The provision will restore food stamps to approximately 250,000 legal immigrants, children, the elderly and the disabled who were dropped from the program by the 1996 Welfare Reform Bill. To qualify for the nutrition benefits, immigrants must have been living in the United States on August 22, 1996. Those who arrived after that date would not be entitled to food stamps. Elderly individuals must have been 65 or older on that date. Also eligible are children under the age of 18 who were living in the country on August 22, 1996.
Disabled individuals qualify regardless of when they became disabled.
The measure would also enable refugees and people who have received asylum in the US to receive nutrition benefits for seven years. Individuals who qualify for assistance under the revised act should apply to their local social services agency. Us- Senior Answers and Services and Colorado Gerontological Society are not for profit organizations dedicated to education and the dissemination of information pertinent to seniors and professionals in the field of aging.