Short recertification periods in the US Food Stamp Program

The federal government requires states to recertify most participants in the Food stamp Program at least once a year. In recent years, many states have dramatically increased their use of short recertification periods (three months or less) in an effort to lower their food stamp error rates. This trend hits been especially pronounced for working households. This article investigates the impact of recertification regimes on error rates and program participation rates, for households with and without earnings. Based on these estimates, it quantifies the tradeoff that states,faced during the 1990s between maintaining low error rates and encouraging program participation.