Summary
A report by the Prison Policy Initiative shows that 39 U.S. states have rules that make it harder for people on probation to get SNAP benefits, which help people buy food. The study highlights that these barriers are due to state-level decisions and laws.
Key Facts
- SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and helps low-income households with food.
- 39 states have rules that connect probation with SNAP application barriers.
- Probation lets people serve their sentences outside of jail with certain conditions.
- 21 states have laws that block people on probation from getting SNAP.
- 18 states ask about probation violations on SNAP applications, which might discourage applications.
- Only 11 states have no probation-related disqualifications for SNAP.
- Federal laws allow states to decide their own SNAP eligibility rules for people with drug convictions.
- Some states with high probation rates have specific SNAP-related restrictions.
