December
4,1997
A Guide to
Estimate the Cost of a State-Funded
Food Stamp Program for Legal
Immigrants
by Jennifer Daskal and Kelly Carmody
A state contemplating funding
its own food stamp program for legal immigrants needs to be able
to estimate the cost of providing state-funded food stamps to
legal immigrants who are ineligible for federally-funded food
stamps. Available information can help states develop fairly
reliable projections. The following is a step-by-step guide to assist states with the necessary calculations.(1)
The text of this guide
describes how to determine the number of immigrants to be served
by a state-funded food stamp program and the cost of providing
food assistance to these immigrants. To make the discussion more
concrete, a sample
worksheet shows these calculations
for a hypothetical state. The text and worksheet continuously
refer to each other, and the two pieces should be reviewed
together.
The calculations begin with
the number of non-exempt legal immigrants receiving
federally-funded food stamps in a typical month in federal fiscal
year (FFY) 1996. (Each state's number has been generated from a
database compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Consumer Service (FCS) and is provided
in the following Table
1, Column A.) The guide then
outlines each of the several steps involved in estimating how
many non-exempt legal immigrants will be subject to the new
eligibility restrictions two years later in FFY
1998. This estimate is used to calculate the cost of providing
food stamps for these immigrants at the same benefit levels that
would apply in the federal food stamp program. (All of the
calculations are based on the assumption that states use the
federal benefit structure in their state-funded programs.) The
final section describes and evaluates options for states that are
unable to allocate sufficient funding to provide full benefits to
all of the legal immigrants losing federally-funded food stamps.
It is important to emphasize
that the figures used are estimates, based on assumptions and
data supplied by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Food and Consumer Service (FCS) of the
United States Department of Agriculture. Rather, this guide
represents Center's best attempt to estimate the number of legal
immigrants subject to the food stamp restrictions. The Center
recommends that states and state advocates to follow the
methodology outlined in this guide.
I. Estimating the Numbers
of Legal Immigrants in Need of State-Funded Food Stamps
The number of legal immigrants
receiving food stamps at the time the welfare law was
signed is not the same as the number of legal immigrants denied
food stamps under the provisions of the welfare law. Some
immigrants fall within an exempt category and remain eligible for
federally-funded food stamps. Some will have naturalized and
remain eligible as citizens. Others have exited the rolls as a
growing economy pushes federal food stamp caseloads to recent
lows. All of these factors reduce the number of legal
immigrants who are now impacted by the welfare law's restrictions
on federal food stamp eligibility.
On the other hand, other legal
immigrants (either those in the country when the welfare law was
signed but not receiving food stamps at that time or new
arrivals) would have applied for and received federal food stamps
if it were not for the welfare law's restrictions on eligibility.
Given these factors, states
must make several adjustments to the FY1996 figure presented in Table 1 in order to estimate the number of legal immigrants
actually subject to the restrictions on eligibility enacted in
last year's welfare law and now in need of state-funded food
stamps. The following sections make suggestions as to what these
adjustments should be, and the worksheet shows the
calculations for the hypothetical state. A blank worksheet is also included for state-specific calculations.
Step One: Adjustment for
Exemptions
- Three main categories of legal
immigrants are exempt from the new federal restrictions
and therefore remain eligible for federally-funded food
stamps. These are:
- Refugees, asylees, Cuban-Haitian
entrants, Amerasians, and those granted withholding
of deportation for their first five years in the
country with that status.
- U.S. Armed forces members, most
veterans, their spouses and dependents.
- Those who have accumulated 40
quarters of work. Married and widowed immigrants may
claim quarters earned by their spouses, and children
may claim quarters their parents earned while they
were minors.
- The initial estimate of the number of
non-exempt legal immigrants receiving food stamps in each
state in 1996 is based on information on almost 60,000
randomly sampled food stamp households initially compiled
by FCS to determine states' quality control (QC) error
rates.(2) About fifty-five percent of refugees,
asylees, and those granted withholding of deportation who
received food stamps in 1996 are assumed to be exempt
from the eligibility restrictions.(3)
Legal immigrants who are veterans or are receiving Social
Security income (and can be assumed to have accumulated
40 quarters of work history in most instances) are also
treated as exempt. Table 1, Column A lists the estimate of the number of
non-exempt legal immigrants receiving food stamps in
each state in FFY 1996.
- Calculations: Enter your
state's figure from Table 1, Column A on the first line of the worksheet. (We
arbitrarily assumed that 10,000 legal immigrants received
food stamps in 1996 in our hypothetical state.)
Step Two: Adjustment for
Caseload Decline:
- The figures in Table 1 show food stamp caseloads in FFY 1996 and
reflect the economic conditions in that year. According
to USDA administrative data, total food stamp caseloads
(including both immigrants and non-immigrants) fell by 7
percent between the first eleven months of FFY 1996 and
the first eleven months of FFY 1997 (the latest data
available), after adjusting for changes in eligibility
rules implemented under the provisions of the 1996
welfare law.(4) If the trend continues, average monthly
caseloads will have fallen by 14 percent between FFY 1996
and FFY 1998.
