South Carolina Food Stamp and Well-Being Study: Transitions in Food Stamp and TANF Participation and Employment Among Families With Children

Overview

People who receive public assistance confront a number of “clocks” that may affect program participation. Examples of clocks include time limits on receiving benefits and recurring deadlines for reconfirming eligibility. This study examines the role of program clocks, economic conditions, and other circumstances on participation in South Carolina’s cash and food assistance programs. Families in South Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for NeedyFamilies (TANF) program are restricted to 2 years of benefits in any 10-year period. Caseworkers set intervals between redetermining TANF eligibility but cannot make them longer than a year. Families in the State’s Food Stamp Program (FSP) are required to recertify their eligibility at regular intervals. The study shows that South Carolina’s 2-year time limit hastens exits from and reduces returns to the TANF program and that the State’s policy of quarterly recertifications hastened exits from the FSP. In addition, annual redeterminations may contribute to TANF exits. Finding employment speeds exits from the FSP and cash assistance and delays returns to the programs. Cash assistance participation may lead to longer spells of receiving food stamps.

This study was conducted by the The George Washington University and the South Carolina Department of Social Services under a cooperative research contract with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Food and Nutrition Assistance Research Program (FANRP): contract number 43-3AEM-1-80133 (ERS project representative: Elizabeth Dagata). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ERS or USDA.