August 12, 1996
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, or welfare reform bill (P.L. 104-193), signed by President Clinton on August 22, 1996 contains numerous significant benefit and structural changes to our nation's nutrition assistance programs. The following is a summary of those changes and their potential impacts.
I. FOOD STAMPS
The new law cuts the Food Stamp Program by over $27 billion over six years. In addition, although the law does not have any food stamp block grant (mandatory or optional) it makes many structural changes which have serious implications in the administration and implementation of the Program.
A. Benefit Levels
The new law lowers the basis for food stamp allotment levels from 103 percent of the Thrifty Food Plan to 100 percent of the Thrifty Food Plan.
The cuts in benefit levels and freezes on deductions will result in a significant loss of benefits for all food stamp recipients. On average, recipients will face an 18 percent reduction in benefits by the year 2002; working poor families will lose about 20 percent of their benefits.
B. Work Requirements
Persons between the ages of 18 and 50 without children will be entitled to only three months of food stamp benefits in every 36 month period unless they are working half time or participating in a job program half time. There are no exemptions due to hardship; the requirement can be waived, however, if unemployment exceeds 10% or if the state requests a waiver on the basis of lack of jobs.
The new law provides only a small amount of funding to provide work slots for this population. This provision targets a population that is exceedingly poor. On average, their income is only 28 percent of the poverty line (roughly $170 a month). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in an average month, one million poor unemployed individuals who are willing to work and would take a workfare slot if one were available nonetheless would be denied food stamps under these requirements.
The new law allows states under certain circumstances to require parents of children as young as one year to work The new law retains the food stamp Employment and Training (E&T) but gives states more flexibility in program design, and disqualifies persons who refuse to participate or who voluntarily quit a job without good cause.
C. Immigrant Provisions
The new law bars most legal immigrants from food stamp participation until citizenship. The report exempts refugees, aliens whose deportation has been withheld, and asylees from the ban for five years . It also exempts legal permanent residents who have worked for at least 10 years, and noncitizens who are veterans or on active duty.
D. Waivers/State Options
The new law broadens food stamp waiver authority and provides for a number of state options in the implementation of the Food Stamp Program. While these options provide an opportunity to simplify the program and align food stamp rules with those of other benefit programs, they also create the potential for erosion of recipient rights and protections.
E. Other Food Stamp Provisions
The new law prohibits an increase in food stamps due to a penalty based on a "failure to comply" in a means-tested cash assistance program. The new law eliminates current requirements concerning application forms, verification requirements, in-person and home interviews, and special application process requirements for elderly, disabled, rural, homeless, and non-English speaking populations.
The new law requires states to implement Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) systems before 10/1/2002 unless the state receives a waiver due to implementation barriers. It deletes the requirement that EBT systems be cost neutral in any one year and exempts EBT systems for food stamp benefits from Regulation E.
I. The Child and Adult Care Food Program
A. Eligibility
The new law creates a two tiered area eligibility means test for the family day care home portion of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The entitlement status and basic structure of CACFP is maintained.
The new law allows Governors to opt to enforce immigration restrictions for participants in CACFP. Centers, family day care homes, and afterschool programs using CACFP could be forced to check the immigration status of all program participants and turn away undocumented persons. If this option is chosen it will have devastating effects in many communities.
B. Benefit Levels
The new law significantly lowers reimbursement rates for family day care homes. The rates in the new law will likely force a significant number of CACFP sponsors serving hundreds of thousands of poor children to drop out of the program.
The new law also eliminates the option of serving an additional meal or snack to children who are in child care centers for more than eight hours. Many of the young children in care are actually at the child care center for ten to twelve hours and need a full complement of meals and snacks to stay healthy. Eliminating this possibility is a harsh cost saving measure.
C. Access
The new law eliminates all of the requirements and resources including training and funding for outreach and expansion efforts directed toward increasing the participation of children from low-income families. This will have the effect of reducing the participation of low-income families. This certainly seems counterproductive to effective welfare reform.
II. The Summer Food Program
A. Eligibility
The new law allows Governors to opt to enforce immigration restrictions for participants in the Summer Food Program. If this option is chosen Summer Food Program sponsors could be forced to check the immigration status of all program participants and turn away undocumented children. This will drastically reduce participation in many areas of the country.
B. Benefit Levels
The new law dramatically cuts the Summer Food Program lunch reimbursement rates from $2.16 to $1.97, likely forcing a significant number of program sponsors serving hundreds of thousands of poor children to drop out of the program.
B. Access
The conference eliminates report start-up funds for the Summer Food Program which will reduce participation in the Summer Food Program.
III. The School Breakfast Program
A. Access
The new law eliminates start-up funds for the School Breakfast Program. Start-up funds were the catalyst for expanding the School Breakfast Program by 26,000 schools and 2.3 million poor children between 1987 and 1994. This will constitute a barrier to increasing the participation of the millions of low-income children who are currently eligible but unserved.
Under the immigration provisions of the new law school lunch and school breakfast will be available to undocumented children in states where such children are entitled to public education.
IV. WIC
A. Eligibility
The new law makes many technical changes to the WIC program, none of which benefits program participants or strengthens the program, some of which actually do harm. The new law eliminates the authority of WIC to serve women in prisons and juvenile detention facilities which could result in a de facto elimination of eligibility for these women.
The new law allows Governors the option of enforcing new immigration restrictions for participants in the WIC program. Currently WIC serves all eligible women and children regardless of immigration status. In states choosing the option, WIC clinics could be forced to check the immigration status of all program participants and applicants and to turn away undocumented women, infants and children.
B. Access
The new law eliminates the requirement that USDA conduct outreach for the WIC program, removes the requirement that, WIC services and materials be provided in languages other than English, and removes the requirements that WIC provide information about the Food Stamp Program and other sources of food assistance.
For more information, call California Food Policy Advocates at 415-777-4422 ext. 104.