- Calculations: Line 2 on the worksheet reduces the number of
non-exempt immigrants by 14 percent in order to adjust
for caseload decline. This yields the result of 8,600
legal immigrants in the hypothetical state. If your state
has its own state-specific data showing the rate of
caseload decline (distinct from the decline due to the
major changes in eligibility rules, see footnote three),
these state data could be used in line two of the
attached worksheet instead of the national estimate.
Step Three: Adjustment
for Exemptions for Immigrants with 40 Quarters of Work
- In estimating the number of non-exempt
legal immigrants subject to food stamp cuts, as reported
in Table 1,
Column A, legal immigrants
receiving Social Security were treated as exempt from the
cuts because they had likely accumulated 40 quarters of
work. Therefore, the five percent of legal immigrants who
reported receiving Social Security were not included in
the count of non-exempt
legal immigrants reported in Table 1, Column A.(5)
- This figure, however,
understates the number of legal immigrants exempt from
the eligibility restrictions due to the 40-quarters
exemption. CBO estimates that 25 percent of immigrant
food stamp recipients will be exempt from the cuts in
1998 because they have accumulated 40 quarters of work
through their, their spouses', or their parents' work.(6)
- Calculations: To
account for the additional legal immigrants exempt from
the eligibility restrictions because they or a family
member have accumulated 40 quarters, it is necessary to
reduce the figure from Table 1, Column A by 20 percent (using the CBO
estimate that 25 percent have accumulated 40 quarters of
work minus the five percent of immigrants that are
receiving Social Security and have been separately
identified).(7) This calculation is shown in line three of the worksheet, yielding a
result of 6,880 in the hypothetical state.
Step Four:
Adjustment for Immigrants who Become Naturalized Citizens:
- Many legal immigrants made
ineligible for federally-funded food stamps under the
welfare law are likely to have naturalized, thereby
lowering the number of immigrants for whom states need to
provide assistance. Well before the passage of the
welfare law, the total number of immigrants applying for
citizenship had increased rapidly. Therefore, despite
long backlogs for those currently applying to naturalize,
a large number of legal immigrants are naturalizing based
on applications that have been "in the
pipeline" for the last few years.
- CBO estimates that in FFY
1998, 17 percent of the legal immigrant population
eligible for federally-funded food stamps under the
pre-welfare law rules will become U.S. citizens and,
therefore, remain eligible for federally-funded food
stamps.(8)
- Calculations: Line 4 of the worksheet reduces the
estimate by an additional 17 percent. After making the
adjustment for naturalizations in the hypothetical state,
5,710 legal immigrants remain eligible for the state-run
program. Again, state-specific data on the rate of
naturalizations could improve the quality of an estimate.
Step Five:
Adjustment for Participation Rates
- In most states, state-funded
food stamp programs will be implemented after August
1997, when all ineligible legal immigrants were removed
from the federal food stamp program.(9) After a lapse in benefit receipt,
eligible legal immigrants will have to reapply for a new
state-funded program. Based on experience with other
programs, it is highly unlikely that all eligible
immigrants (5,710 in the hypothetical state) will apply.
- Participation rates will vary
depending on the population being served, what the
application process is like, and how information is
spread about the availability of the new program in each
state. According to a recent USDA study, 86 percent of
eligible children received food stamps in 1994, as
compared to 36 percent of eligible elderly.(10) As a result, participation rates
will vary from state to state and program to program.
States evaluating programs that serve only a subset of
the population may want to vary participation rate
estimates depending on whom is being served.
- Calculations: 80
percent of the 5,710 eligible immigrants were assumed to
participate in the state-funded food stamp program in the
hypothetical state. This is a high estimate, based on
participation rates in other public assistance programs.
It is likely that actual participation rates and the
related costs would be lower. The calculation is shown in
line
5 of the
worksheet, yielding an estimate that 4,568 legal
immigrants would participate in a state-funded food stamp
program serving all legal immigrants made ineligible for
federally-funded food stamps under the welfare law.
II. Costs at Full
Benefit Level
- To determine the monthly cost
of serving legal immigrants at full benefit levels,
states can multiply the result in line 5 (4,568 legal immigrants for the
hypothetical state) by the average per capita benefit
level for immigrants in their state. For the hypothetical
state, the average benefit level per immigrant is based
on national data. According to USDA's latest
administrative data, the average monthly food stamp
benefit for the first eleven months of FFY 1997 was
$71.40. Adjustments for inflation coupled with
adjustments to reflect the slightly lower per capita
benefit level for immigrants yields an average food stamp
benefit per immigrant of $71.37 per month.(11) (12) States may want to use
state-specific average benefits, if available.
- To determine fiscal year
costs, monthly costs need to multiplied by the number of
months that the program will be in operation. If, for
example, the program begins operation in October 1998 and
the state's fiscal year ends in June, the state will need
funding for nine months of operation.
- In order to cover costs of
printing, shipping, and redeeming federal food stamps,
the federal government charges each state $2,800 per $1
million worth of food stamps provided (or 0.28 percent of
the face value of the benefits issued). States that use
EBT should expect to incur similar expenses, although
USDA has not yet determined the exact amount it will
charge these states.
