Repealing food stamp ban for felons would improve public safety

This column was originally published on Missouri Independent, missouriindependent.com.

People with drug felonies on their criminal record are uniquely excluded from receiving benefits in Missouri from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, after they are released from prison.

This deprivation of SNAP benefits is solely because of their categorization as a former drug felon.

This treatment of people charged with drug crimes — and not people with any other type of criminal record — is inconsistent with other ways in which Missouri promotes public safety in aiming to reduce recidivism post-incarceration. Public safety is improved when people who leave jail or prison are given the tools to succeed.

The ban on SNAP benefits for people with drug convictions can be considered a “double punishment” for these individuals who not only serve time for their crimes, but also face persisting barriers after they are released from prison.

Missouri lawmakers have identified the elimination of the SNAP benefits ban for people with drug felonies on their criminal record as imperative to the health of Missourians.

State Rep. Chad Perkins is sponsoring legislation that would eliminate the ban on SNAP benefits for people with drug charges on their record. It passed the Missouri House with a vote of 125 to 23.

SNAP benefits help 330,000 Missourians provide for their families. Access to food is closely linked to other social needs such as transportation, employment, and housing — and all of which contribute to allowing formerly incarcerated people meet their basic needs as they work to get back on their feet post-incarceration.

Banning individuals with drug convictions from accessing lifesaving SNAP benefits is counterproductive to reducing recidivism, which is the return of formerly incarcerated people back to jail or prison. Research shows that increased social benefits for formerly incarcerated people contribute to a decrease in recidivism.

As of 2016, the Missouri Department of Corrections recidivism rate was 43.9% for all releases and 36.9% for those who were in jail or prison for the first time. Recidivism can increase when instability after incarceration remains for people recently out of the jail or prison. The instability that formerly incarcerated people face upon re-entry into society is exacerbated when the formerly incarcerated population is not given the help it needs—particularly when they could access that help before they were incarcerated.

If the SNAP ban is repealed, Missouri’s public safety will improve.

In 2002, the Missouri Department of Corrections established a Missouri Reentry Process, which promotes several principles and practices to ensure seamless reentry of individuals into society from the state’s prison system. These principles include offering services to offenders when they leave the Department of Corrections to help reduce future criminal behavior.

The Missouri Department of Corrections also recognizes that ensuring that formerly incarcerated individuals are better prepared to take care of their children means they are better situated to break cycles of intergenerational crime. Missouri is committed to public safety, and repealing the SNAP ban is aligned with these goals of facilitating reentry into society for formerly incarcerated individuals.

Data show that services provided to those transitioning from jail or prison to society are impactful. When formerly incarcerated individuals went through Missouri’s reentry process, which included spending time in a Transitional Housing Unit where pre-release services are provided, recidivism rates decreased from 44.9% to 37.5%.

Missouri should follow in the footsteps of other states that repealed the SNAP ban. South Carolina is currently the only state that has a full SNAP benefit ban. Mississippi repealed its SNAP ban in 2019, which helped not only helped low-income families put food on the table, but also was seen as having the capability to disproportionately helped women and single mothers. In 2016, Alabama similarly repealed their SNAP ban for those with drug felonies on their criminal record. This move was viewed to benefit Alabama’s homelessness rates, recidivism rates, and state budget.

In Missouri, as of 2016, the daily cost per person in the state prison system was $57.76 per day. Enacting legislation that keeps people out of the prison system keeps state costs down.

SNAP benefits are federally funded, so Missouri receives funds from the federal government to pay for Missourians to be on the SNAP program. If Missouri is serious about improving public safety in the state, the legislature will repeal the state’s SNAP ban for people with drug felonies.

Helen Webster is a third year law student at St. Louis University Law.