Gov. Wolf scrapping controversial assets test for food stamps

HARRISBURG — Starting today, applicants for food assistance in Pennsylvania will no longer have to undergo a controversial assets test — one that critics said kept thousands of needy people from being able to access help they were eligible to receive.

Previously, anyone applying for food stamps (officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) was subject to an assets test that barred people with disabilities or over age 60 with more than $9,000 in assets from getting assistance, or anyone under age 60 with more than $5,500 from receiving them. The result? Few people were disqualified, but all applicants and the state Department of Human Services were burdened by onerous verification paperwork.

“You had very few people who had higher assets,” said Caryn Long, executive director of

The test had a 35 to 40 percent error rate, which disproportionately hurt disabled and elderly people, said Kait Gillis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services.

Feeding Pennsylvania. “The bigger problem was that you had tens of thousands of households who were being denied because of essentially paperwork issues.”

In announcing the change last week, the Wolf administration said it anticipates saving about $3.5 million annually due to reduced administrative costs. Food stamp benefits come from federal dollars, but the administrative costs are borne by the state.

The test had a 35 to 40 percent error rate, which disproportionately hurt disabled and elderly people, said Kait Gillis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services.

The assets test had been dropped in 2008 amid the rising food stamp caseload of the Great Recession, but was reinstated in 2012 under Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. After the test had been in place for one year, in 2013, the state said it had disqualified about 4,000 families from receiving assistance.

Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Venango, said that even if the test only weeds out 1 percent of applicants, he still believes it is appropriate.

“Our welfare system is set up to help those who are truly needy … and the asset test is part of that,” said Mr. Hutchinson, who questioned the Wolf administration’s nominee to lead the Department of Human Services about the issue at a hearing last week.

Mr. Hutchinson also said that if there are assets limits for other assistance programs (there is a $1,000 asset limit for cash assistance), why not for this one as well?

But critics said the impact of the test was far broader.

“The biggest reason that people who apply for food stamps get turned down is documentation and paperwork problems. By adding to that burden, you inevitably push people over the edge,” said Ken Regal, executive director of Pittsburgh anti-hunger group Just Harvest.

The assets verification often involved submitting bank statements and vehicle registration and could be fairly complex, as certain types of savings accounts counted toward the assets limit, but others — such as individual retirement accounts — didn’t.

Another criticism of the test: It discouraged low-income people from saving for future needs or education.

“The evidence was against this years ago,” said Elizabeth LowerBasch, an expert on federal and state welfare policies at CLASP, a Washington, D.C.-based group that studies policies that impact low-income families.

Anti-hunger groups are pleased about the change.

“This was one of our top priorities for this administration,” said Ms. Long, whose organization represents eight food banks from across the commonwealth.

According to the most recent state statistics, more than 1.8 million Pennsylvanians receive food assistance, a number that has steadily risen since the start of the recession.