Food Stamp Participation among Adult-Only Households

Several recent changes in the Food Stamp Program have been directed toward households without children. Some, including new work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), were intended to promote self-sufficiency, while others, including easier application and recertification procedures, were intended to increase participation among underserved groups, such as the disabled and the elderly. Despite their relevance to policymakers, adult-only households have been examined by only a few studies. We use administrative records from South Carolina and event-history methods to investigate how spells of food stamp participation for adult-only households vary with ABAWD provisions, recertification intervals, economic conditions and other characteristics. We find that households that were subject to ABAWD policies had shorter spells and lower rates of food stamp participation than other households. We also find that households were much more likely to leave the Food Stamp Program at recertification dates than at other dates. Compared to married households, exit rates were lower for households in high unemployment areas, for female- and black-headed households, for individuals with less education, and for never-married households. We further find that the time limit was associated with exits with and without earnings, suggesting that this policy increased self-sufficiency for some households but left others without support.Food stamps, hazard models, time limits, recertification

Food Stamp Participation among Adult-Only Households

Several recent changes in the Food Stamp Program have been directed toward households without children. Some, including new work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), were intended to promote self-sufficiency, while others, including easier application and recertification procedures, were intended to increase participation among underserved groups, such as the disabled and the elderly. Despite their relevance to policymakers, adult-only households have been examined by only a few studies. We use administrative records from South Carolina and event-history methods to investigate how spells of food stamp participation for adult-only households vary with ABAWD provisions, recertification intervals, economic conditions and other characteristics. We find that households that were subject to ABAWD policies had shorter spells and lower rates of food stamp participation than other households. We also find that households were much more likely to leave the Food Stamp Program at recertification dates than at other dates. Compared to married households, exit rates were lower for households in high unemployment areas, for female- and black-headed households, for individuals with less education, and for never-married households. We further find that the time limit was associated with exits with and without earnings, suggesting that this policy increased self-sufficiency for some households but left others without support

Food Stamp Participation among Adult-Only Households

Several recent changes in the Food Stamp Program have been directed toward households without children. Some, including new work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), were intended to promote self-sufficiency, while others, including easier application and recertification procedures, were intended to increase participation among underserved groups, such as the disabled and the elderly. Despite their relevance to policymakers, adult-only households have been examined by only a few studies. We use administrative records from South Carolina and event-history methods to investigate how spells of food stamp participation for adult-only households vary with ABAWD provisions, recertification intervals, economic conditions and other characteristics. We find that households that were subject to ABAWD policies had shorter spells and lower rates of food stamp participation than other households. We also find that households were much more likely to leave the Food Stamp Program at recertification dates than at other dates. Compared to married households, exit rates were lower for households in high unemployment areas, for female- and black-headed households, for individuals with less education, and for never-married households. We further find that the time limit was associated with exits with and without earnings, suggesting that this policy increased self-sufficiency for some households but left others without support

South Carolina Food Stamp and Well-Being Study: Well-Being Outcomes Among Food Stamp Leavers

This study examines data from a survey of families in South Carolina who left the Food Stamp Program (FSP) between 1998 and 2000. We combined the survey data with earnings data and subsequent food stamp receipt to investigate personal and family characteristics associated with three types of well-being outcomes: food hardships, other adverse events, and subjective assessments of life changes. Study results show that families with rising incomes are less likely than families with lower incomes to experience food hardships or other adverse events or to have a negative view about life changes. Families who return to the FSP are more likely to experience food hardships and other adverse events but are less likely to have a negative view about life changes than families who remain out of the program

South Carolina Food Stamp and Well-Being Study: Transitions in Food Stamp and TANF Participation and Employment Among Families With Children

People who receive public assistance confront a number of “clocks” that may affect program participation. Examples of clocks include time limits on receiving benefits and recurring deadlines for reconfirming eligibility. This study examines the role of program clocks, economic conditions, and other circumstances on participation in South Carolina’s cash and food assistance programs. Families in South Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are restricted to 2 years of benefits in any 10-year period. Caseworkers set intervals between redetermining TANF eligibility but cannot make them longer than a year. Families in the State’s Food Stamp Program (FSP) are required to recertify their eligibility at regular intervals. The study shows that South Carolina’s 2-year time limit hastens exits from and reduces returns to the TANF program and that the State’s policy of quarterly recertifications hastened exits from the FSP. In addition, annual redeterminations may contribute to TANF exits. Finding employment speeds exits from the FSP and cash assistance and delays returns to the programs. Cash assistance participation may lead to longer spells of receiving food stamps

Watching the Clocks: The Role of Food Stamp Recertification and TANF Time Limits in Caseload Dynamics

We use administrative data to examine how ‘‘clock’’ policies—program time limits and recurring deadlines for confirming eligibility—affected participation in South Carolina’s TANF and Food Stamp Programs from 1996-2003. South Carolina’s TANF program limits most families to two years of benefits in any ten-year period; so, recipients began exhausting their eligibility as early as 1998. The state’s Food Stamp Program sets regular recertification intervals that can be distinguished from other calendar effects and increased these intervals after October 2002. We find that the two-year time limit reduced TANF caseloads and that the longer recertification intervals increased food stamp caseloads.

South Carolina Food Stamp and Well-Being Study: Transitions in Food Stamp Participation and Employment Among Adult-Only Households

Several recent changes in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) have been directed at households without children. Some of the changes,such as new work requirements and time limits for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), are intended to encourage economic self-sufficiency and to reduce program dependence. Other changes are intended to raise low program participation rates among vulnerable groups. This study examines administrative records for adult-only households from South Carolina’s public assistance and Unemloyment Insurance systems during 1996- 2003. The study investigate show patterns of exit from and re-entry into the FSP and patterns of employment vary with program provisions for ABAWDs, recertification intervals, economic conditions, and personal and family characteristics. The study shows that households subject to ABAWD policies had shorter spells of food stamp participation, longer spells of food stamp non participation,and higher rates of employment than did households not subject to the policies. In addition, adult-only households were much more likely to leave the FSP at recertification time than at other times .Finding employment hastened exits from the FSP and delayed returns