Mike Barry

Opinion contributor

As the number of Kentuckians affected by the opioid epidemic and our broken criminal justice system continues to escalate, bipartisan policymakers must work together to help the thousands of families devastated by these crises. Lifting the lifetime ban on SNAP food assistance benefits and TANF for people convicted of drug felonies could help address both emergencies.

Banning individuals in need from participating in these critical safety net programs increases food insecurity and contributes to a cycle of instability that hurts the individual’s entire family, including their children. It also makes it more difficult for them to maintain their health, including their recovery from addiction. Congress should lift this federal ban to ensure that all families have access to this vital assistance, which was created to lift up individuals and families in need.

Currently, in Kentucky, more than 68% of SNAP participants are families with children. When parents are denied these benefits, their children inevitably suffer and families can quickly spiral downward. Of the 219,000 women incarcerated across the country, 80% are mothers, and two-thirds of all parents incarcerated in state and federal prisons are there because of non-violent drug convictions. In Kentucky, the incarceration rate is 24% higher than the national rate (869 per 100,000 people vs. 698 per 100,000 people). Clearly, the ban leaves behind many families in need.

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Likewise, while the opioid epidemic grows nationwide, this policy does nothing to help and only makes it harder for people struggling with addiction to achieve and maintain their recovery and health. Kentucky has been particularly hard hit by the epidemic — 1 in 4 Kentuckians knows someone with opioid use disorder, and there were 1,160 opioid-involved deaths in 2017 alone (nearly twice the national rate). It is harder to achieve good health and maintain your recovery if you are food insecure and don’t know when your next meal is coming. SNAP benefits support access to food for many Kentuckians working at their addiction recovery, and TANF benefits are an important source of funding for treatment programs, helping to cover room and board expenses and key services like job readiness programming.

Although some states, including Kentucky, have modified the ban to grant eligibility for people who have completed substance use disorder treatment, it’s important to remember that many people enter into recovery through other pathways, including self-help programs. There are also a number of barriers to accessing traditional treatment, such as gaps in insurance coverage and long waiting lists, that ultimately prevent many individuals from qualifying for benefits that pay for treatment. With only 10% of Americans in need of addiction care getting it, we should make treatment more accessible and do all we can to support long-term recovery.

The ban also makes it more difficult for individuals in recovery with drug felony convictions to become self-sufficient. People with past convictions already face enormous barriers to employment, housing and other life essentials — worrying about where their next meal will come from will only harm their ability to secure and maintain a job and successfully reintegrate into the community. One study found that recidivism rates declined up to 10% one year after release when TANF and SNAP benefits were immediately available to people returning home from prison or jail.

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Furthermore, the ban is yet another damaging collateral consequence of a past criminal record that is completely disproportionate, not to mention counterproductive. It unfairly bars individuals from obtaining SNAP food assistance and TANF benefits for life, even after completing their sentence and overcoming an addiction. The ban is ineffective and irrational and fails to serve a legitimate public policy end.

The lifetime felony drug ban for SNAP food assistance and TANF benefits significantly impedes an individual’s ability to maintain substance use recovery, secure sustainable employment, stay out of the criminal justice system, and support their families. Without access to basic food security and financial support during addiction recovery and/or transition back into the community from prison or jail, there are increased risks of relapse and overdose as well as re-arrest and re-incarceration. Data shows SNAP food assistance alleviates hunger and poverty and has positive impacts on recipients’ long-term outcomes.

The drug felony ban represents outdated thinking about addiction and drug policy and fails to recognize the power of recovery and second chances. To help Kentuckians, and individuals and families throughout the country, and help to remediate some of the devastation wrought by the current opioid epidemic and broken criminal justice system, Congress should completely lift the lifetime felony drug ban for SNAP food assistance and TANF benefits.

Mike Barry is the CEO of People Advocating Recovery, a statewide group of concerned Kentuckians working to eliminate barriers to recovery from addiction.