Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Previous research has demonstrated that the timing around SNAP benefit issuance is tied to monthly fluctuations in food consumption (Wilde and Ranney 2000; Shapiro 2005; Hastings and Washington 2010) and healthcare utilization patterns for disease conditions sensitive to short-term fluctuations in nutrition (Heflin et al. 2019; Heflin et al. 2018, Arteaga et al. 2018; Heflin et al. 2016; Seligman et al. 2014). Additional research has demonstrated that behavioral changes can be observed around the date of SNAP issuance in outcomes such as drunk driving fatalities, alcohol sales, and crime (Packham and Carr 2017; Casterellari et al. 2016; Gordanier et al. 2017; Gordanier et al. 2016).

In this paper, we build on this prior literature to examine the connection between SNAP and child maltreatment. To begin, we document the relationship between the size of the SNAP population and the volume of child maltreatment reports over time to see if higher SNAP coverage reduces reports of child maltreatment or if child maltreatment moves with SNAP participation. Then, we explore the timing of state SNAP issuance and reports child maltreatments to see if fewer reports occur around the date of SNAP disbursement, or if reports increase in the last benefit month.

We use data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS): Child File, which contains daily information on the volume of child maltreatment reports, SNAP biannual caseload data from the USDA, and information on SNAP issuance date over time. We combine these sources at the county-level creating a panel dataset from 2004-2017. We examine the relationship between SNAP and child maltreatment by maltreatment type (neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, etc.,) child victim age, and substantiated cases of maltreatment to better understand potential mechanisms.

The results of this study will aid in our understanding of the scope of SNAP by determining whether SNAP benefits alleviate the stressors that lead to child maltreatment or if the SNAP benefits introduce opportunities for conflict within households. This study also contributes to the literature examining the effect of public programs on child well-being.