Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/SarahBrauner

At all levels of income, former welfare recipients were more likely to leave the Food Stamp program than families that had not been on welfare, according to this brief based on the 1997 National Survey of America's Families. Among the poorest of the poor, those at 50 percent of the federal poverty line and below, former welfare families stopped using food stamps at twice the rate of nonwelfare families. About two-thirds of families that left the Food Stamp program appeared to be eligible based on their incomes. The most common reasons families gave for leaving the Food Stamp Program were increased earnings/a new job, or administrative problems and hassles.

This paper finds that the continuing strong economy and federal reforms do not adequately explain the unprecedented decline in the food stamp caseload. At all levels of income, former welfare recipients left food stamps at higher rates than families who had not been on welfare. Most food stamp leavers had incomes that still left them eligible for benefits. Families who left welfare joined other low-income working families who have historically had low rates of participation in the food stamp program.

The policy brief summarizes new data on employment rates, characteristics of employment, and other indicators of well-being for former welfare recipients from 11 state studies. The studies were conducted in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio (Cuyahoga County), South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and two in Wisconsin. The report highlights several issues to consider in comparing results from “welfare leaver” studies now being conducted across the nation.

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