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ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS State agencies are required to include information on the organizational relationship between the units responsible for certification and the units operating the E&T components, including units of the statewide workforce development system, if available. For the purposes of the questions below, E&T providers are considered to include units of the statewide workforce development system. FNS is specifically interested in ensuring that the lines of communication are efficient and that, if applicable, noncompliance with mandatory E&T is reported to the certification unit within 10 working days after the noncompliance occurs, per 7 CFR 273.7(c)(4). State agencies must also include information on the relationship between the State agency and other organizations it plans to coordinate with for the provision of services. The following questions are about how the E&T program is structured in your State agency. Indicate which division within the SNAP State agency is responsible for the E&T program. (i.e. establishes E&T policy, contracts for E&T services, monitors providers). For example, explain if the E&T program unit is separate from the SNAP certification unit, and if there are separate E&T units at the county level. Most employment services for SNAP and PA applicants and recipients are traditionally delivered in coordination through the State’s 58 districts, with additional services provided through contracts that OTDA holds with community-based organizations. Policy guidance provided by OTDA to districts promotes an important measure of statewide consistency. At the State level, the Bureau of Employment and Advancement Services is responsible for oversight of district employment programs for PA and SNAP applicants and recipients. The Bureau of Food & Nutrition Policy oversees district SNAP operations, and the Bureau of Contract Management and Quality Assurance is responsible for contract and provider oversight. At the district level, after the screening process is conducted as described below in the Screening for Work Registration and Screening for Referral to E&T sections of the plan, the eligibility worker refers appropriate applicants and recipients for assessment and assignment. Typically, each district has an Employment Unit responsible for conducting the assessment, providing case management services, and assigning individuals to appropriate SNAP E&T components. All districts are required to inform their local SNAP E&T providers of their authority and responsibility to determine if an individual is not a good fit for a particular SNAP E&T component. How does the E&T unit coordinate and communicate on an ongoing basis with the units responsible for certification policy? As explained in the Section Summary of Program, districts in NYS are required to submit biennial employment plans to OTDA consistent with Office guidelines. Each district’s local employment plan must include a description of the principal organizations/agencies/staff that provide employment services and specify what services are provided. Additionally, the plan must include a description of the staff/units that are responsible for conciliation, sanction, and dispute resolution and the unit’s relationship to other offices in the department of social services. Districts also must indicate if they contract with other agencies to deliver any employment services and specify what programs and/or services those contractors offer. In instances where the majority of the district’s employment services are provided by another agency such as a county employment and training agency, the district’s employment plan must include an organizational chart and description of the organizational arrangements and staff that provide employment services for the PA and SNAP population on behalf of the district. Generally, depending on the location and organizational structure of the district, the hand-off of SNAP participants between eligibility and E&T program staff is conducted through a referral system that may include: • A “warm handoff” with a personal introduction by a staff member when staff are in the same location. 1/29/26, 9:29 AM State Plan NY FY26 - Original Submission https://dam-fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/microsite/snapet-nyfy26stateplan//index.html 19/312