, onboarding training is conducted before they start serving clients under the SNAP Path to Work umbrella. • General and topic specific refresher training is scheduled as needed. • Annual Civil Rights Training is required of all provider organizations. • Special topic meetings/trainings are scheduled as needed. • DTA and/or UMass Chan updates, reminders of upcoming training and deliverables due, policy/procedure updates and reminders and other information is shared via email, the PATH system, and/or in meeting format as appropriate. • Providers may be asked to supply operational updates and other information via email or in the form of an online survey. • There are quarterly check-ins between UMass Chan SNAP E&T Project Coordinators and assigned provider organizations. • There is regular email and verbal communication between DTA SNAP E&T Specialists and providers regarding participant enrollment and support eligibility and technical assistance needs. • There is ongoing email and verbal communication between providers and DTA and/or UMass Chan. • Announcements, updates, and reminders may be shared with PATH system users via the Upcoming Events and Announcements feature. • SNAP E&T contracts between UMass Chan and providers are reviewed and amended at least every five years. • Documents and information that need to be shared securely can be sent via secure email or exchanged via the password protected UMass Chan SFTS. • Federal guidance is shared as appropriate. • Fact sheets, “cheat sheets” and other written material is developed and shared as appropriate. • Providers submit and edit program descriptions for each of their SNAP E&T offerings via the provider portal feature of the SNAP E&T website. DTA and UMass Chan review and approve them and create and maintain website listings via the portal. ONGOING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SNAP E&T PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS In addition to communication that takes place via the PATH system: • Providers are encouraged to learn about the programs offered by other SNAP Path to Work providers by exploring snappathtowork.org (updated regularly). • DTA hosts quarterly regional learning labs for Pathways to Work training provider partners, bringing together SNAP and TAFDC providers to collaborate, learn about each other’s programs, and share best practices. • DTA/UMass Chan may connect prospective or new providers with seasoned E&T providers or make other connections to facilitate peer to peer technical assistance. Links: mass.gov’s DTA page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-transitional-assistance SNAP Path to Work website: https://snappathtowork.org/ Describe how the State agency, intermediaries, and E&T providers share participant data and information. Include the names of any MIS systems (or other modes of communication) used. The Partner Activity Tracking Hub (PATH system) is an online tool through which information about SNAP Path to Work program eligibility, participation, progress, budgets, and claims is exchanged and stored. The functions and information that are accessible to a PATH user depend on the organization with which they are affiliated and the user role that they are assigned. Providers can only see budget and claims information associated with their organization. Providers may only enter enrollment and participation information with programs with which they are affiliated, and view client information related only to participants who have allowed it by signing a Permission to Share Information (PSI) form. DTA and UMass Chan staff can view all entered information. • Information about upcoming events, due dates and DTA/UMass Chan/Provider announcements are available to PATH system users in the Upcoming Events & Announcements section. (Events/announcements can be made visible to all PATH users or to specific organization(s)). • Provider budgets and claims are: o entered on PATH by providers. o reviewed and authorized/rejected by UMass Chan staff; and o approved/denied by DTA staff within the PATH system. (Review status and notes and past versions of revised documents are visible to users). • Providers enter enrollment information (participant identifiers, assessment, and participation plan) on PATH to be reviewed and approved/denied by DTA SNAP E&T staff. * • Providers may also record case notes, participation hours, outcomes, and possible good cause. 1/29/26, 8:19 AM State Plan MA FY26 - Original Submission https://dam-fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/microsite/snapet-mafy26stateplan//index.html 25/167