Summary

Participation in the Food Stamp Program has dropped by 27 percent during the past 3-1/2 years. Welfare reform changed welfare from an entitlement program to one designed to end needy parents' dependence on government aid by promoting employment. The Food Stamp Program was retained as an entitlement but eligibility standards were tightened; adults without dependents had to meet work requirements and most permanent resident aliens were disqualified from participating. This report examines the reasons for the recent drop in food stamp participation and any problems that households with eligible children have experienced in obtaining food stamps. GAO found that the strong U.S. economy, tighter food stamp eligibility requirements, and welfare reform initiatives are the primary reasons for the decline in food stamp participation. But, some households, including those with children, have had problems obtaining food stamps because some state and local governments have gone farther than the law permits in limiting benefits.

GAO noted that: (1) the strong U.S. economy, tighter food stamp eligibility requirements, and welfare reform initiatives are the primary reasons for the decline in food stamp participation; (2) according to the states, participation has dropped mainly because fewer people are eligible to receive food stamps--a result of the strong economy and changes in food stamp eligibility; (3) however, most states also believe that welfare reform initiatives designed to reduce the welfare rolls have lowered food stamp participation; (4) children accounted for about 48 percent of the total decline in participation in fiscal year (FY) 1997, the most recent year for which detailed data are available; (5) moreover, children's participation in the Food Stamp Program has dropped more sharply than the number of children living in poverty, indicating a growing gap between need and assistance; (6) some households, including those with eligible children, have had problems obtaining food stamps because some state and local governments have gone farther than the law permits in limiting benefits; (7) believing that welfare families need to become self-reliant and break their dependence on government assistance, these state and local governments have taken steps that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has subsequently found to be excessive; (8) in addition, many former welfare recipients do not receive food stamp benefits because several state and local governments have not publicized differences in the eligibility requirements for welfare and food stamps; (9) the states' actions occurred, in part, because USDA has not promulgated regulations for implementing revisions to the Food Stamp Program enacted almost 3 years ago; and (10) furthermore, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has not reviewed potential participants' access to food stamp benefits in 10 states since the beginning of FY 1997.