|
U.S. Code as of:
01/03/05
Section 2026. Research, demonstration, and evaluations
(a) Contracts or grants; issuance of aggregate allotments
(1) The Secretary may enter into contracts with or make grants to
public or private organizations or agencies under this section to
undertake research that will help improve the administration and
effectiveness of the food stamp program in delivering
nutrition-related benefits. The waiver authority of the Secretary
under subsection (b) of this section shall extend to all contracts
and grants under this section.
(2) The Secretary may, on application, permit not more than two
State agencies to establish procedures that allow households whose
monthly food stamp benefits do not exceed $20, at their option, to
receive, in lieu of their food stamp benefits for the initial
period under section 2017 of this title and their regular allotment
in following months, and at intervals of up to 3 months thereafter,
aggregate allotments not to exceed $60 and covering not more than 3
months' benefits. The allotments shall be provided in accordance
with paragraphs (3) and (9) of section 2020(e) of this title
(except that no household shall begin to receive combined
allotments under this section until it has complied with all
applicable verification requirements of section 2020(e)(3) of this
title) and (with respect to the first aggregate allotment so
issued) within 40 days of the last coupon issuance.
(b) Pilot projects
(1)(A) The Secretary may conduct on a trial basis, in one or more
areas of the United States, pilot or experimental projects designed
to test program changes that might increase the efficiency of the
food stamp program and improve the delivery of food stamp benefits
to eligible households, and may waive any requirement of this
chapter to the extent necessary for the project to be conducted.
(B) Project requirements. -
(i) Program goal. - The Secretary may not conduct a project
under subparagraph (A) unless -
(I) the project is consistent with the goal of the food stamp
program of providing food assistance to raise levels of
nutrition among low-income individuals; and
(II) the project includes an evaluation to determine the
effects of the project.
(ii) Permissible projects. - The Secretary may conduct a
project under subparagraph (A) to -
(I) improve program administration;
(II) increase the self-sufficiency of food stamp recipients;
(III) test innovative welfare reform strategies; or
(IV) allow greater conformity with the rules of other
programs than would be allowed but for this paragraph.
(iii) Restrictions on permissible projects. - If the Secretary
finds that a project under subparagraph (A) would reduce benefits
by more than 20 percent for more than 5 percent of households in
the area subject to the project (not including any household
whose benefits are reduced due to a failure to comply with work
or other conduct requirements), the project -
(I) may not include more than 15 percent of the State's food
stamp households; and
(II) shall continue for not more than 5 years after the date
of implementation, unless the Secretary approves an extension
requested by the State agency at any time.
(iv) Impermissible projects. - The Secretary may not conduct a
project under subparagraph (A) that -
(I) involves the payment of the value of an allotment in the
form of cash, unless the project was approved prior to August
22, 1996;
(II) has the effect of substantially transferring funds made
available under this chapter to services or benefits provided
primarily through another public assistance program, or using
the funds for any purpose other than the purchase of food,
program administration, or an employment or training program;
(III) is inconsistent with -
(aa) paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 2012(i) of this
title;
(bb) the last sentence of section 2014(a) of this title,
insofar as a waiver denies assistance to an otherwise
eligible household or individual if the household or
individual has not failed to comply with any work,
behavioral, or other conduct requirement under this or
another program;
(cc) section 2014(c)(2) of this title;
(dd) paragraph (2)(B), (4)(F)(i), or (4)(K) of section
2015(d) of this title;
(ee) section 2017(b) of this title;
(ff) section 2020(e)(2)(B) of this title;
(gg) the time standard under section 2020(e)(3) of this
title;
(hh) subsection (a), (c), (g), (h)(2), or (h)(3) of section
2025 of this title;
(ii) this paragraph; or
(jj) subsection (a)(1) or (g)(1) of section 2029 of this
title;
(IV) modifies the operation of section 2014 of this title so
as to have the effect of -
(aa) increasing the shelter deduction to households with no
out-of-pocket housing costs or housing costs that consume a
low percentage of the household's income; or
(bb) absolving a State from acting with reasonable
promptness on substantial reported changes in income or
household size (except that this subclause shall not apply
with regard to changes related to food stamp deductions);
(V) is not limited to a specific time period;
(VI) waives a provision of section 2035 of this title; or
(VII) waives a provision of section 2016(j) of this title.
(v) Additional included projects. - A pilot or experimental
project may include projects involving the payment of the value
of allotments or the average value of allotments by household
size in the form of cash to eligible households all of whose
members are age sixty-five or over or any of whose members are
entitled to supplemental security income benefits under title XVI
of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.] or are
receiving assistance under a State program funded under part A of
title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the
use of countersigned food coupons or similar identification
mechanisms that do not invade a household's privacy, and the use
of food checks or other voucher-type forms in place of food
coupons.
