Residents of Faith-Based Treatment Facilities Retain Food Stamp Eligibility

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt have issued a joint letter to governors clarifying the policies on access to food stamps for individuals living in faith-based and community drug and alcohol treatment centers. The August 26 letter made it clear that that a faith-based or community treatment facility does not need to be licensed by the state in order for its residents to qualify for food stamps. So long as a facility is recognized by a State's Title XIX agency as one that furthers drug or alcohol rehabilitation, the residents of the facility retain their food stamp eligibility and the facility itself qualifies as an authorized food stamp retailer. Secretary Leavitt said, "We have informed all governors that there should be no barriers to Food Stamp participation for successful and proven recovery models such as those often used by faith-based and community treatment centers."