- As long as states do not hire
additional staff to run the program, the additional costs
of running a state-funded food stamp program are likely
to be negligible because the implementation of a
state-funded food stamp program may even produce
administrative savings. The establishment of a
state-funded food stamp program will likely reduce the
number of costly reviews and hearings for legal
immigrants denied food stamps. Therefore, this guide
assumes zero state administrative costs.
- Calculations: The cost
of providing full benefits for all legal immigrants in
the state-funded food stamp program is determined in lines six
through eight of
the worksheet. The number of legal immigrants expected to
participate is multiplied by the average monthly benefit.
This number is then multiplied by the number of months
the program is in operation. The administrative cost is
added to the result. The total cost in the hypothetical
state will be $2.934 million for the fiscal year, as
shown on line 7.
III. Dealing With
Budget Constraints: Some Options
Some states may not
appropriate sufficient funds to provide the full benefit level to
all legal immigrants denied federal food stamps. These states
will have to make difficult choices about whom to serve. As shown
in part III of the worksheet, our hypothetical state
would need approximately $2.9 million to serve all legal
immigrants at full benefit levels. If the state only appropriates
$1.5 million for the fiscal year, it must either provide benefits
at a reduced rate or deny assistance to some of the affected
legal immigrant population.
Subtracting
federal administrative costs. This is the reverse of the
process described above. If a state only has a limited amount of
money, it must first determine how much will be available for
benefits by subtracting out the federal administrative costs
($2,800 per $ 1 million of food stamps). The calculations are
shown in line
10 of the sample
worksheet.
Distributing the
benefits. The next section of this guide describes three
possible choices that a state could make given limited resources.
However, a state's choices are not limited to the three options
outlined in this paper, and a state could combine two or more
approaches. All of the options described are designed for states
serving legal immigrants made ineligible for federally-funded
food stamps, regardless of their date of entry into the country.
Option
A: Reduced
Benefits for All
- One option is for states to
provide reduced benefits for all legal immigrants no
longer eligible for federally-funded food stamps.(13) States could calculate benefit
levels equal to federally-funded food stamp benefit
levels, and then reduce each benefit by the specified
amount necessary to maintain budgetary balance.
Alternatively, states could change food stamp eligibility
rules for the state-funded program by lowering the
standard deduction or eliminating benefits to less poor
households by imposing lower income limits. (These last
two options are not shown on the worksheet.)
- If full benefits cannot be
provided, an across the board pro-rata reduction may be
the most attractive option. It provides a safety net for
all legal immigrants whom the welfare law would otherwise
leave vulnerable. It does not cast states in the role of
declaring some extremely poor legal immigrants "not
needy." Furthermore, it keeps the program simple by
saving eligibility workers from having to apply
additional categorical requirements.
- Calculations: To
determine the average per capita monthly benefit, divide
the amount available (line 10, $1.496 million in our hypothetical state)
by the numbers of legal immigrants expected to be served
(line
5, 4,568 in our
hypothetical state). Divide this by the number of months
the program will be in operation (9 in our hypothetical
state). This calculation is shown on line 11b. The ratio between this result and
the average benefit provided by the federally-funded
program yields the necessary per capita reduction.
In the example shown, the state would provide each
recipient slightly more than half of what he or she would
have received under the federally-funded program. Each
ineligible immigrant's food stamp benefit would be
reduced by 49 percent of the full federal benefit. The
percentage reduction calculation is shown on line 11c of the worksheet.
Option
B: Targeting
Households with Children
- As a particularly vulnerable
and sympathetic group, children are often among those
first targeted by states making choices about whom to
serve. In fact, many states have decided to provide
state-funded food stamps to legal immigrant children.
- Children, however, purchase
food and prepare meals as part of a family or household.
Even if a state provides food stamps to all children
(federally-funded food stamps to citizen children and
state-funded food stamps to immigrant children), the
amount of food available for these children may fall if
the adults in the household are denied food assistance.
As a result, both citizen and immigrant children will be
impacted by a family's reduced food budget.
(Approximately 630,000 citizen children live with
non-exempt legal immigrant adults.(14)) If the goal of a state program is
to combat childhood hunger, the state would need to
provide food stamps for all legal immigrants who are
children or live in families with children.
- Nationally, 65 percent of
legal immigrants subject to the federal food stamp
eligibility restrictions are children or live with
children; of these, approximately one-quarter are
children and three-quarters are adults who live with
children. In other words, 17 percent of all legal
immigrants subject to the federal restrictions are
themselves children and another 47 percent are adults who
live with children.(15)
- Calculations: First,
it is necessary to determine how many of the legal
immigrants denied federally-funded food stamps either are
children or live with children.(16) The percentage of non-exempt legal
immigrants who are children or live with children is
shown in Column C of Table 2 for the nation as a whole (excluding
California) and for some selected states. This percentage
(65.1 percent for the nation excluding California) is
then multiplied by the number of immigrants in line 5 (4,568 in our hypothetical state)
to yield the number of immigrants who are children or
live with children (2,974 in the hypothetical state).
