Timing of SNAP benefits can reduce childhood injuries

I wonder if part of this is parents working more hours or temporary jobs to get more money when they are low on food, and thus not being at home to watch over the children?

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/su-tos070220.php


News Release 2-Jul-2020
Syracuse University


A new study published recently in "BMC Pediatrics" shows a connection between the time of the month when low-income families receive their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and the number of emergency room visits due to injuries to children from those families.

Childhood injuries are the leading cause of illness and death in the United States, resulting in an estimated 9.2 million emergency department visits and $17 billion in medical costs annually. For preschoolers, it is the leading cause of disability.

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Families that receive benefits later in the month have fewer ER visits, likely because they can afford to feed their families at the end of the calendar month when other resources run low.

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"Our study suggests that childhood injuries, the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States, can be reduced by disbursing SNAP benefits later in the month instead of at the beginning of the calendar month," Heflin said. "Previous work suggests that childhood injuries are associated with parenting practices and child behavior problems, which are also correlated with maternal stress and income.

"Simply put, low-income households may find it harder to avoid childhood injuries while coping with food insecurity," Heflin said. "This work provides one more to a long list of reasons it is important to support federal food assistance programs such as SNAP."

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The researchers said there is no evidence that childhood injuries connected to the timing of SNAP benefits are caused by parents.

"I think that food insecure parents are probably distracted by worrying about how to feed their families and not able to fully focus on their children who may be acting out because they are hungry," Heflin said. "It's more about how many things parents can juggle at one time in a home with food insecurity."

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