This report examines the reinstatement of time limits on SNAP participation for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) following the Great Recession. This report focuses on how reinstatement of time limits impacted ABAWD employment, annual wages, and program participation. Methods include descriptive and regressive analysis of administrative data, analysis of linked SNAP-Unemployment Insurance data, sensitivity analysis of key findings, and interviews with regional SNAP directors.

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.

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.

From October 1, 1993 to September 30, 1996, the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored demonstration projects in Georgia, Hawaii, Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of operating the Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T) program under the same legislative and regulatory terms as the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients. Common objectives of the demonstrations were to increase compliance with E&T participation requirements among mandatory work registrants, target services to individuals most at risk of long-term dependency and those most likely to benefit from E&T services, improve participant outcomes, and improve the cost efficiency of welfare to work services.

This study was designed to describe the characteristics of adolescent women in WIC, as well as to identify their special needs, such as nutrition education, referral to other agencies, and their satisfaction with the services they received. The Adolescent WIC Participants Study was the first national survey of pregnant teenagers and mothers served by the WIC program.