Loss of Welfare Benefits

There are many reentry barriers for ex-offenders returning to society after serving their time either in prison or under parole supervision. One of these barriers is the loss of welfare benefits. Federal law imposes on individuals convicted of a state or federal felony drug crime a lifetime ban on receipt of welfare benefits and benefits from similar programs. This loss impacts community corrections by limiting the resources that are available to assist these individuals with their reentry goals.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), also known as the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. General individual welfare programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were eliminated, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was implemented. This new version of welfare assistance attached work requirements and time limitations to the benefits of recipients. Section 115 of the Welfare Reform Act denied certain welfare benefits to individuals convicted of any felony offense involved in the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance as defined by the Controlled Substances Act. This meant that states were now allowed to test welfare recipients for illegal drug use and restrict their benefits. Benefits denied included (1) assistance from any state program funded under part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act and (2) benefits from the food stamp program designated in the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as well as any state program operated under the Food Stamp Act of 1977.

The Welfare Reform Act allowed states two options within the new welfare limitations. States could either (1) opt out completely, exempting any or all individuals from application of the act, or (2) restrict the period of time individuals could be denied benefits. The act also specified that the new restriction was not retroactive. Only individuals convicted after August 22, 1996, the date the act was implemented, would be affected by the new restrictions. The introduction of this act later triggered what are often called welfare-to-work programs, in which state and federal employers are urged to employ those receiving TANF benefits in order for those individuals to obtain gainful employment rather than continue receiving welfare benefits.

Current federal law imposes a lifetime ban from welfare benefits and similar programs on individuals convicted of a state or federal felony drug crime.

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The effects of the Welfare Reform Act were not realized for quite some time, and some government officials were not even aware of the portion of the act that outlined restrictions for felony drug offenders. As states began to realize the limitations that elimination of welfare benefits placed on offenders attempting to reintegrate into society from prison, the number of states utilizing the act dropped. By 2002, six years after passage of the bill, 22 states had applied the lifetime ban on benefits, 10 had partial denials, 10 required drug treatment participation to receive benefits, and 9 had opted out of the ban altogether.

The loss of welfare benefits affected women and their children at a greater rate than men, because of the higher rate of drug offenses for women. Even though men are convicted of drug crimes more often, women are more likely to receive welfare benefits. Research has shown that as many as 35 percent of women were receiving welfare benefits prior to their arrests, compared with 11 percent of men.

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