Which State Just Stripped 10,000 People Of Food Stamps For Not Working?

More than 10,000 residents of Ohio were stripped of their food stamp benefits this month and that number is expected to more than double by the end of February. Newly enforced work requirements mandate that food stamp recipients spend at least 20 hours per week working, volunteering, attending school or engaging in job training. The requirements were put into place last October, but county caseworkers are still completing required assessments to determine whether current recipients must comply with the new rule. Only those with mental illness, substance abuse or similar issues are exempt from the new policy.

Although this policy has been part of Ohio law since 1996, the state used a federal waiver to exempt food stamp recipients for the past six years due to the economic crisis. But now that thousands of recipients have refused to undergo assessments about their eligibility food stamp assessment, they are also expected to be removed from the public assistance program by the end of the month. Out of the 1.8 million Ohioans who receive food stamps, more than 350,000 of them have no cash income.
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