This number is entered on line 12a of the worksheet. States not shown
individually on Table 2 can use the national figures, as
was done for the hypothetical, or their own
state-generated data.(17)
- Even though this option only
serves a subset of the legal immigrants subject to
federal food stamp restrictions, some states might also
have to do at least a modest reduction in the benefit
level to meet a given appropriation. Once the number
served under this new selection criteria is determined,
the steps are the same as in Option A (see lines 12 b-d). As the calculations show, the
hypothetical state could serve all legal immigrants in
families with children at 78 percent of the benefit level
they would have received under the federally-funded
program. This state would have to perform a 22 percent
pro-rata reduction from the federal benefit levels in
order to meet its budget target.
Option C:
Targeting the Elderly, Disabled, and Children
- Some states have decide to
provide food assistance to three groups of legal
immigrants: children, the elderly, and the disabled.
- Most impoverished elderly and
disabled immigrants who were in the country as of August
22, 1996, had SSI benefits restored under the provisions
of the Balanced Budget Act. Although many elderly and
disabled SSI recipients also received federally-funded
food stamps prior to the implementation of the welfare
law, their benefits were usually relatively small,
reflecting the fact that SSI benefits provide them income
at about three-quarters of the poverty level. Among the
elderly and disabled, the most vulnerable are those who
will not be eligible for SSI, either because they entered
the country after August 22, 1996, or because they are
among the non-disabled elderly that were not receiving
SSI on that date. While the proportion of the elderly and
disabled immigrants that entered after August 22, 1996,
and fall into this more vulnerable category will rise
over time, most elderly and disabled legal immigrants
currently denied food stamps remain eligible for SSI.
- Calculations: The
calculations required to determine the cost of serving
these groups are shown in lines 13 a-d of the worksheet, and are very
similar to the calculations shown for Option B. The percentage of those who fall
into this category (42.1%) is computed by adding up the
percent who are legal immigrant children (17.4%), the
percent who are elderly (20.1%), and the percent who are
disabled adults under 60 (4.6%).(18) Since some of the non-elderly
disabled may also be children, there will be some minimal
overlap between these categories. Therefore, the estimate
that 1,919 immigrants in our hypothetical state fall into
one of these three categories in our example may be
slightly too high.
- Unlike Options A and B, the
hypothetical state has a surplus of approximately
$260,000 after providing full food stamp benefits for the
elderly, disabled, and children. The state could use the
excess funding to provide food stamps to more immigrants.
The state could, for example, provide an additional
subset of the legal immigrant population, such as any
legal immigrant living with children, a reduced benefit.
To determine the percent reduction per recipient the
state could follow steps 12a-d for the 54 percent of the legal
immigrant population that are adults living with children
(Table
2, Column B),
substituting, in the hypothetical state, $263,169 for the
$1,495,800 shown there.
Summary
Estimating the number
of legal immigrants to be served under a state-funded food stamp
program, and the cost of doing so, is not an exact science. Yet
the estimates outlined in this guide do provide the best
information available for states thinking about the likely costs
and numbers served under various programs. States which have not
taken into account the impact of the exemptions, caseload
decline, and increased rate of naturalizations on the number of
legal immigrants denied federal food stamps may be surprised to
find that the costs of running a state-funded food stamp program
are much lower than anticipated.
Many states may
follow the course that Nebraska and Washington
have charted and offer full replacement for all legal immigrants
subject to the new restrictions on eligibility for
federally-funded food stamps. Some states, however, may be forced
to make hard choices about what benefits to provide in light of
budgetary limitations. Given the difficulties in identifying and
targeting the most needy of the legal immigrant population
subject to the restrictions on food stamp eligibility, it may
make the most sense for states to take the option Massachusetts
selected, that of serving all legal immigrants, but at a reduced
benefit rate. After four to six months, the state can determine
whether the participation rate assumptions used initially were
accurate; if the spending is less than anticipated, the states
could increase the benefit level provided (or vice-versa).
Providing some benefits to all eligible legal immigrants denied
federally-funded food stamps ensures that the elderly, disabled,
children, as well as other extremely poor legal immigrants who
might otherwise suffer severe hardship receive some supplemental
food assistance.
