Kansas lawmakers have continued to pass on a federal policy that could make more people eligible for food assistance programs. Now, the state is one of the last in the country that has not yet adopted it.
The policy has to do with how much value people can have in assets and still receive food stamps. The flexibility allows families to have more assets and still be eligible for food assistance, something that especially benefits older people or families caring for elderly relatives.
So far, 41 states, two territories and the District of Columbia have adopted the more flexible rules, including conservative states like Texas, Florida and Alabama. Those states have even raised the minimum thresholds for eligibility as part of the program.
Adopting the policy — called broad-based categorical eligibility — would not mean that more people automatically get food assistance. It simply allows states to expand federal guidelines to make more people eligible. Those people would still go through the application process and could be denied.
Current federal policy cuts off benefits to anyone making too much. That’s $1,133 in monthly net income for a household of one or $1,920 for a household of three.
In addition to income limits, people are ineligible for food stamps if they have $2,750 in assets — such as money in savings accounts or the value of cars — or up to $4,250 in assets if at least one person in the household is over 60 or disabled. Dozens of states have waived asset limits and have almost doubled income thresholds because of categorical eligibility.
Haley Kottler, a food policy expert with Kansas Appleseed, said making it harder to get food assistance can have negative affects on families in other ways. A 2017 study from the University of Kansas found that welfare cuts increased the number of foster care cases. A later study further confirmed that expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could decrease the number of foster care cases.
Kottler said asset limits can be especially harmful because it penalizes people for having savings needed for the “curveballs that life often throws at us — car repairs, home repairs, unexpected job loss and family funerals, just to name a few.”
“It is extremely disappointing that state lawmakers have continued to villainize and stigmatize our neighbors that need access to programs like food assistance the most,” she said in an email. “So often Kansas is lagging behind other states when it comes to helping hungry people access food.”
Source: kcur.org
Photo Credit: gettyimage-jamesbrey
Categories: Kansas, Rural Lifestyle