A study by University of Kansas researchers and colleagues at two other universities reported every 5% increase in enrollment in the federal nutrition assistance program for low-income families could reduce the number of children a state placed in foster care or protective services from 7.6% to 14.3%. The 50-state study of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, indicated an association between state-by-state policy decisions guiding enrollment in SNAP and movement of children into programs designed to protect their welfare.
“Having access to the social safety net has an effect on child abuse,” said Donna Ginther, professor of economics at KU, in an article in the Kansas Reflector.