TABLE 1: NUMBERS OF NON-EXEMPT
LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
LOSING FOOD STAMPS, 1998 |
|
Column
A |
Column
B |
|
Non-exempt Legal Immigrants Subject to FS
Cuts (monthly estimates) |
Adjusted for Caseload Decline, 40
Quarters Exemption, and Naturalizations |
STATES |
|
Alabama |
551 |
331 |
Alaska |
1,136 |
640 |
Arizona |
27,812 |
15,683 |
Arkansas |
1,088 |
613 |
California |
494,162 |
278,659 |
Colorado |
10,445 |
5,890 |
Connecticut |
9,890 |
5,577 |
Delaware |
967 |
546 |
Dist. of Col. |
1,268 |
715 |
Florida |
152,334 |
85,902 |
Georgia |
8,991 |
5,070 |
Hawaii |
7,324 |
4,130 |
Idaho |
1,945 |
1,097 |
Illinois |
43,284 |
24,408 |
Indiana |
2,568 |
1,448 |
Iowa |
1,989 |
1,121 |
Kansas |
2,691 |
1,518 |
Kentucky |
2,132 |
1,202 |
Louisiana |
6,538 |
3,687 |
Maine |
718 |
405 |
Maryland |
14,466 |
8,157 |
Massachusetts |
28,986 |
16,345 |
Michigan |
15,187 |
8,564 |
Minnesota |
17,845 |
10,063 |
Mississippi |
678 |
382 |
Missouri |
6,099 |
3,439 |
Montana |
240 |
135 |
Nebraska |
1,661 |
937 |
Nevada |
3,997 |
2,254 |
New Hampshire |
600 |
338 |
New Jersey |
34,194 |
19,282 |
New Mexico |
13,872 |
7,822 |
New York |
262,825 |
148,207 |
North
Carolina |
5,907 |
3,331 |
North Dakota |
685 |
371 |
Ohio |
13,638 |
7,690 |
Oklahoma |
2,493 |
1,406 |
Oregon |
12,407 |
6,996 |
Pennsylvania |
20,688 |
11,666 |
Rhode Island |
5,774 |
3,256 |
South
Carolina |
454 |
256 |
South Dakota |
652 |
368 |
Tennessee |
3,176 |
1,791 |
Texas |
236,149 |
133,165 |
Utah |
2,312 |
1,304 |
Vemont |
435 |
246 |
Virginia |
10,384 |
5,856 |
Washington |
36,047 |
20,327 |
West Virginia |
1,064 |
600 |
Wisconsin |
11,241 |
6,339 |
Wyoming |
245 |
138 |
Total |
1,542,208 |
869,654 |
Sources: 1996 Food Stamp QC file. CBO 1997 baseline assumptions. USDA Program Information Data, 1996
-1997. |
Assumptions: 17 percent of non-exempt legal
immigrants will naturalize by 1998; a total of 25 percent
of legal immigrants in the baseline meet the 40-quarter
exemption ; the number of legal immigrants on food stamps
falls 14 percent between FFY 1996 and FFY 1998 ; and
about two-thirds of refugees, asylees, and those granted
withholding of deportation remain eligible for food
stamps because they have been in the country for five
years or less, have accumulated 40 quarters of work, or
have naturalized. All of these figures are based on CBO
baseline assumptions and USDA Program Information
data. |
TABLE
2: ESTIMATES OF NON-EXEMPT
LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
LOSING FOOD STAMPS, 1998 |
|
Non-exempt Legal Immigrants Subject to FS
Cuts (monthly estimates) |
Adjusted for Caseload Decline, 40
Quarters Exemption, and Naturalizations |
(A)
Percent Who Are Children |
(B)
Percent Who Are Adults
That Live With Children |
(C)
Percent Who Live in
Families With Children |
(D)
Percent Who Are Elderly |
(E)
Percent Who Are Disabled
(incl. those over age 59) |
(F)
Percent Who Are Disabled
& Under Age 60 |
United
States (except CA) |
1,048,046 |
590,995 |
17.4% |
47.8% |
65.1% |
20.1% |
6.7% |
4.6% |
California |
494,162 |
278,659 |
20.9% |
65.1% |
85.9% |
4.3% |
0.7% |
0.7% |
Other
Selected States: |
Arizona |
27,812 |
15,683 |
17.9% |
58.1% |
76.0% |
7.6% |
4.3% |
2.4% |
Connecticut |
9,890 |
5,577 |
24.3% |
37.7% |
62.0% |
22.4% |
7.5% |
5.4% |
Florida |
152,334 |
85,902 |
15.4% |
39.2% |
54.6% |
24.0% |
8.6% |
5.5% |
Hawaii |
7,324 |
4,130 |
9.5% |
23.7% |
33.2% |
54.0% |
4.0% |
1.6% |
Illinois |
43,284 |
24,408 |
20.5% |
36.1% |
56.6% |
29.9% |
17.0% |
12.2% |
Massachusetts |
28,986 |
16,345 |
20.3% |
52.4% |
72.7% |
13.0% |
10.0% |
6.9% |
New Jersey |
34,194 |
19,282 |
26.8% |
43.5% |
70.3% |
20.0% |
3.7% |
3.1% |
New Mexico |
13,872 |
7,822 |
9.5% |
65.6% |
75.1% |
8.3% |
4.6% |
4.1% |
New York |
262,825 |
148,207 |
17.7% |
38.8% |
56.5% |
27.1% |
7.0% |
3.7% |
Rhode
Island |
5,774 |
3,256 |
18.3% |
45.4% |
63.7% |
20.1% |
10.0% |
6.1% |
Texas |
236,149 |
133,165 |
14.7% |
65.7% |
80.3% |
8.8% |
3.9% |
3.5% |
Washington |
36,047 |
20,327 |
20.1% |
49.3% |
69.4% |
21.8% |
8.9% |
3.5% |
Wisconsin |
11,241 |
6,339 |
33.8% |
52.8% |
86.6% |
8.5% |
2.9% |
2.9% |
Sources: 1996 Food Stamp QC file. CBO 1997 baseline assumptions. USDA Program Information Data,
1996-1997 |
SAMPLE
WORKSHEET 1: |
CALCULATING NUMBERS AND COSTS OF
LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
SERVED BY THE STATE-FUNDED
FOOD STAMP PROGRAM
IN A HYPOTHETICAL STATE |
|
Calculations |
Hypothetical State |
I.