(vi) Cash payment pilot projects. - Any pilot or experimental
project implemented under this paragraph and operating as of
October 1, 1981, involving the payment of the value of allotments
in the form of cash to eligible households all of whose members
are either age sixty-five or over or entitled to supplemental
security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security
Act shall be continued through October 1, 2007, if the State so
requests.
(C)(i) No waiver or demonstration program shall be approved under
this chapter after November 28, 1990, unless -
(I) any household whose food assistance is issued in a form
other than coupons has its allotment increased to the extent
necessary to compensate for any State or local sales tax that may
be collected in all or part of the area covered by the
demonstration project, the tax on purchases of food by any such
household is waived, or the Secretary determines on the basis of
information provided by the State agency that the increase is
unnecessary on the basis of the limited nature of the items
subject to the State or local sales tax; and
(II) the State agency conducting the demonstration project pays
the cost of any increased allotments.
(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply if a waiver or demonstration
project already provides a household with assistance that exceeds
that which the household would otherwise be eligible to receive by
more than the estimated amount of any sales tax on the purchases of
food that would be collected from the household in the project area
in which the household resides.
(D) Response to waivers. -
(i) Response. - Not later than 60 days after the date of
receiving a request for a waiver under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall provide a response that -
(I) approves the waiver request;
(II) denies the waiver request and describes any modification
needed for approval of the waiver request;
(III) denies the waiver request and describes the grounds for
the denial; or
(IV) requests clarification of the waiver request.
(ii) Failure to respond. - If the Secretary does not provide a
response in accordance with clause (i), the waiver shall be
considered approved, unless the approval is specifically
prohibited by this chapter.
(iii) Notice of denial. - On denial of a waiver request under
clause (i)(III), the Secretary shall provide a copy of the waiver
request and a description of the reasons for the denial to the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
(2) The Secretary shall, jointly with the Secretary of Labor,
implement two pilot projects involving the performance of work in
return for food stamp benefits in each of the seven administrative
regions of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of
Agriculture, such projects to be (A) appropriately divided in each
region between locations that are urban and rural in
characteristics and among locations selected to provide a
representative cross-section of political subdivisions in the
States and (B) submitted for approval prior to project
implementation, together with the names of the agencies or
organizations that will be engaged in such projects, to the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
Under such pilot projects, any person who is subject to the work
registration requirements pursuant to section 2015(d) of this
title, and is a member of a household that does not have earned
income equal to or exceeding the allotment to which the household
is otherwise entitled pursuant to section 2017(a) of this title,
shall be ineligible to participate in the food stamp program as a
member of any household during any month in which such person
refuses, after not being offered employment in the private sector
of the economy for more than thirty days (ten days in at least one
pilot project area designated by the Secretary) after the initial
registration for employment referred to in section 2015(d)(1)(A)(i)
of this title, to accept an offer of employment from a political
subdivision or provider pursuant to a program carried out under
title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 [29 U.S.C. 2801 et
seq.], for which employment compensation shall be paid in the form
of the allotment to which the household is otherwise entitled
pursuant to section 2017(a) of this title, with each hour of
employment entitling the household to a portion of the allotment
equal in value to 100 per centum of the Federal minimum hourly rate
under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 U.S.C.
206(a)(1)); which employment shall not, together with any other
hours worked in any other capacity by such person exceed forty
hours a week; and which employment shall not be used by the
employer to fill a job opening created by the action of such
employer in laying off or terminating the employment of any regular
employee not supported under this paragraph in anticipation of
filling the vacancy so created by hiring an employee or employees
to be supported under this paragraph, if all of the jobs supported
under the program have been made available to participants in the
program before the political subdivision or provider providing the
jobs extends an offer of employment under this paragraph, and if
the political subdivision or provider, in employing the person,
complies with the requirements of Federal law that relate to the
program. The Secretary and the Secretary of Labor shall jointly
issue reports to the appropriate committees of Congress on the
progress of such pilot projects no later than six and twelve months
following September 29, 1977, shall issue interim reports no later
than October 1, 1979, October 1, 1980, and March 30, 1981, shall
issue a final report describing the results of such pilot projects
based upon their operation from their commencement through the
fiscal year ending September 30, 1981, and shall pay to the
agencies or organizations operating such pilot projects 50 per
centum of all administrative costs involved in such operation.
(3)(A) The Secretary may conduct demonstration projects to test
improved consistency or coordination between the food stamp
employment and training program and the Job Opportunities and Basic
Skills program under title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
601 et seq.).
(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary may, as part of
a project authorized under this paragraph, waive requirements under
section 2015(d) of this title to permit a State to operate an
employment and training program for food stamp recipients on the
same terms and conditions under which the State operates its Job
Opportunities and Basic Skills program for recipients of aid to
families with dependent children under part F (!1) of title IV of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 681 et seq.). Any work
experience program conducted as part of the project shall be
conducted in conformity with section 482(f) (!1) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 682(f)).
