24: Identification and Benefits
Ensure that inmates exit prison or jail with appropriate forms of identification and that those eligible for public benefits receive those benefits immediately upon their release from prison or jail.
Overview
Research Highlights
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In most states, individuals are released from prison without any documents that would enable them to obtain a state-issued identification card.
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The "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act" dramatically changed the American welfare system, and created several specific barriers to eligibility for public benefits for individuals with criminal records.
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State officials often have discretion in how they apply the 1996 welfare law and can opt out of the ban completely.
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For those who are eligible for public benefits, there is often a long application process delay.
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Public housing agencies and providers of section 8 and other federally assisted housing are statutorily required to deny housing to certain individuals.
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Housing providers have discretion in how they apply the bans.
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A Drug Provision added to the Higher Education Act in 1998 renders many individuals with drug convictions ineligible for student financial aid.
Recommendations
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Ensure interagency collaboration to effectively screen inmates for eligibility for TANF, Medicaid, supplemental security income, food stamps, and other benefits, and to facilitate successful prerelease application for these benefits.
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Assess individuals in prison or jail for eligibility for veterans' benefits and services, and ensure access to those benefits for eligible individuals.
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Help inmates identify and apply for appropriate benefits and identification as part of their transition plan.
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Ensure that documents issued by departments of corrections are accepted as valid identification by other agencies.
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Improve collaboration among agencies serving individuals re-entering the community.
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Ensure timely access to Medicaid after release for eligible individuals by suspending, instead of terminating, Medicaid benefits during incarceration.
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Facilitate access to "nonrecurrent" TANF benefits by individuals with criminal records who are re-entering the community.
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Adopt a narrow definition of "in violation of a condition of parole/probation" for the purposes of TANF, food stamps, SSI & public housing.
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Adopt balanced admission and eviction policies for public housing that consider individual circumstances.
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Ensure continued Medicaid coverage for TANF families with parents who are released from prison or jail.
Related Policy Statements
Our Publications
How and Why Medicaid Matters for People with Serious Mental Illness Released from Jail
Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness are released from jail each year. Without continuity of care, they are likely to be reincarcerated. Enrollment in Medicaid increases access to treatment for people with mental illness released from jail, who typically lack other means to pay for those services.
Related Information
Special Project:
Reentry and Federal Benefits
Publication:
Ensuring Timely Access to Medicaid and SSI/SSDI for People with Mental Illness Released from Prison
(2007)
Program Example:
California: Ex-Felon Employment Initiative
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and National Economic Development and Law Center