SNAP Work Requirements: Reduce Enrollment without Increasing Employment
SNAP Work Requirements: Reduce Enrollment without Increasing Employment
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) provides nutritional support to over 41 million low-income Americans. However, a new working paper (Work Requirements with No Teeth Still Bite: Disenrollment and Labor Supply Effects of SNAP General Work Requirements by Jason B. Cook & Chloe N. East) finds that the program's work requirements significantly reduce participation, even when rarely enforced, without improving employment outcomes.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that administrative burdens alone can be a major barrier to accessing safety net programs. With debates over work requirements in welfare programs likely to continue, policymakers must weigh their deterrent effects against a lack of evidence that they successfully increase work.
By the numbers
The study by economists Jason Cook and Chloe East examines SNAP's "General Work Requirements," which apply to 28% of SNAP households, including many with children. Using data from an unidentified state, they find:
When subject to the requirements, household heads are 18-20 percentage points less likely to receive SNAP in the following months, even as other family members stay on. This cuts household SNAP benefits by 10%
Most participation decline occurs after heads are referred to the state's SNAP Employment & Training (E&T) program, which mandates job search activities, training, and meetings. The effects are largest on households likely to get E&T referrals based on characteristics.
Being referred to E&T reduces the head's SNAP participation by 3 months over a 6-month period, equivalent to a loss of 1.7 months of household benefits.
There are no significant impacts on heads' employment or earnings in the year after becoming subject to work requirements.
Yes, but: Administrators report that official sanctions for non-compliance, like losing benefits, are rarely imposed in practice in the state studied. The participation declines instead appear driven by the burdens of E&T requirements.
The intrigue
While past research has focused on SNAP's work requirements for childless adults, the rules studied here apply to a much broader population, including parents of young children. Given this group's vulnerability to the harms of losing food assistance, the sizable effects for families with kindergarten-aged kids are especially concerning.
What they're saying
The paper's authors said that even if sanctions have no teeth, work requirements still impose costs that deter participation. The findings add to growing evidence that hassles built into safety net programs screen out many eligible people, unfortunately often those with significant needs.
Bottomline
As currently implemented, SNAP work requirements, and excessive requirements in general, function more as barriers to access than springboards to employment. Policymakers must consider whether that outcome aligns with the program's core purpose as a nutritional safety net.