(C) A State seeking such a waiver shall provide assurances that
the resulting employment and training program shall meet the
requirements of subsections (a)(19) and (g) of section 402 (!1) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 602) (but not including the provision of
transitional benefits under clauses (ii) through (vii) of section
402(g)(1)(A) (!1)) and sections 481 through 487 (!1) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 681 through 687). Each reference to "aid to families
with dependent children" in such sections shall be deemed to be a
reference to food stamps for purposes of the demonstration project.
(D) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this paragraph,
participation in an employment and training activity in which food
stamp benefits are converted to cash shall occur only with the
consent of the participant.
(E) For the purposes of any project conducted under this
paragraph, the provisions of this chapter affecting the rights of
recipients may be waived to the extent necessary to conform to the
provisions of section 402, and sections 481 through 487,(!1) of the
Social Security Act.
(F) At least 60 days prior to granting final approval of a
project under this paragraph, the Secretary shall publish the terms
and conditions for any demonstration project conducted under the
paragraph for public comment in the Federal Register and shall
notify the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the
Senate.
(G) Waivers may be granted under this paragraph to conduct
projects at any one time in a total of up to 60 project areas (or
parts of project areas), as such areas are defined in regulations
in effect on January 1, 1990.
(H) A waiver for a change in program rules may be granted under
this paragraph only for a demonstration project that has been
approved by the Secretary, that will be evaluated according to
criteria prescribed by the Secretary, and that will be in operation
for no more than 4 years.
(I) The Secretary may not grant a waiver under this paragraph on
or after August 22, 1996. Any reference in this paragraph to a
provision of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.] shall be deemed to be a reference to such provision as in
effect on the day before August 22, 1996.
(c) Evaluation measures; pilot programs for nutritional monitoring
The Secretary shall develop and implement measures for
evaluating, on an annual or more frequent basis, the effectiveness
of the food stamp program in achieving its stated objectives,
including, but not limited to, the program's impact upon the
nutritional and economic status of participating households, the
program's impact upon all sectors of the agricultural economy,
including farmers and ranchers, as well as retail food stores, and
the program's relative fairness to households of different income
levels, different age composition, different size, and different
regions of residence. Further, the Secretary shall, by way of
making contracts with or grants to public or private organizations
or agencies, implement pilot programs to test various means of
measuring on a continuing basis the nutritional status of low
income people, with special emphasis on people who are eligible for
food stamps, in order to develop minimum common criteria and
methods for systematic nutrition monitoring that could be applied
on a nationwide basis. The locations of the pilot programs shall be
selected to provide a representative geographic and demographic
cross-section of political subdivisions that reflect natural usage
patterns of health and nutritional services and that contain high
proportions of low income people. The Secretary shall report on the
progress of these pilot programs on an annual basis commencing on
July 1, 1982, to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate, together with such recommendations as the
Secretary deems appropriate.
(d) Employment initiatives program
(1) Election to participate
(A) In general
Subject to the other provisions of this subsection, a State
may elect to carry out an employment initiatives program under
this subsection.
(B) Requirement
A State shall be eligible to carry out an employment
initiatives program under this subsection only if not less than
50 percent of the households in the State that received food
stamp benefits during the summer of 1993 also received benefits
under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) during the summer
of 1993.
(2) Procedure
(A) In general
A State that has elected to carry out an employment
initiatives program under paragraph (1) may use amounts equal
to the food stamp allotments that would otherwise be issued to
a household under the food stamp program, but for the operation
of this subsection, to provide cash benefits in lieu of the
food stamp allotments to the household if the household is
eligible under paragraph (3).
(B) Payment
The Secretary shall pay to each State that has elected to
carry out an employment initiatives program under paragraph (1)
an amount equal to the value of the allotment that each
household participating in the program in the State would be
eligible to receive under this chapter but for the operation of
this subsection.
(C) Other provisions
For purposes of the food stamp program (other than this
subsection) -
(i) cash assistance under this subsection shall be
considered to be an allotment; and
(ii) each household receiving cash benefits under this
subsection shall not receive any other food stamp benefit
during the period for which the cash assistance is provided.
(D) Additional payments
Each State that has elected to carry out an employment
initiatives program under paragraph (1) shall -
(i) increase the cash benefits provided to each household
participating in the program in the State under this
subsection to compensate for any State or local sales tax
that may be collected on purchases of food by the household,
unless the Secretary determines on the basis of information
provided by the State that the increase is unnecessary on the
basis of the limited nature of the items subject to the State
or local sales tax; and
(ii) pay the cost of any increase in cash benefits required
by clause (i).
