Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Background and Purpose: The welfare reform bill of 1996 constrained non-citizens' access to Food Stamp Program (FSP) by mandating state to terminate noncitizens' access to the federal FSP. Some states provided state-funded FSP to ineligible noncitizens. Congress also relaxed federal eligibility rules through subsequent legislation: it restored federal FSP eligibility for older, minor, and disabled noncitizens in 1998; then, it reestablished working-age noncitizens' eligibility in 2002, given that they had lived in the United States for more than five years. This study assessed whether and how welfare reform's eligibility restriction toward noncitizens has affected older immigrants' Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation and food insecurity. Special attention was paid to the interaction between household composition and eligibility rules in determining older people's FSP participation and food insecurity. Methods: The sample consisted of 3,175 low-income older adults from the 1999 Current Population Survey. We employed a differences-in-differences approach that estimated whether the FSP participation and food insecurity of older adults with different immigration statuses react differently to state eligibility rules. We also used a summary eligibility variable, the percentage of eligible household members, created based on household composition and federal and state eligibility rules. This study used probit regression in analyses on FSP participation and food insecurity and Tobit regression on food stamp benefit amount per household member. Results: Older noncitizens are significantly more likely to participate in FSP (23%) than native and naturalized citizens (8% and 7%, respectively). Despite a higher FSP participation rate and benefit level, noncitizens are significantly more likely to experience food insecurity (17%) than native and naturalized citizens (10% for both). Multivariate analysis results show that older immigrants' FSP participation depends not only on their own individual eligibility but also on other household members' eligibility for the program. States' generosity toward noncitizens significantly increased older noncitizens' FSP participation even though they have the same access under the federal eligibility rules: older noncitizens living in generous states are more likely to participate in FSP and received higher level of FSP benefits than their counterparts in nongenerous states. Furthermore, living in a household with a higher percentage of eligible household members significantly increased older people's FSP participation and benefit levels while significantly reducing their risk of experiencing food insecurity. Conclusions and Implications: Our results on FSP participation suggest that relaxation of the federal FSP eligibility rules of 1998 may not have benefited older noncitizens evenly because older adults' FSP participation is affected by the eligibility of other household members (working-age adults). This finding urge us to take into account the household composition and living arrangements of older immigrants when developing social policies. Policies based on a nuclear family model may not work effectively with older immigrants. As shown in this study, federal policy changes targeting older noncitizens were not fully successful in protecting them from harmful effects of eligibility restrictions on working-age noncitizens, simply because the former often live and share resources with the latter.