Food Stamps to begin a work requirement

MCIL’s Timothy Redd is a national panelist

By Timothy Redd
On Feb 21, 2018 the Food Stamp work requirements will be reinstated for most of Tennessee.  Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday that Tennessee will re-establish federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits work requirements in 70 counties for able-bodied adults without dependents.  The work requirement was waived in 2008 during the recession and will continue to be waived for sixteen economically distressed counties.
 
Haslam states it's now difficult to justify the waiver amid record-low unemployment rates and substantial job growth. The governor's office also points out that other states have similarly restored work requirements. The change affects 58,000 of about 1 million Tennesseans on food stamps. The administration says Haslam also will propose legislative changes to reduce welfare fraud, waste and abuse.
 
"According to the most recent census data,” said US Rep. Steve Cohen, “the Memphis metro area has the highest poverty rate of metro areas with at least one million people. We need to be making nutrition assistance more available, not less.”
 
Yesterday my coworkers and I had a discussion about the work requirement with various viewpoints. I would agree with Cohen that we need to make food assistance more available but I also don’t think there is anything wrong with a work requirement. I did notice that people with disabilities are exempt from this requirement.
 
Historically people with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed and that is where the issue is for me. According to the Department of Labor, in 2016, the unemployment rate for the general population was 4.6 percent, but for people with disabilities it was stuck around 10.5 percent. Finding employment for people with disabilities is extremely challenging and if our community could truly take advantage of skill training and employers were more accommodating I think people with disabilities could make our workforce stronger. What do you think?
 
This past Tuesday, September 12, I took part in The American Public Human Services Association Conference’s, Improving Access to SNAP for People with Disabilities panel discussion at the Hilton Hotel.  I shared the panel with Oregon’s Belit Burke, Self Sufficiency Design Administrator Oregon Department of Human Services and Massachusetts Brittany Manini, Acting SNAP Director Department of Transitional Assistance. 
 
My contribution to the discussion was about barriers. It’s hard to schedule transportation for SNAP benefits because waits are so long at the office, kiosk are not accessible, emergency responses for replacement benefits have not been very accommodating to folks with disabilities; these are some of the areas I addressed.
 
Belit Burke shared that for a long time Oregon system had not been the friendliest for people with disabilities. Advocates are a big reason why things have improved. Today Oregon offers same day benefits, program evaluations, feedback on websites, and even focus groups to improve service.

Much has changed in Massachusetts on the heels of a now settled lawsuit. Harper vs Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance was a class action lawsuit brought by disabled clients alleging that the Department violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide clients with disabilities with equal access to Department benefits.
 
The plaintiffs alleged that the Department fails to provide clients with disabilities the special assistance needed to ensure that they can maintain their benefits. Today there are system enhancements, screen prompts and scripts for employees, built in tracking to maintain customer documentation, mobile alerts, and employees assist in filling out paperwork and reading notices through home visits for people with disabilities. The offices now have at least one director of Disability Access in each office whose goal is to keep disability access in the discussions as well as collaborate with community liaisons and other agencies.
 
Massachusetts currently partners with the aging commission and other agencies. There is also an Elder Unit being developed that will cater to seniors 60 and older and also provide a direct line for them to call with no automation.
 
At the end of the discussion I met Lisa Cowell, Tennessee SNAP Director. She informed that she submitted a ticket to have the kiosk lowered which will make them more accessible and she forwarded my information to Shelby County’s Field Management Director Yolanda Shegog-Wright.  Ms. Cowell also advised that Tennesseans can now send emails for a 48 hour response, apply for SNAP benefits online and also take advantage of live chat by accessing the website at https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/article/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap.  

After hearing some of what is happening in other places I am convinced that a better system for accessing SNAP benefits is possible if we as a community continue to speak and make demands when we see barriers.