Numbers to Be Served |
1. Number of
non-exempt legal immigrants, 1996
(from 1996 food stamp QC data
base or state-specific number) |
|
10,000 |
2. Adjustment for caseload decline,
1996-1998
(14 percent reduciton from
number of non-exempt legal immigrants, line 1, or
state-specific number) |
- (0.14 x 10,000)
-1,400 |
-1,400
8,600 |
3. Adjustment for 40 quarters
exemptions
(20 percent reduction from
line 2, or state-specific number) |
- (0.20 x 8,600)
-1,720 |
-1,720
6,880 |
4. Adjustment for naturalizations
(17 percent reduction from
line 3 or state-specific number) |
- (0.17 x 6,880)
-1,170 |
-1,170
5,710 |
5. Adjustment for participation rate
(20 percent reduction from
line 4 or state-specific number) |
-(0.20 x 5,710)
-1,142 |
-1,142
4,568 |
II.
Costs at Full Benefit Level |
6. Monthly cost of serving immigrants at
full benefit level
(average benefit of $71.37,
or state-specific number, multiplied by number of
eligible legal immigrants, line 5) |
$71.37 x 4,568
$326,018 |
$326,018 |
7. Cost, FY 1998
(monthly cost, line 6,
multiplied by number of months of program operation) |
9 x $326,018
$2,934,163 |
$2,934,163 |
8. Federal
administrative cost
(add $2,800 per $1 million of
total expenditure, line 7) |
+ (2,800 x $2.93)
+ 8,204 |
+8,204
$2,942,367 |
III. Dealing with Budget
Constraints: Some Options |
9. Fixed
amount available
(amount appropriated by the
state) |
|
$1,500,000 |
10. Federal administrative costs
(subract $2,800 per $1
million of expenditures, line 9) |
- (2,800 x 1.5)
-4,200 |
-4,200
$1,495,800 |
11. Option A: Reduced Benefits for
All |
a.) Average
annual benefit per recipient, FY 1998
(amount available, line 10,
divided by number of recipients, line 5) |
$1,495,800 / 4,568
$327.45 |
$327.45 |
b.) Average monthly benefit per
recipient
(average annual benefit, line
11a, divided by number of months of program operation) |
$327.45 / 9
$36.38 |
$36.38 |
c.) Percent reduction per recipient
(percent difference between
average amount provided, line 11b, and average benefit at
full-funded levels) |
($36.38 / $71.31) - 1
- 0 .49 |
-49.0% |
12. Option B: Targeting Immigrant
Households with Children |
a.) Number of
recipient served
(65.1 percent live with
children, from Table 2, multiplied by total number of
eligible legal immigrants, line 5; use the state-specific
estimate of the percent living with children from Table
2, Column C, if available) |
0.651 x 4,568
2,974 |
2,974 |
b.) Average
fiscal year benefit per recipient
(amount available, line 10,
divided by number of recipients, line 12a) |
$1,495,800 / 2,974
$502.96 |
$502.96 |
c.) Average
monthly benefit perprecipient
(average fiscal year benefit
per recipient, line 12b, divided by number of months of
program operation) |
$502.96 / 9
$55.88 |
$55.88 |
d.) Percent
reduction per recipient*
(percent difference between
average amount provided, line 12c, and average benefit at
full-funded levels)
* if excess funds, go to step
13d |
($55.88 / $71.37) - 1
- 0.217 |
-21.7% |
13.) Option C: Targeting the
Elderly, Disabled and Legal Immigrant Children |
a.) Number of
recipients served:
(42.1% who are elderly,
disabled, or children, sum of columns a,d, &f in
Table 2, multiplied by the total number of eligible
immigrants, line 5; use state-specific numbers from Table
2, if available) |
0.421 x 4,568
1,923 |
1,923 |
b.) Average
total benefits per recipient:
(amount available, line 10,
divided by number of recipients, line 13a) |
$1,495,800 / 1,923
$777.85 |
$777.85 |
c.) Average
monthly benefit per recipient: average fiscal year
benefit per recipient, line 13b, divided by number of
months of program operation) |
$777.85 / 9
$86.43 |
$86.43 |
d.)
excess funds |
(i) amount available |
-
(1,923 x $71.37)
$137,245 |
$1,495,800 |
(ii) minus
amount spent:
(number served, line 13a,
multiplied by average monthly benefit level, $71.37,
multiplied by number of months of program operation) |
- ($137,245 x 9)
$1,235,205 |
-
$1,235, 205 |
(iii) excess funds
available |
|
$260,595 |
e.)
Redo steps 13a-c, targeting an additional category of
legal immigrants, with amount from 13d ($263,169) as the
total amount available to insert in 13b. |
SAMPLE
WORKSHEET 2: |
CALCULATING NUMBERS AND COSTS OF
LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
SERVED BY THE STATE-FUNDED
FOOD STAMP PROGRAM |
|
Calculations |
Your State |
I.
