![]() In addition, she is eligible each month for at least $134 in food stamps. But when she files her federal income tax return, she will get almost $4,000 ($324 per month worked) from the EITC. In 2001, a single mother with two children who worked thirty hours a week at $8 an hour earned about $950 a month after social insurance deductions-less than the poverty standard of $1,219 for a family this size. In its income support role, the FSP is an important contributor to the well-being of the working poor and near poor who are not TANF recipients. In at least fourteen states, TANF families receive more each month in food stamps than in TANF cash. The food stamp benefit serves as a supplement to a family’s other resources, usually Supplemental Security Income, TANF, or earnings. Beyond the safety net, food stamps help fill long-term gaps between the income people need, at least for nutrition, and what they have. The safety role is reflected in the program’s focus on monthly income and on adjusting benefits relatively quickly when income changes. Research Professor of Public Policy, Public Administration, and Economics - The George Washington Universityįood stamps both help protect household access to a necessity and provide income support. In practice such penalties are often waived when enforced, states pay by investing the fine in programs to improve performance. States can be charged for the benefit cost of error rates in excess of national averages. This quality control sample is sufficiently large to provide reliable information on the people receiving food stamps, the rate at which administrators make errors in benefit determination, and the amounts of payments involved. Management is evaluated annually by a joint federal/state review of a sample of cases drawn from each state’s recipients list. While the federal government pays most FSP costs and sets most of the regulations, the program is operated by states, generally through local welfare offices. In fiscal year 2000, households with children received an average monthly food stamp benefit of $234. Beyond a standard deduction and certain other allowances, benefits are reduced by $0.30 for each dollar of income from sources other than earnings and by $0.24 for each dollar of earnings. In fiscal year 2001, the maximum monthly food stamp benefit for a household of three was $341. Families receiving TANF benefits and persons receiving Supplemental Security Income are in most circumstances automatically eligible for food stamps if they live alone. ![]() Certain adults are required to register for work, and some adults without dependents are required to work or to participate in training as a condition of assistance. To be eligible for food stamps, households must have gross (before tax) monthly incomes of less than 130 percent of federal poverty guidelines (in 2001 the guideline was $1,219 for a family of three) and few assets. The basic benefit is adjusted annually for changes in food costs. Over 80 percent of recipients receive food stamp assistance by using special ATM-like debit cards in grocery stores. But before analyzing these reforms, this policy brief reviews the basic features and problems of the program.įood stamps help people buy food. Some reforms have been implemented, and many others have been proposed. And unlike the EITC, which is usually received annually as a lump sum, food stamp benefits are received monthly.Įvidence has accumulated over the past decade that the FSP is not functioning well as a support for working families. The FSP supplements both TANF benefits and the incomes of the working poor and near poor while ensuring access to a necessity: food. On the other, the EITC bolsters the income of those who have jobs but work at low wages. On the one hand, TANF dollars provide a general time-limited income floor for needy families that lack other means of support. The 1996 legislation that created TANF included food stamp provisions, and the close connections between TANF and the FSP mean that the welfare reform reauthorization debate involves both.įor low-income families with children, the FSP shares some characteristics with both TANF and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). ![]() Current Food Stamp Program (FSP) appropriations expire September 30, 2002, coincidentally with the expiration of authorization for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In a typical month in 2001, 17.3 million people in 7.5 million households received food stamps at an annual cost of $20 billion.
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