Author

Image of Rachel-Mackey_v2.png

Rachel Mackey

Legislative Director – Human Services & Education | Veterans & Military Services

Upcoming Events

Related News

Advocacy

County Countdown – March 19, 2024

ACTION NEEDED

Urge your members of Congress and the administration to support counties’ role in the federal, state and local partnership in administering and financing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

BACKGROUND

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition program, providing 41.2 million low-income individuals with monthly grocery benefits. SNAP was reauthorized along with other food and agriculture programs in the 2018 Farm Bill, which is set to expire September 30, 2023 and will likely be reauthorized in the 2024 calendar year. Though SNAP is an entitlement, it still receives funding annually through the congressional appropriations process, meaning benefit availability can be impacted by government shutdowns. In Fiscal Year 2023, Congress provided $153.8 billion in funding for SNAP.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers SNAP in partnership with states, 10 of which delegate that responsibility to counties: California, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. These 10 county-administered states account for 31 percent of all SNAP program participants. Counties operating SNAP often contribute significant levels of local funds to meet the administrative and supplemental costs of running the program. SNAP not only helps struggling families put food on the table but effectively and efficiently stimulates the economy during times of downturn and natural disasters, as families in need can quickly access and spend benefits. In addition to providing food assistance for millions of low-income families, elderly Americans and individuals with disabilities, SNAP supports self-sufficiency through Employment and Training (E&T) programs that help participants gain skills, training or work experience and equip them for regular, sustained employment.

To be eligible for SNAP, participants must have income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level and may not possess assets exceeding $2,250 ($3,500 for households with an elderly or disabled member), with certain exceptions. However, an option called Broad Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) allows states to forego verification of these asset requirements and/or expand income eligibility up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line if SNAP applicants qualify for non-cash Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or state maintenance of effort-funded benefits. SNAP participants must also fulfill work requirements, such as registering for work, accepting a suitable job if offered one, not voluntarily quitting a job without good cause and not reducing work participation below 30 hours a week. There are exemptions for certain groups such as students, those caring for children under age 6, individuals over age 59 and participants in alcohol or drug treatment programs. Able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs)—individuals aged 18-49 deemed work-eligible and not living with children—are subject to additional requirements. ABAWDs are limited to participating in SNAP for three out of 36 months unless they are working or participating in unpaid work through a state approved program or an E&T program for at least 20 hours per week.

The recently passed Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) (P.L. 118-5) expanded the ABAWD time limit to include individuals up to age 54, phasing the age-limit increase in by FY 2025 and keeping it in place until FY 2030. The FRA exempts homeless individuals, veterans and youth aging out of foster care from the ABAWD time limit during this same period. The FRA also permanently reduces allowable state ABAWD exemptions from 12 to 8 percent and ends state flexibility to carry over ABAWD exemptions from year to year, while also mandating the USDA to publish all state ABAWD waiver requests and the agency’s response.

KEY TALKING POINTS

  • SNAP helps provide food assistance as well as employment and training programs for low-income individuals and families. Nearly 70 percent of the households participating in SNAP include children.
  • States and counties should maintain flexibility in designing and implementing the program according to their needs and economic context, including the discretion to streamline administrative and application processes with other social service programs.
  • Families participating in SNAP often face multiple barriers to self-sufficiency and can struggle to meet SNAP’s full work and participation requirements. States and counties should continue to receive flexibility in waiving SNAP work requirements to meet the individual needs of their caseloads.
  • In county-administered states, counties often contribute substantial local funds to administrative and supplemental costs of the SNAP program.
  • Increased funding and flexibility for the SNAP program is critically important for county human service agencies to meet local needs.

 

Tagged In:

Related News

El Paso border station
Press Release

County Leaders Visit U.S. Border to Examine Best Practices for Local Governments

National Association of Counties Immigration Reform Task Force and other county leaders tour El Paso County, Texas.

(L-r): Lynn Carey and Maggie Purvis meet after becoming pen pal friends.
County News

County pen pal program helps developmentally disabled residents

Lynn Carey, a site manager of pulmonary services at Marion General Hospital, and Maggie Purvis, a high school freshman with autism, have been mailing each other letters back and forth for six months.

THE_County Countdown_working_image-4.png
Advocacy

County Countdown – March 19, 2024

Every other week, NACo’s County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership.

Caregiver
County News

NACo releases action guide for counties to support family caregivers

The National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers: Action Guide for Counties highlights survey findings, discusses challenges and opportunities for counties and provides key strategies and recommendations.

Caretaker with children
Advocacy

ACF releases final child care affordability rule

On March 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a new final rule aimed at reducing costs for families that receive subsidies through the Child Care and Development Fund.

Jeremy J. Chatelain rides a trail in El Paso County, Colo. using an off-road wheelchair. Photo courtesy of Jeremy J. Chatelain
County News

County offers off-road wheelchairs for visitors with disability, mobility issues

El Paso County, Colo.’s Trailability Program offers off-road wheelchairs for county park visitors with disabilities and mobility issues, increasing access to nature and reinvigorating residents’ love for the outdoors.