Numbers to Be Served |
1. Number of
non-exempt legal immigrants, 1996
(from 1996 food stamp QC data
base or state-specific number) |
|
|
2. Adjustment
for caseload decline, 1996-1998
(14 percent reduciton from
number of non-exempt legal immigrants, line 1, or
state-specific number) |
|
|
3. Adjustment
for 40 quarters exemptions
(20 percent reduction from
line 2, or state-specific number) |
|
|
4. Adjustment
for naturalizations
(17 percent reduction from
line 3 or state-specific number) |
|
|
5. Adjustment
for participation rate
(20 percent reduction from
line 4 or state-specific number) |
|
|
II.
Costs at Full Benefit Level |
6. Monthly
cost of serving immigrants at full benefit level
(average benefit of $71.37,
or state-specific number, multiplied by number of
eligible legal immigrants, line 5) |
|
|
7. Cost, FY
1998
(monthly cost, line 6,
multiplied by number of months of program operation) |
|
|
8. Federal
administrative cost
(add $2,800 per $1 million of
total expenditure, line 7) |
|
|
III.
Dealing with Budget Constraints: Some Options |
9. Fixed
amount available
(amount appropriated by the
state) |
|
|
10. Federal
administrative costs
(subract $2,800 per $1
million of expenditures, line 9) |
|
|
11.
Option A: Reduced Benefits for All |
a.) Average
annual benefit per recipient, FY 1998
(amount available, line 10,
divided by number of recipients, line 5) |
|
|
b.) Average
monthly benefit per recipient
(average annual benefit, line
11a, divided by number of months of program operation) |
|
|
c.) Percent
reduction per recipient
(percent difference between
average amount provided, line 11b, and average benefit at
full-funded levels) |
|
|
12.
Option B: Targeting Immigrant Households with Children |
a.) Number of
recipient served
(65.1 percent live with
children, from Table 2, multiplied by total number of
eligible legal immigrants, line 5; use the state-specific
estimate of the percent living with children from Table
2, Column C, if available) |
|
|
b.) Average
fiscal year benefit per recipient
(amount available, line 10,
divided by number of recipients, line 12a) |
|
|
c.) Average
monthly benefit perprecipient
(average fiscal year benefit
per recipient, line 12b, divided by number of months of
program operation) |
|
|
d.) Percent
reduction per recipient*
(percent difference between
average amount provided, line 12c, and average benefit at
full-funded levels)
* if excess funds, go to step
13d |
|
|
13.)
Option C: Targeting the Elderly, Disabled and Legal
Immigrant Children |
a.) Number of
recipients served:
(42.1% who are elderly,
disabled, or children, sum of columns a,d, &f in
Table 2, multiplied by the total number of eligible
immigrants, line 5; use state-specific numbers from Table
2, if available) |
|
|
b.) Average
total benefits per recipient:
(amount available, line 10,
divided by number of recipients, line 13a) |
|
|
c.) Average
monthly benefit per recipient: average fiscal year
benefit per recipient, line 13b, divided by number of
months of program operation) |
|
|
d.)
excess funds |
(i) amount available |
|
|
(ii) minus
amount spent: (number served, line 13a, multiplied by
average monthly benefit level, $71.37, multiplied by
number of months of program operation) |
|
|
(iii) excess funds
available |
|
|
e.)
Redo steps 13a-c, targeting an additional category of
legal immigrants, with amount from 13d ($263,169) as the
total amount available to insert in 13b. |
End Notes
1.
See also Dean, Stacy and Carmody, Kelly, "States Now Have the Option to Provide
Food Stamps to Legal Immigrants" (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: October 18, 1997).
2.
Earlier estimates provided by the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities were based on 1995 data. These estimates have now
been updated based on newly available 1996 data. As a result,
some of the underlying assumptions have changed to reflect the
more recent data. States that have already calculated the cost of
running a state-funded food stamp program and the number of legal
immigrants to be served may wish to update their estimates based
on the more up-to-date data.
3.
CBO assumes that about 300,000 refugees,
asylees, and those granted withholding of deportation eligible
for food stamps have been in the country for less than five
years, and are thus exempted from the welfare law's restrictions
on legal immigrants' eligibility for food stamps. This amounts to
about 55 percent of those labeled as refugees, asylees, and those
granted withholding in the food stamp data base. Since the
Cuban-Haitian entrants and Amerasians were added to the five-year
exempt category by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and are not identified separately in the QC
database, they were not included in these estimates. States with
large numbers of either or both groups will need to make the
necessary revisions.
4.
