States to test ways to send food stamp recipients to work

WASHINGTON (AP) — New federal grants will help 10 states test programs to help food stamp recipients find jobs, from using career coaches to quicker training courses to mental health assistance.

The grants, announced today in Georgia by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, come as the Republican Congress is exploring ways to cut the program, which cost $74 billion last year — twice its cost in 2008.

Some in the GOP have proposed stricter work requirements as a way to do that. But the Obama administration sees better worker training as an alternative to cuts or stricter work requirements.

Vilsack said the grants will help USDA identify what works and what doesn't in terms of getting people to work.

The food stamp program has long been the center of political wrangling in Washington, with elective officials debating it virtually endlessly. Republicans for the most part have called it a government give-away and have worked historically to rein it in, if not eliminate it. Many Democrats, particularly those in the party's liberal wing, have steadfastly fought cuts to the program, calling it an essential element of the federal government's safety net for the poor.

The states receiving grants are Georgia, Kentucky, California Delaware, Kansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia and Washington state.