Overview
- Starting Feb. 1, states including Illinois and Ohio will enforce an 80‑hour‑per‑month work, training or volunteering requirement, while Texas and several others began the policy in the fall.
- Because implementation is staggered, some recipients have already exhausted three months of benefits, Ohio will begin checking documentation in March, and California remains under a waiver until January 2027.
- The law raises the affected age range to 55–64, limits the parent exemption to households without children under 14, repeals exemptions for unhoused people, veterans and former foster youth, and tightens waivers to areas with 10% unemployment.
- The Congressional Budget Office projects an average monthly reduction of about 2.4 million participants over the next decade, and food banks report preparing for increased demand as some recipients consider dropping benefits.
- States face new administrative burdens, with their share of SNAP administrative costs rising to 75% starting in October and added liability for benefit costs tied to high error rates beginning in late 2027.