Human Services News

Food Stamp Caseload Dynamics: A Study in Four Big Cities — Overview

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 placed a federal time limit on the receipt of cash assistance and encouraged states to move welfare recipients off the rolls and into work, which was expected to place pressure on the federal Food Stamp Program (FSP) --- a system designed to prevent hunger among the nation's low-income population.

In all four counties, food stamp caseloads declined over time.

Over the entire period from 1993 to 2001, overall food stamp caseloads decreased by 51 percent in Cuyahoga, 44 percent in Philadelphia, 22 percent in Los Angeles, and 18 percent in Miami-Dade.

The decline occurred because the number of people leaving from 1994 onward was slighter greater than the number entering.

By September 1996, the percentage of individuals returning declined in Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, and Philadelphia but, by 2001, rose back up to 1993 levels in Miami-Dade and Los Angeles.