Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01pc289n15n| Title: | A lifetime of punishment: The impact of the felony drug ban on welfare benefits |
| Contributors: | Mauer, Marc |
| Keywords: | Welfare recipients—United States Ex-convicts—Legal status, laws, etc Political rights, Loss of—United States |
| Issue Date: | Sep-2015 |
| Publisher: | The Sentencing Project |
| Place of Publication: | Washington, D.C. |
| Description: | In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). PRWORA’s reforms were expansive and controversial for several reasons, including its implementation of a revised cash assistance program—Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)—which limited the length of time eligible families could receive benefits3 and established work requirements for recipients. In addition, PRWORA made substantial changes to the operation of the federal food stamp program, which has since been renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In an effort to assess the impact of this policy, this report provides an analysis of the ban on receipt of TANF benefits for individuals with felony drug convictions. First, we survey the current status of the ban at the state level, including actions by legislatures to opt out of the ban in full or in part. Next, we produce estimates of the number of women potentially affected by the ban in those states that apply it in full. We then assess the rationale for the ban and conclude that, for a multiplicity of reasons, the ban not only fails to accomplish its putative goals, but also is likely to negatively impact public health and safety. Finally, we offer policy recommendations for future treatment of the ban on receipt of food stamps and cash assistance for individuals convicted of felony drug crimes. |
| URI: | http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01pc289n15n |
| Related resource: | https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/ |
| Appears in Collections: | Monographic reports and papers (Publicly Accessible) |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-Lifetime-of-Punishment.pdf | 402.28 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Download |
Items in Dataspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.