Childless Adults Receiving Food Stamps Off 68%
The number of able-bodied, childless adults receiving food stamps plummeted from more than 1.1 million to 362,000 in the three years after a welfare overhaul imposed strict new rules on the program, congressional auditors reported Tuesday.
The 1996 welfare law imposed time limits and work requirements for able-bodied adults aged 18 to 50 without children.
They were allowed to receive the benefits--vouchers to help buy food--for three months out of every three years, unless they met work requirements or lived in an area of high unemployment that was exempt from the work requirements.
The General Accounting Office, Congress’ investigative arm, said average monthly food stamp participation fell 68%, from 1,133,000 in 1996 to 362,000 in 1999. This drop came even though 36 states waived the new rules for portions of their populations.
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