Growing Number of Food Stamp Recipients at Risk of Losing Benefits
TL/DR –
The new food stamp legislation, signed into law by President Donald Trump, is set to expand the program’s work requirements. Recipients will now need to work, volunteer, or participate in job training for at least 80 hours a month or they face being able to receive benefits for only three months out of every three years. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the changes will result in 2.4 million fewer Americans receiving food stamp benefits each month over the next decade, including 300,000 families with children.
Food Stamp Recipients Face Potential Loss of Benefits
(CNN) — Beneficiaries of November’s food stamp program may soon lose their crucial aid due to increased work requirements.
The government shutdown interfered with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Meanwhile, states began broadening work requirements following the Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill,” signed by President Donald Trump.
The new rules render more recipients eligible to work or attend job training for at least 80 hours monthly. Failure to meet these requirements results in benefit reduction to three months every three years.
About 2.4 million fewer Americans will receive food stamps in the coming decade due to these changes, impacting 300,000 families, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis.
Upcoming Timeline for Benefit Discontinuation
Recipients failing to meet work requirements risk losing benefits in March. However, this depends upon their location and recertification schedule for food stamp eligibility.
The GOP’s spending bill includes work requirements for recipients up to age 64, and parents of children aged 14 to 17. The legislation also increased the difficulty for states to obtain waivers during economic hardship.
A Rhode Island judge temporarily stopped the US Department of Agriculture from terminating existing waivers prematurely. However, official guidance is still pending, says Chloe Green from the American Public Human Services Association.
Experts argue that the work requirement expansion rollout has been chaotic and intensified by the lengthy government shutdown.
Challenges in Implementing SNAP Changes
Many developers find the new requirements difficult to incorporate due to lack of a set time frame for implementation. As a result, states may face penalties for non-compliance from the USDA.
People newly subject to the work requirements must be notified and screened for potential exemptions, such as physical or mental limitations.
Connecticut, with an estimated 10% of its SNAP enrollees at risk of losing benefits, found the expanded work requirements highly challenging to implement, says Dan Giacomi from the state’s Department of Social Services.
Temporary solutions such as manual data input are being employed while states update their technological systems to accommodate new requirements.
States are working hard to inform SNAP beneficiaries about the new work requirements, using methods like text messages, online questionnaires, meetings with community groups, and informative websites. Despite these efforts, some eligible people might lose their benefits due to procedural oversights.
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