USDA's Food Stamp Program can ease the transition from welfare to independence
by supplementing the resources of the working poor. However, many
individuals who leave cash welfare, also known as Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF), drop off the food stamp rolls, even though
they appear to be eligible.
Past studies have identified the effects of individual and family
demographics, such as marital status and household earnings, on
Food Stamp Program participation. A new ERS report goes beyond the
study of individual and family characteristics and examines the
influence of community-level characteristics on program participation
in Illinois of former welfare recipients who remain eligible for
food stamps. The report concludes that the strength of community-level
characteristics as an influence on a TANF leaver’s decision
to participate in the Food Stamp Program depends on the density
of social networks in the individual’s neighborhood.
Ties with and the frequency of contact with family, friends, and
acquaintances are instrumental in helping individuals achieve certain
tasks, particularly in seeking employment or accessing public benefits.
Because such social networks are likely to be more concentrated
in urban neighborhoods than in rural areas, the effects of community
characteristics would be stronger for residents in Chicago than
for downstate residents. For example, the proportion of people in
poverty had a strong influence on the food stamp participation rate
of TANF leavers in Chicago, but not outside Chicago. Public assistance
offices often vary in the way they perform certain tasks, such as
community outreach and communication. Differences in these efforts
provide another source of variation in community characteristics.
The study found evidence that such differences influence Food Stamp
Program participation by TANF leavers, but again only in Chicago.
Other community-level characteristics, such as the proportion of
single-mother households and the proportion of residents who are
noncitizens, did not contribute to understanding Food Stamp Program
participation by TANF leavers beyond the information measured by
individual and family demographics.
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