Opinion: Massive SNAP cuts could mean more children are separated from their families — SkimNews
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- H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation law passed last year, is set to slash the SNAP budget by an estimated $187 billion over eight years, and between July 2025 and April 2026 roughly 5 million people have already lost food assistance.
- At least 1.5 million children have stopped receiving SNAP benefits since the cuts took effect nationwide.
- Arizona has experienced the deepest cuts, with nearly half of its enrolled children — 180,000 kids — losing benefits.
- Children make up about 20% of the U.S. population but account for almost 40% of SNAP recipients, making them disproportionately exposed to the cuts.
- A seven-year statewide study of Illinois found that high food insecurity rates were associated with increased rates of child maltreatment investigations.
- Federal data shows 63% of credible child maltreatment claims involve neglect alone, with no indication of abuse, and 60% of caregivers in contact with CPS reported receiving food stamps.
- Sandy Santana and Kristen Weber of the National Center for Youth Law argue the policy creates a perverse cycle in which poverty is conflated with neglect, urging investment in material supports over coercive child welfare intervention.
Why it matters: More than half of caregivers who come into contact with CPS already live under the federal poverty line, meaning SNAP cuts of this scale directly intersect with the families most likely to face investigation. With 63% of maltreatment claims rooted in neglect rather than abuse, the authors contend the policy risks swelling a system that already struggles to distinguish poverty from genuine danger.
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