House Ways and Means proposal could support approximately 200 new DTA caseworkers.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) applauds the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means (HWM) for proposing critical funding for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) in its FY 2026 closeout supplemental budget. This represents a necessary investment to ensure residents of the Commonwealth can access food assistance when they need it.

The HWM proposal, totaling over $176.6 million for DTA, provides $28 million above what Governor Healey recently submitted in her supplemental budget. According to the governor’s office, her proposal would support roughly 10 additional caseworkers, while the HWM proposal could support approximately 200 new caseworkers.

The stakes are high. In 2025, more than one million Massachusetts residents participated in SNAP—approximately 16 percent of the state’s population. Over the past 12 months, approximately 180,000 people—including 64,000 children—have left SNAP. The decline of 124,000 eligible households since fall 2024 represents an estimated $458 million in lost federal food assistance for the state. SNAP participation in Massachusetts has been declining for more than two years, in part to understaffing at DTA.

Massachusetts’ SNAP system depends on a sufficient, well-trained workforce to serve residents and ensure accurate benefit determinations. So far in 2026, DTA has been unable to answer approximately three out of every four calls from residents trying to reach a worker due to insufficient staffing. Technology can help improve operations, but it cannot replace the trained staff needed to resolve cases, support eligible households, and maintain program accuracy.

As Massachusetts responds to federal threats to SNAP, the state must prioritize both access for eligible residents and program accuracy. MassBudget’s recent report and interactive SNAP Vulnerability Indexunderscore what is at stake for communities across the Commonwealth. The index scores each municipality based on five factors that indicate its residents’ potential need for SNAP and the harm they could face if benefits are interrupted. These findings reinforce the importance of maintaining access to food assistance while strengthening the systems that deliver it.

MassBudget urges state leaders to solidify these investments and develop sustainable solutions that strengthen DTA’s capacity to serve every eligible household. Massachusetts must protect access to SNAP while ensuring the program operates accurately and effectively.