[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/25\/missouri-felons-looking-for-food-stamps#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/25\/missouri-felons-looking-for-food-stamps","headline":"Missouri Felons Looking for Food Stamps","name":"Missouri Felons Looking for Food Stamps","description":"Since Bill Clinton reformed welfare in 1996, convicted felons have not been able to receive food stamps. It\u2019s a decision that has deeply divided both critics and proponents of the SNAP program.","datePublished":"2018-07-06","dateModified":"2018-07-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin#Person","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"FoodStamps.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":100,"height":100},"url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/25\/missouri-felons-looking-for-food-stamps","about":["Foodstamps 101"],"wordCount":605,"keywords":["25"],"articleBody":"Since Bill Clinton reformed welfare in 1996, convicted felons have not been able to receive food stamps. It\u2019s a decision that has deeply divided both critics and proponents of the SNAP program, as an error-filled past makes it that much hard for ex-cons to get their lives back in order. However, many states have decided the ban just wasn\u2019t working anymore and decided to amend it, with Missouri possibly being the latest one to get on board.Clinton\u2019s Monumental DecisionThe mid- to late-nineties were a hugely transformative time as people started to make the permanent shift towards computers, technology and the internet. Perhaps because of the tide of change, President Clinton signed into law the\u00a0Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, a bill that drastically shifted how financial aid was given to the poor.Although poverty did decline in the late \u201890s, the bill wasn\u2019t as much of a success as Clinton had hoped it would be, particularly because it put in place time limits and absolutes. Here are the main points of the bill that changed the landscape:  The welfare program moved from an entitlement concept to a need-based conceptFrom the second the ball got rolling, welfare recipients had two years before they\u00a0had\u00a0to be workingRecipients only had five years to receive federal money, and this was a lifetime amountFamilies were encouraged to be married, instead of avoiding the certificate and raising their children that wayChild support was more strictly regulatedIllegal immigrants found it much more difficult to go about securing state professional and occupational licenses (although the black market still existed)  Some of the most common criticisms were that single mothers now found it much harder to raise their children than before PRWORA, and had no choice but to turn to shadier means to support their family. As well, a venture like obtaining a degree\u2014to conceivably get off welfare\u2014was just that much harder because welfare was slowly being yanked away.Only Ten States RemainAs mentioned right in the beginning, most states have realized PRWORA wasn\u2019t working as intended, and moved to change it. But 10 states still held onto parts or all of it, with the key one being felons couldn\u2019t receive food stamps.Now, though, lawmakers in three of them\u2014West Virginia, Delaware and\u00a0Missouri\u2014are the latest states to hop onboard, with\u00a0Missouri making big noise. The Senate in Missouri has already approved the bill, and it\u2019s on its way to the House.The wording of the bill doesn\u2019t make it a free-for-all, but it does change several key elements, namely:  Felons could become eligible to go on food stamps one year after either their conviction or release from prisonTo become eligible, they\u2019d have to fulfill either a treatment program or have an official deem them not needing treatmentThey\u2019d have three chances before they\u2019re out, but this would apply to felons with drug-related convictionsA sobriety test would be required for eligibility  While it doesn\u2019t completely undo PRWORA from 1996, it\u2019s several steps in the right direction, and a much-needed and long-awaited change."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ID","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/\/ID\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"25","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/\/ID\/\/25\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Missouri Felons Looking for Food Stamps","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Blog\/ID\/25\/missouri-felons-looking-for-food-stamps#breadcrumbitem"}]}]