321 - SNAP Participation and Child Health Among Children with Parental Incarceration

Poster Number: 321
Publication Number: 321.1923

Background: Parental incarceration is an intergenerational stressor associated with adverse child health and household economic hardship. Families impacted by incarceration are more likely to be food insecure (FI) and participate in food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help mitigate FI consequences. Despite the need, many families impacted by incarceration face structural barriers to participating in SNAP.

Objective: Describe the health of young children and economic hardships of families with an incarcerated parent, investigate associations between SNAP participation and health of these children, and explore loss of SNAP for families impacted by parental incarceration.

Design/Methods: Data come from Children’s HealthWatch cross-sectional surveys of caregivers with young children (0-48 months) who were interviewed in hospital pediatric emergency departments and primary care clinics in 5 United States (US) cities (April 2021-February 2023). Survey included demographic characteristics, child health status, developmental screen, food insecurity, and public benefits participation & access. Analytic sample comprised 1) households with a valid response to the parental incarceration (PI) question “[Have you/has the caregiver] ever been held in jail or prison?” and 2) children enrolled in public insurance or uninsured. Multivariable logistic regression looked at the association between SNAP and child health and FI while controlling for child- and caregiver-level factors.

Results: Of the 2,526 low income caregiver-child dyads, 507 (20%) experienced PI (Table 1). Among families with PI, 271 (61.7%) participated in SNAP. Additionally, 40 (7.9%) families with PI reported losing benefits of any kind due to incarceration, & one-third of the benefits lost were SNAP. Among families with PI, SNAP participation was not a statistically significant predictor of child’s health (health status, developmental risk) or economic hardships (household or child FI) (Table 2).

Conclusion(s): One in five young children living in households with low-incomes across multiple US cities had a parent who had been incarcerated. Loss of public benefit programs—including SNAP—was common among households impacted by incarceration. Despite not finding association of SNAP participation and health or economic hardships in this sample, it is nonetheless important for optimal early childhood development and family well-being that policies focus on specific needs of those impacted by incarceration, by keeping families with PI experience connected to SNAP and other benefits.