Ricketts shares ideas on SNAP

OMAHA — U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., hosted two roundtables Monday highlighting legislation he is proposing that would offer other states a chance to mimic a Nebraska program offering skilled job training to people on food stamps.

Ricketts pitched the value of Nebraska’s “SNAP Next Step” program at a gathering at Heartland Workforce Solutions, a job-training center in north-central Omaha. About 20 people attended. More than a dozen people attended a similar meeting in Grand Island.

Nebraska officials say 906 people have enrolled in Next Step since it started in 2016. Participants in the voluntary program, open to any Nebraskans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, can receive education, job training and more.

The program also promotes working with participants to calculate how and when their public benefits would decrease as they earn more from a new job. The goal, Ricketts said, is helping people plan financially for the change and ensuring it’s worthwhile.

“We don’t want anybody to be a net loser on this,” Ricketts said. “We want people to be able to improve their income.”

Helping people overcome the fear of losing benefits before they are financially ready is vital, said Shannon Grotrian, interim deputy director of the Division of Children and Family Services for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

“One of the fears people have is what happens if I take that job,” she said. “This program and its casework help people be confident.”