Sherry Young’s life was turned upside down after a mistake took away her fiance’s tax return.
Her family applied for food stamps in the state of Illinois, and they received benefits that helped their family survive. With an ailing father at home and personal medical conditions, any amount helped provide some stability to the couple who needed to make ends meet.
Sherry Young’s soon-to-be husband, Randy Smith, found a job after a long time applying. The couple noted that they needed to fill out a form indicating a change of income or assets due to Smith’s new opportunity, so they dropped off their report form. Young verbally confirmed with her local welfare office that they received the paperwork, yet their SNAP benefits didn’t change.
Then, they received an overpayment notice three months later. The couple had called countless times to ensure they had filled the form out correctly.
After appealing the mistake in a court of law, a judge told the family, “…Unfortunately, according to the law you still owe the money.” The judge verbally acknowledged the fact that Sherry Young’s fiance had appropriately updated his employment status. Smith’s earnings should have factored into his eligibility to benefit amount, but they hadn’t yet. The system continued issuing benefits at a similar rate, and by SNAP law, that meant they had to repay them.
“We were shocked, upset, and scared. We cannot afford that. It felt… wrong,” Young said in an interview with the Daily Dot.
“We don’t have food in the refrigerator or money for extra or emergencies. We knew it might happen but Randy thought the right thing would prevail,” Young added. “It didn’t.”
What does a program change report form do?
If a person receives food stamps, they are obligated to report any changes to their address, income, or assets.
In Illinois, the form is called a SNAP Program Change Report Form. In other states, this form may have different requirements. States like California and Oregon require that those on food stamps or other benefits report any change to the number of family members in a household, changes in court-ordered child support obligations, Social Security benefits, or unemployment benefits.
How does repayment for food stamp benefits work?
If a household’s income increases without reporting it, the family may have to repay to make up for the lost benefits. Otherwise, a household may be disqualified for the program.
Often, agencies will subtract SNAP overpayments from SNAP benefits. If a person had overpaid, DHHS can reduce SNAP payments by 10% of the monthly benefit or $10.
Agencies like the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) can take away tax returns or income to repay lost benefits from food stamps.
SNAP law requires repayment of overpayments, even when the agency caused the error. According to Mass Legal Services, “you are required to repay overpayments even if the overpayment was DTA’s mistake.”
The government can send debt to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) to take federal tax refunds as a method of repayment for money owed instead of taking from future payments in select circumstances.
How can families prevent food stamp overpayment?
Clerical errors happen. It’s important to keep records and written communication from government agencies to use as evidence. If faced with a similar situation, try to ensure that a local welfare or human services office acknowledges the mistake in writing.
Young recorded phone calls of the original encounter with her local welfare office and has evidence to prove that she and her husband received false information about their status, but recorded phone calls may not be sufficient evidence depending on the state or jurisdiction.
When faced with repayment, it’s important to appeal the decision. If a person loses their appeal like the Young family, there may still be options to apply for a waiver or apply depending on the written summary of the hearing.
The family is waiting for a written summary of the hearing’s findings. Generally, a family should keep all files related to their government benefits and keep emails related to their status. As soon as a change of income, assets, or household occurs, the family should send a SNAP Program Change Report Form or similar documentation.
How others faced their food stamp overpayments online
On platforms like Reddit, people across the United States discussed their difficulties with the current food stamp overpayment system. Many people expressed how the system felt unfair, with the burden placed on often overworked, with eligible participants feeling robbed.
r/foodstamps has quite a few posts discussing overpayment. In one thread, u/nterestingMatter515 said, “Everyday In New York City Snap Benefits Robbed.”
u/yournannycam offered a different perspective in another thread. “When you sign the application and you are read your rights responsibilities you are agreeing to pay back any overpayment because it doesn’t matter if it’s an agency error,” they said. “You’re on the hook for it.”
What can Young and Smith do for their food stamp overpayment?
One of the last options for Young and Smith is to apply for a hardship review, where the family can claim that the lost tax refund caused them severe hardship or distress.
Young, in discussing the effect the decision had on her family, added, “If we could speak directly with those responsible we’d tell them how much they hurt us… They shouldn’t have taken his hard-earned taxes. It was greedy and wrong. You gave us a helping hand just to push us back down.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the SNAP office for comment.
Update March 5, 2025, 12:55pm CT: A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) tells the Daily Dot: “While Federal regulations and State policy require that overpayments be repaid whether the error was the fault of the client, the agency, or both, the Bureau of Collections works diligently to offer customers as many resources and options as possible, while also ensuring the agency remains in compliance with program requirements. For those experiencing hardship, we encourage the customer to reapply for SNAP through their local Family Community & Resource Center. If a customer is re-approved for SNAP, tax offsets are suspended, and a percentage of the customer’s SNAP benefits are recouped and applied monthly as a payment towards what they owe.”