(3) Eligibility
A household shall be eligible to receive cash benefits under
paragraph (2) if an adult member of the household -
(A) has worked in unsubsidized employment for not less than
the preceding 90 days;
(B) has earned not less than $350 per month from the
employment referred to in subparagraph (A) for not less than
the preceding 90 days;
(C)(i) is receiving benefits under a State program funded
under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
601 et seq.); or
(ii) was receiving benefits under a State program funded
under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
601 et seq.) at the time the member first received cash
benefits under this subsection and is no longer eligible for
the State program because of earned income;
(D) is continuing to earn not less than $350 per month from
the employment referred to in subparagraph (A); and
(E) elects to receive cash benefits in lieu of food stamp
benefits under this subsection.
(4) Evaluation
A State that operates a program under this subsection for 2
years shall provide to the Secretary a written evaluation of the
impact of cash assistance under this subsection. The State
agency, with the concurrence of the Secretary, shall determine
the content of the evaluation.
(e) Study and report to Congressional committees of effect of
reduction of benefits
The Secretary shall conduct a study of the effects of reductions
made in benefits provided under this chapter pursuant to part 1 of
subtitle A of title I of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1981, the Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Amendments of 1981,
the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1982, and any other laws enacted
by the Ninety-seventh Congress which affect the food stamp program.
The study shall include a study of the effect of retrospective
accounting and periodic reporting procedures established under such
Acts, including the impact on benefit and administrative costs and
on error rates and the degree to which eligible households are
denied food stamp benefits for failure to file complete periodic
reports. The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an interim report on the
results of such study no later than February 1, 1984, and a final
report on the results of such study no later than March 1, 1985.
(f) Demonstration projects for development and use of intelligent
computer benefit cards to pay food stamp benefits
In order to encourage States to plan, design, develop, and
implement a system for making food stamp benefits available through
the use of intelligent benefit cards or other automated or
electronic benefit delivery systems, the Secretary may conduct one
or more pilot or experimental projects, subject to the restrictions
imposed by subsection (b)(1) of this section and section 2016(g)(2)
of this title, designed to test whether the use of such cards or
systems can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of program
operations while ensuring that individuals receive correct benefit
amounts on a timely basis. Intelligent benefit cards developed
under such a demonstration project shall contain information,
encoded on a computer chip embedded in a credit card medium,
including the eligibility of the individual and the amount of
benefits to which such individual is entitled. Any other automated
or electronic benefit delivery system developed under such a
demonstration project shall be able to use a plastic card to access
such information from a data file.
(g) Study of effectiveness of food stamp employment and training
program
In order to assess the effectiveness of the employment and
training programs established under section 2015(d) of this title
in placing individuals into the work force and withdrawing such
individuals from the food stamp program, the Secretary is
authorized to carry out studies comparing the pre- and post-program
labor force participation, wage rates, family income, level of
receipt of food stamp and other transfer payments, and other
relevant information, for samples of participants in such
employment and training programs as compared to the appropriate
control or comparison groups that did not participate in such
programs. Such studies shall, to the maximum extent possible -
(1) collect such data for up to 3 years after the individual
has completed the employment and training program; and
(2) yield results that can be generalized to the national
program as a whole.
The results of such studies and reports shall be considered in
developing or updating the performance standards required under
section 2015 of this title.
(h) Demonstration projects for vehicle exclusion limits
The Secretary shall conduct a sufficient number of demonstration
projects to evaluate the effects, in both rural and urban areas, of
including in financial resources under section 2014(g) of this
title the fair market value of licensed vehicles to the extent the
value of each vehicle exceeds $4,500, but excluding the value of -
(1) any licensed vehicle that is used to produce earned income,
necessary for transportation of an elderly or physically disabled
household member, or used as the household's home; and
(2) one licensed vehicle used to obtain, continue, or seek
employment (including travel to and from work), used to pursue
employment-related education or training, or used to secure food
or the benefits of the food stamp program.
(i) Testing resource accumulation
The Secretary shall conduct, under such terms and conditions as
the Secretary shall prescribe, for a period not to exceed 4 years,
projects to test allowing not more than 11,000 eligible households,
in the aggregate, to accumulate resources up to $10,000 each (which
shall be excluded from consideration as a resource) for later
expenditure for a purpose directly related to improving the
education, training, or employability (including self-employment)
of household members, for the purchase of a home for the household,
for a change of the household's residence, or for making major
repairs to the household's home.
(j) Demonstration projects directed at food coupon trafficking
The Secretary shall use up to $4,000,000 of the funds provided in
advance in appropriations Acts for projects authorized by this
section to conduct demonstration projects in which State or local
food stamp agencies test innovative ideas for working with State or
local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute coupon
trafficking.
|
|