REENTRY

MYTH Cleat

A Product of the Federal interagency Reentry Council

MYTH: Individuals convicted ofa felony can never receive

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Frozram (SNAP, formerly the Food

Stamp Program) benefits.

FACT: This ban applies only to.convicted drug felons, and only
thirteen States have kept the ban in place in its entirety, Most States

have modified or eliminated the ban.

Section 115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Act of 1996 prohibited States from providing
Food Stamps (now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program or SNAP) to convicted drug felons unless the
State passes legislation to extend benefits to these
individuals.

Only the following 13 States have kept the welfare ban
entirely in place: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. All other
states have modified the ban or have eliminated it
entirely.

The following 18 States and the District of Columbia have
eliminated the ban entirely: lowa, Kansas, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico,
New York, Ohio, Okiahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and
Wyoming.

The following 19 States have amended the ban to allow
some individuals to regain eligibility by meeting certain
additional requirements, like receiving or completing drug
or alcohol treatment, to regain eligibility for benefits:
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota,

Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina,
Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.

For More Information:

Visit the SNAP website at www.fns.usda.gov/snap for

information on application and eligibility requirements.

What i isa REENTRY MYTH BUSTER?

ne ina “series of fact sheets intended
to clarify existing federal policies that affect formerly.
"incarcerated individuals and their families. Each year, more.
than 700,000 individuals are released from state and federal
“prisons. Another 9 million cycle through local jails 2

_ reentry fails, the social and economic costs are high -- more _
crime, more victims, more family distress, and more pressure

E on, aiready-strained state and municipal budgets, :

Because reentry intersects with health and pousing
education ‘and employment, family, faith, and community
well-being, many federal agencies are focusing on initiatives

— for the reentry population, Under the auspices of the
Cabinet-level interagency Reentry Council, federal agencies
are working together to enhance community safety and well-
being, assist those returning from prison and jail In becoming
‘productive citizens, and save taxpayer dollars by lowering the
direct and collateral costs of incarceration. i

For more information about the Reentry Council, go to:

www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/reentry-
council-meetin,

/



-REENTRY

hae BUSTER!

A Product of the Federal interagency Reentry Council

MYTH: I cannot apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) benefits without a mailing

address.

FACT: You can get SNAP even if you do not have a mailing address.

The SNAP application process requires applicants to
provide an address where they can receive case
related notices. Some common documents that
clients receive by mail include:

e Electronic Benefit Card (EBT) that clients use
to access their benefits at authorized stores

 Reapplication forms

e Eligibility interview appointment information

Individuals and families who do not have a mailing
address can still receive SNAP benefits. Applicants
without a fixed address should notify an eligibility
worker at their local SNAP office about their situation
to find out how they can receive program-related
correspondence. Some common ways local offices
ensure that clients without a mailing address receive
notices include:

e Holding correspondence at the local office for
pick up

« Using the address of a local shelter (with the
shelter’s permission)

e Use the address of a trusted friend or family
member (with resident’s permission)

e Send correspondence to a local post office as
general delivery mail

Establishing a procedure for applicants without a
fixed address to receive timely correspondence helps
to ensure that they continue to receive all the SNAP
benefits for which they are eligible.

For More Information:
Visit the SNAP website at www.fns.usda.gov/snap for

information on application and eligibility requirements.

What is a REENTRY MYTH BUSTER?

This Myth Buster is one in.a series of fact sheets intended
to clarify existing federal policies that affect formerly
incarcerated individuals and their families. Each year, more
than 700,000 individuals are released from state and federal
prisons. Another 9 million cycle through local jails, When
reentry fails, the-social and economic costs are high - more
crime, more victims, more family distress, and more pressure
on already-strained state and municipal budgets.

Because reentry intersects with health and housing,
education and employment, family, faith, and community
well-being, many federal agencies are focusing on initiatives
for the reentry population. Under the auspices of the
Cabinet-level interagency Reentry Council, federal agencies
are working together to enhance community safety and well!-
being, assist those returning from prison and jail in becoming
productive citizens, and save taxpayer dollars by lowering the
direct and collateral costs of incarceration.

For more information about the Reentry Council, go to:
www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/reentry-