All are U. S. citizens. That profile substantially conforms to the typical AFDC household. We then compute the cash value of the total benefits package that the profiled household would be able to receive. Those benefits are discussed in the following subsections. The program provides cash payments to families with children whose father or mother is absent, incapacitated, deceased, or unemployed and to certain others in the households of those children.
Funding comes from both the federal and the Kansas governments.
Participating households are expected to spend 30 percent of their monthly cash income on food. The food stamp program contributes the difference between that amount and the amount judged to be sufficient to purchase an adequate diet. Eligibility standards and benefit levels are defined by the federal government, and, with the exceptions of Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories, they are uniform nationally. Recipients of AFDC are automatically eligible for food stamps. The Medicaid program, Title XIX of the Social Security Act, was begun in 1965 and is the nation's primary program for providing health care for low-income people.