This report summarizes the results from the state census conducted by FNS. Data for the census were collected during fiscal year 2001. The study examines how states are currently using or planning to use computer matching strategies for error reduction in the Food Stamp Program.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 imposed a work requirement and time limit on food stamp recipients viewed as fit to work – able-bodied adults without dependents. ABAWD participants are limited to three months of benefits in a three-year period unless they meet a work requirement. This study provides a national picture of how states implemented the ABAWD provisions and who was affected.

Over the last decade, food stamp participation rose more sharply than expected following the relatively short and mild recession in the early 1990s and fell more sharply than expected after 1994 during the sustained period of economic growth. Report language accompanying the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001 directed the Food and Nutrition Service to study the decline in participation in the Food Stamp Program.

This study examines the experience of states in developing and operating special-purpose savings account programs for low-income households. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is interested in the use of special-purpose accounts for the low-income population--especially for households receiving food stamps--as a means of promoting self-sufficiency . These accounts enable low-income persons to accumulate savings for specified purposes such as education, home purchase, home improvement, and business start-up. In many program initiatives, the account holder qualifies for matching funds to enable a more rapid accumulation of savings, as long as the account balances are used for the specified purposes. Such matched accounts are typically called a individual development accounts or IDAs.

This report presents an overview of biometric identification technology with particular attention to its potential use to improve the integrity of the FSP. It briefly describes some of the major technologies, summarizes their capabilities, gives examples of applications, and discusses issues that should be considered in evaluating biometric identification technology. 

Interest, research, and expenditures on dietary supplements are growing very fast. Americans spent $8.2 billion in 1995 for vitamins, minerals, herbs and botanicals, and sports nutrition products. About half of all Americans reported at least some use of vitamins and minerals in response to recent surveys. The general goal of the study is to examine existing data that bear on a diverse set of pertinent issues.

This report is the first to present information on a little-known segment of the Food Stamp population that has been profoundly affected by welfare reform—unemployed, childless, 18-50 year old able-bodied adults. As government agencies find themselves having to learn quickly about those affected by the new rules of public assistance , the need to gather timely and accurate information has never been greater.

The report presents the results of a survey conducted with every state during November and December 1997 to gather detailed information on state options taken in six main areas, with particular focus on time limits and work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) and on food stamp sanctions.