Food stamps

An ABAWD is a persons between the ages of 18 and 49 who has no dependents and is not disabled. There is a federal law that states these people are required to work 20 hours per week to keep their benefits but many states waive this requirement and about 3 million SNAP recipients fall in this category. For at least a decade, most Illinois residents who receive food stamps have been exempt from a federal law that requires them to work or risk losing their benefits. The federal government is considering a change to long-standing policy in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) that would constrain states’ ability to waive work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (sometimes referred to as ABAWDs).