SNAP benefits and homeless youth/homeless adults: Advocacy materials and flagging eligiblity issues
We are writing to flag some issues that we have seen impacting homeless youth trying to obtain SNAP/food stamp benefits. (Many of these issues affect homeless adults and victims of domestic violence as well.) Some SNAP Coalition members and homeless youth providers have reported that homeless youth are encountering issues applying for SNAP and other benefits at DTA including problems obtaining verification, or confusion about the application process for a minor. Some of the issues involve accessing SNAP when a prior household still receives SNAP benefits for the youth or former household member.
USDA and FRAC materials on SNAP and homeless youth/homeless persons:
As the USDA and FRAC materials below highlight, there are a wide range of documents that prove identity, there is no minimum age to apply for SNAP and you do not need to have a fixed or permanent address, Feel free to print these out and broadly distribute to your clients:
- USDA flier "10 Myths About SNAP for Homeless Persons": https://www.usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/myths-homeless.pdf
- FRAC advocacy materials on homeless persons rights and SNAP benefits: frac.org/
federal-foodnutrition- programs/snapfood-stamps/ homeless-persons-rights-under- the-snapsnapfood-stamp- program/ [Editor's Note: Link is not active] - USDA Guidance from May 2013 regarding homeless youth and SNAP: https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/Policy_Clarifications_Homeless_Youth_Issues.pdf
SNAP applications involving homeless youth or other persons who are "participating" in a former SNAP household:
We have recently become aware of SNAP application denials and terminations involving homeless youth/young adults where DTA determined the individual was "receiving assistance from another state or county" - based on their being included in the benefits issued to a parent or other adult's SNAP household in another state. Under federal law, SNAP recipients cannot "participate.. in more than one household" in the SNAP program at the same time (7 CFR 272.4(e)).
However, we are concerned that SNAP benefits are being denied even though the youth or young adult is no longer living at home, does not receive any food from the SNAP benefits issued to that household, or in some cases does not even realize they are part of another SNAP household. In a number of cases, the youth no longer has a relationship with the parent or caregiver and cannot reach the parent/caregiver to ask to be removed from the benefits household, or the parent/caregiver has simply failed or refused to notify the state agency administering SNAP of their departure. (Note, for SNAP households on "simplified" or semi-annual reporting, the household need not report the change in household size until their reporting period is due).
DTA's recently updated it's policy on out-of-state matches and is now automatically denying or terminating SNAP benefits if an individual is determined through certain out-of-state matches or is otherwise determined to be a member of another SNAP household - regardless of whether the individual can access these SNAP benefits. See, for example, DTA Operations Memo 2014-21A on NY State matches. This current policy is troubling and may need further USDA clarification to address these situations.
If you are working with a homeless youth or homeless adult are denied SNAP for any of the above reasons, please contact MLRI: Vicky Negus at vnegus@mlri.org or Pat Baker at pbaker@mlri.