By Arthur Delaney

(Excerpt)

In recent years, more states have fully or partially opted out of the felony restrictions as the war on drugs’ punitive legacy continues to go out of style. According to the CLASP, however, 23 states still enforce partial SNAP restrictions for those convicted of felonies. Texas, for instance, lifted the prohibition but reimposes it if a person violates parole or gets convicted of a new felony. Only South Carolina still has an outright ban on benefits.

“Lifting the ban on safety net supports reduces material hardship for formerly incarcerated people, who are exceedingly paid low earnings and face high rates of unemployment due to factors such as discrimination in hiring,” CLASP’s Darrel Thompson and Ashley Burnside wrote in a policy brief this year.

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