{
  "id": 17004728,
  "title": "End of COVID-era SNAP emergency food assistance linked to increased child maltreatment rates",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/end-of-covid-era-snap-emergency-food-assistance-linked-to-increased",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-29T04:10:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-covid-era-snap-emergency-food.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has found that as U.S. counties ended COVID-19 pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments, child maltreatment rates increased. The research, led by Dr. Liwei Zhang from the University of Georgia's School of Social Work, analyzed nationwide child welfare data from 1,153 counties between January 2021 and February 2022. During this time, ten states ended these expanded SNAP benefits, while other states continued providing them. The study revealed that the discontinuation of these food assistance programs was linked to a gradual rise in substantiated child maltreatment, including neglect and physical abuse. However, the number of child maltreatment reports did not significantly increase, indicating that the rise in substantiated cases was not due to heightened reporting. This suggests that the effects of losing additional food assistance may build over time as families face ongoing financial pressure. The findings highlight the importance of considering the broader economic and social policies, such as nutrition assistance, in efforts to prevent child and family harm.",
  "summary": "A new study has found that in U.S. counties that ended COVID-19 pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments, child maltreatment rates went up. The findings from the study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggest that changes to food assistance programs have consequences that extend beyond food security and also affect child and family…",
  "key_points": [
    "Study links end of COVID-era SNAP benefits to increased child maltreatment rates",
    "Ten states ended expanded SNAP benefits, others continued providing them",
    "Discontinuation linked to gradual rise in substantiated child maltreatment"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The rollback of pandemic-era nutritional support creates long-term financial strain for families, directly contributing to higher rates of substantiated child neglect and physical abuse across participating counties.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}