This projection makes two adjustments to take into account the
impact of the eligibility restrictions enacted as part of the
1996 welfare law on the food stamp caseloads. First, in March
1997 the three month time limit for 18- to 49-year olds went into
effect. According to CBO
estimates, approximately 500,000 individuals were denied food
stamps by April due to these time limits. Second, after August
22, 1996, new legal immigrants could no longer join the rolls,
and, in April 1997, non-exempt legal immigrants began being
removed from the food stamp rolls at the time of their
recertification. By August of FFY 1997, the Center estimates that approximately one-third of
the affected legal immigrants (or 300,000 individuals) had been
denied federally-funded food stamps. To determine the trend
decline in food stamp caseloads (the portion of the decline that
was not due to eligibility changes), 800,000 was added to
the number reported as receiving food stamps in August of FFY
1997. The adjusted figure was used to determine the caseload
decline through FFY 1998.
5.
Although not all recipients of Social Security (such as those who
get Social Security due to disability) have earned 40 quarters of
work, the majority do.
6.
The USDA estimate
is similar; 23 percent of immigrants are estimated to be exempt
because of their work histories.
7.
Alternatively, states may have tabulated their own data on the
number of legal immigrants with 40 quarters in the state.
State-specific data, however, should be adjusted to reflect the
fact that the initial estimate from Table 1, Column A already
excludes five percent of legal immigrants under the assumption
that they have accumulated 40 quarters. Therefore, if your state
data shows that 20 percent of the legal immigrants receiving food
stamps in 1996 had accumulated forty quarters, your state should
make a 15 percent (20 minus the five percent already assumed
exempt) adjustment in line 3 of the worksheet.
8.
CBO
assumes that 15 percent of
legal permanent residents and 23 percent of refugees, asylees,
and those granted withholding of deportation eligible for food
stamps have been in the country for a minimum of five years, and
are thus eligible to naturalize in 1998. Combined, 17 percent of
all legal immigrants (permanent residents as well as refugees,
asylees, and those granted withholding of deportation) are
assumed to naturalize in 1998.
9.
Even in those states implementing a state program prior to the
final August 1997 cut-off date, immigrants in food stamp
households that were recertified after April 1, 1997, will have
been removed from the rolls and others will have been barred from
applying since August 1996.
10.
Stravianos, Michael, Food Stamp Program Participation Rates: January 1994. (Food and Consumer
Service, United States Department of Agriculture: March 1997).
11.
The average food stamp benefits for legal immigrants is about 98
percent of the average benefit for all recipients
"Characteristics of Childless Unemployed Adult and Legal
Immigrant Food Stamp Participants: Fiscal Year 1995": 34-35.
(Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.: February 1997). According to CBO assumptions, food stamp benefits will rise
by 2 percent between 1997 and 1998.
12.
The average benefit for legal immigrants at full federal benefit
levels may be much lower than $71.37 a month. This is due to the
fact that a majority of legal immigrants
64 percent live in mixed households, comprised of
both legal immigrants and citizens, ("Characteristics of
Childless Unemployed Adult and Legal Immigrant Food Stamp
Participants: Fiscal Year 1995":37). In a family comprised
of two legal immigrant parents with no earnings and two citizen
children, the citizen children still remain eligible for the
maximum federally-funded food stamp allotment. Assuming that the
benefit level for the eligible children is calculated by treating
them as a household of two, they will receive the maximum benefit
of $230. If the parents became eligible for state-funded food
stamps, they will constitute a household of four, eligible for a
maximum allotment of $419/month. While the average benefit
received by each member of the household is $105/month, the
additional benefit provided through the state-funded program is
only $95/month for each of the parents. If the parents have
earnings that are not deemed to the citizens in the household,
the additional benefit provided by the state-funded program would
be even less.
13.
The numbers used in this guide are estimates, based on the best
information available. A state that appropriates close to
the amount estimated as necessary to provide full benefits for
all recipients may want to initially provide full benefits to all
eligible for the state-funded program rather than reduce benefit
levels or restrict eligibility. Then, later in the fiscal year,
the state could use actual participation rates to evaluate
whether the appropriations are sufficient to provide full
benefits for the remainder of the year. If the state finds that
it will have a budget shortfall, it can reduce benefit levels at
that point.
14.
Tabulated from the 1996 food stamp quality control data.
15.
These figures do not include data for California.
Unlike SSI recipients in all other states, those in California
are ineligible for food stamps because they receive a state
supplementation payment which covers their food assistance. Since
a large proportion of the poor who are elderly or disabled
receive SSI, only four percent of food stamp recipients in
California are elderly or disabled, as compared with 22 percent
for the rest of the nation. Since California has such a large
immigrant population, including California data with data from
the rest of the nation skews the national averages. Therefore,
data for the nation as a whole excluding California and data for
California are shown separately.
16.
For the purposes of this example, we have assumed that the
average benefits received by legal immigrants who are children or
live with children is equal to the average prorated benefit
provided to all legal immigrants. Some states are considering
treating the ineligible immigrant as a non-household member
rather than as an ineligible household member. States using this
method would need to make an appropriate adjustment in their
estimate of the average monthly benefit provided to the legal
immigrants living in mixed households.
17.
The state-specific data is only provided for those states
with large immigrant populations subject to the food stamp
restrictions. In the other states, the sample of food stamp
recipients included in the QC file only includes a very small
number of legal immigrants. Without a larger sample size, the
data are not reliable.
18.
The Food Stamp Act defines the elderly as persons 60 years of age
and older.