More than 1 Million SNAP Participants Could Be Affected by USDA’s Proposed Waiver Rule [stateofobesity.org]

The vast majority of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants who could be affected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed rule to tighten SNAP work waivers are in deep poverty and live alone, according to a new analysis conducted by Mathematica. The analysis, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examines a proposed rule from USDA, issued last month, which would make it harder for states to receive federal time-limit waivers for SNAP participants living in certain areas. Among the 1.2 million participants living in waiver areas who do not have a disability, do not live with children, and are not working the required average of 20 hours per week, the analysis reveals that:

• A greater share of these SNAP participants lived in poverty (97 percent) compared to other SNAP participants (80 percent); 88 percent also had household incomes at or below 50 percent of the poverty level.
• About 81 percent lived alone. 
• About one-third lived in SNAP households that reported income. Among those with reported income, the average monthly household income was $557, or 43 percent of the poverty level ($20,160 for a family of three in fiscal year 2017).
• About 11 percent were working (but less than the required average of 20 hours per week), and another 5 percent lived with someone else who was working. 

Currently, SNAP participants without a disability who are age 18 to 49 and live in childless SNAP households must work an average of at least 20 hours per week or face a time limit on their SNAP benefits of no more than three months of benefits in a three-year period. But states can exempt some SNAP participants from the time limit by requesting a federal waiver for a geographic area that meets USDA’s criteria for high unemployment or a weak labor market.

Under the proposed changes, it would be more difficult for states, or parts of states, to qualify for a waiver. For example, areas with an overall unemployment rate at least 20 percent above the national average can currently qualify for a waiver; under the proposed rule, however, the area’s unemployment rate would also need to be at least 7 percent to qualify.

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