Personal information of 730,000 Kansans at risk of USDA data request: DCF

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) reports that it is protecting the personal information of 730,000 residents from a federal information request.

Erin La Row with the DCF said in a press release on Monday, Aug. 18 the agency is standing by its decision to refuse a request from federal officials to hand over personal details related to Kansans who are connected to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asked states to turn over this data by July 30, 2025.

The USDA required that Kansas send over data related to SNAP applicants, recipients and members of their households in order to create a federal database containing participant information that may be sent over to other groups, according to the DCF. The DCF is asking the USDA to withdraw its request until pending litigation is settled that could put the agency in potential liability should a court later determine the USDA’s demand is in violation of federal law.

“DCF is required by state and federal law to protect personal identifiable SNAP data except when strictly necessary for the administration of the SNAP program – and that’s a responsibility we take seriously,” said DCF Secretary Laura Howard. “We also believe this request places a significant burden on DCF and state resources, and it’s not something that can be accommodated on a short deadline. Providing this magnitude of data could take months and come with a hefty price tag. We want to be sure we’re making the right decisions for Kansans and protecting their most personal information.”

La Row said that information being requested by the USDA includes sensitive personal details for more than 730,000 Kansans who lived in a household that applied for and/or received SNAP benefits from Jan. 1, 2020 to July 30, 2025. Information included in the USDA’s request includes names, social security numbers, dates of birth and addresses.

The DCF reports that gathering all of the information requested by the USDA would cost Kansas taxpayers around $100,000 or more. The agency also anticipates other challenges with gathering the requested information such as:

• A large volume of data that exceeds any previous reporting requests.
• The data request is unique and will require additional validation due to the specific data elements requested at an individual level over a large period of time.
• Additional discussion is needed to determine the most accurate and cost-effective way to fulfill the request as the data elements leave room for interpretation.

Kansas Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins issued a letter on Aug. 7 claiming the DCF and Democratic Governor Laura Kelly are participating in a “massive cover-up” related to the refusal to disclose the SNAP data. Kelly responded by saying Hawkins’ letter “is a baseless claim” and “maliciously false.”

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