Food Stamps: Welfare Reforms

Food stamps are an important component of low-income families’ monthly resources, increasing the chances that families are able to meet basic needs (Ratcliffe, McKernan & Finegold, 2008). This form of food relief dates back to the Great Depression when many Americans lost their jobs and did not have money to feed their families. People were starving while farmers produced abundant crop that could not be sold due to a lack of consumers with buying power (Dorsch, 2013). The Federal Surplus Relief Corporation which was a part of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, bought basic farm goods at low prices and distributed the among hunger relief agencies in different states and local communities (Congressional Digest, 2013).

The guidelines for repairing harm requires that, to the best extent attainable, offenders take responsibility and take action to make things right with those individuals who were harmed (Bazemore & Maruna, 2009). Reentry and recidivism is unmistakably a test for all involved. In the course of recent decades, the United States has encountered imprisonment rates that have almost quintupled, with 1,610,584 prisoners currently incarcerated in state and

Did you know that 17% of Americans in rural areas live below the poverty line, and out of those 17%, 15 million of those individuals are children? (Hunger In America 2014). The month of September was Hunger Action month and many individuals helped raise awareness by taking the Food Stamp (SNAP) Challenge. This challenge consists of an individual living on the SNAP balance of a $6-7 per day budget for food. Many individuals came to the realization that this is a difficult budget, and does not meet the nutritional needs for a family.

Over 8.2 million seniors over the age 60 face the threat of food insecurity, up 78% from a decade ago affecting one in seven seniors. The rise in food insecurity is primarily seen among senior Americans with income less than $30,000 or one to two times the poverty level. Younger seniors between the ages 60-69 are becoming more likely to become food insecure than older adults, due to early retirements and not being able to rely on Social Security or Medicare until they reach 65. Elder malnourished patients experience 2 to 20 times more complications and 100% longer hospital stays. Good nutrition is vital to helping America’s 34 million seniors to stay healthy,

Most teenagers that are attending high school have jobs. Like I said most teens! They are either working because they believe that having their own money will prevent them from asking their parents for any type of financial help for anything. Most teens start work at fast-foods places, shoe stores and retail jobs. Once they get that bi-weekly check my question to you is what do you spend your check on?

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a government program for low-income individuals and families which allows them to receive nutrition assistance. Previously known as the Federal Food Stamp Program, SNAP was renamed in 2008 to fight stigma of those who participate in the program. The first food stamp program can date back to 1939 and was created by Milo Perkins who was able to see a solution for both farmers who had surpluses of crops and the undernourished population within the town.

The prison population in the United States has been growing steadily for more over 30 years, a great portion of this population are returned offenders. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports, each year more than 650,000 offenders are released into communities with at least 5 million of the ex-offenders being under some form of community-based supervision (James, 2010). In an attempt to curtail the rate of recidivism, the Bureau of Prison contracts with Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs) to assist inmates approaching release. RRC’s provide safe, structured, supervised environment, as well as employment counseling, job placement and financial management assistance (Prisons, 2017).

When strict welfare reform laws were enacted back in the mid-90s, the rallying cry was “ending welfare as we know it.” Provisions were instilled to prevent selling or trading food stamps for drugs. The fear was that these welfare benefits would be abused.

Statistically, I should be a failure. I am three times more likely to become a teen parent than those with mothers who did not have children in their teens. I am more likely to have a mental illness than my peers because of the absence of a steady father figure in early childhood. Due to my poor financial status during a large part of my life, I am less likely to succeed in school and more likely to go to jail. No statistics could have predicted that I would be sitting in a room with the best of my peers debating bills at Alabama Girls State.

With $30 you can buy the following: 2 pies of Frozen Freschetta 12” Pizza, 1 box of Kellogg’s cereal of your choice, 3 boxes of Barilla Pasta, 2 jars of Barilla Pasta Sauce, 1 pound of turkey breast cold cuts, 1 package of salad blend, 1 and a ½ crown of broccoli, 5 tomatoes on the vine and 8 slices of store-made angel food cake (“ShopRite of Poughkeepsie Weekly Ad Week of April 20 through April 26”). Can you survive on that for a week? The average single able bodied, unemployed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient in New York receives around $30 a week to purchase food (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”). The food stamp program was made national by the Food Stamp Act of 1964 by President Lyndon. B. Johnson (“Food Stamps in the U.S”). Today, over 47.6 million Americans rely on the government to buy groceries (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”). The food stamp program is a staple part of our society. However, there was a time when the program was so unpopular that it shut down for almost two decades. In the recent years, food stamp benefits have been on a trend of expanding not only the amount of recipients, but also the amount each recipient receives in benefits. Why has the food stamp program become so popular and supported over the years? And what is the fate of SNAP? The analysis of trends of the policy changes and public moods shows that the size of the food stamp program has changed with the shift in America’s attitude towards

In 1997, there were many changes to the Food Stamp Act. Some of these changes includeed the dismissal of the requirement that applicants purchase the stamps, the “elimination of the requirement that participants purchase the stamps; the establishment of uniform national standards of eligibility; the expansion of the program to minority communities; more federal support for the implementation of the program at the state level; and restricted access to benefits for students enrolled in a university.

The government has many funds going across the United States to help support the residents of its country. Food stamps, also known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) is a resource that provides people with a way to buy food if they don’t have the money to do so. This aid is given in different forms such as a LINK card, cash and/or paper that resembles money but can be redeemed for food.Most people that use this resource are having hardships in their lives. The USDA ( U.S Department of Agriculture) states that nearly 40 million Americans are being fed by this program.( "Food Stamps.")

Is the rising rate of childhood obesity within the United States affected by the food stamp program? This is the question that formulated the basis of my research. Looking at the rising statistics of obesity rates within America’s youth and researching why the weight of the United States community is significantly passing those of its surrounding countries. In researching this topic I hope to determine if the food stamp program is in any way responsible for this increasing health issue. As the years progress the health of today’s youth is rapidly decreasing. Although the

The focus of this paper was to evaluate a reentry program in the state of Washington. For the purpose of this evaluation, the author(s) evaluated reentry efforts and measured recidivism rates for participants in Washington State Department of Corrections Going Home project. Targeted audiences for this assessment were the general public, policy makers, program implementers, evaluators, academics, and the state government.

Without allocating the resources needed to do this during an offender’s release, it is inevitable that that individual will have a higher chance of recidivating. There are factors that have proven to assist in effective reentry into society. The Boston Reentry Initiative (BRI) has gone through stringent evaluation by numerous researchers and proven very effective as a reentry method (Braga, Piehl, & Hureau, 2009). BRI offenders have a recidivism reduction rate 30% greater than peers that did not go through the program. The BRI was applied on young offenders with violent criminal histories. The evaluation targeted this population because it is the most difficult group to prevent from recidivating. Since the initiative has proven it establishes a measurable impact on difficult populations, it is likely to influence more tolerant populations as well. This program focuses on intervening with offenders before they are released from incarceration. Offenders develop a plan for their release in association with organizations that work with the prison. These range from faith-based programs, community outreach workers and drug treatment facilities. Offenders implement their plan upon release in corroboration with these organizations. Plans are individually focused, but consistently guided by employment placement,