What the New SNAP Changes Mean for Social Workers and the People They Serve

Updates to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) mean some New Yorkers are losing benefits. Here's what social work students and practitioners need to know.

Roughly 37 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to feed themselves and their families. But new federal changes have expanded SNAP work requirements and are shifting more costs to states starting this fall. Some New Yorkers are already losing benefits.

Social workers play a key role in helping people understand these changes to eligibility-and supporting them from a whole-person approach. "Social workers are trained to help people navigate systems and to deal with mental health crises," says Elizabeth Palley, JD, PhD, professor of social work and director of the PhD in Social Work program.

Here's a closer look at what's changing, who will feel it most and how Adelphi prepares students to help.

What's Changing With SNAP

There are a few key SNAP changes taking effect on October 1, 2026, the start of the federal fiscal year 2027. These include:

• States and counties absorb more administrative cost burden. The federal share of SNAP administrative costs drops from 50 percent to 25 percent, increasing the local share to 75 percent. For New York, this equals an increase in state costs by roughly $36 million per year, and county costs by $168 million a year.
• Benefits increase slightly. Given the higher costs of living, the maximum monthly benefits are rising. For example, a family of four will go from a maximum monthly benefit of $994 to $1,023.
• The new three-year work-requirement window starts. People who are subject to SNAP work requirements must work for at least 80 hours a month. If they don't, they can receive SNAP for only three months in a three-year window. The three-year window resets on October 1, 2026.

Some changes went into effect earlier in 2026. In particular, work requirements now apply to adults ages 55 to 64 (previously adults ages 18 to 54 without dependents) and to parents whose youngest child is 14 years or older.

Who Will Feel the Impact Most

The expanded work requirements have made it more difficult for people to qualify for SNAP. The New York governor's office estimates that 300,000 households will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, with an average loss of $220 a month.

Meeting the updated work requirements can be especially challenging for older adults and parents with teenagers. "We don't want teens to be without parents around," Dr. Palley says. "Often, the kinds of jobs you can get have night and early morning hours when your kid is around, so that can have impacts on parenting."

Dr. Palley also notes that many adults in their 50s and 60s who have recently been pushed out of the workforce already struggle to find new jobs, and the jobs they can find are often physically demanding, minimum-wage work.

Losing SNAP benefits will be especially hard on children. "Certainly for children, hunger affects your physical and mental health, as well as your ability to concentrate, so school performance will likely suffer," Dr. Palley says.

And shifting more of the administrative cost burden on states and counties will put the most strain on poorer counties that can't absorb the cost shift. So, even if people qualify for SNAP, they may not be able to access benefits if funding runs short, Dr. Palley notes.

With more people losing SNAP benefits, the demand for food banks, private charities, and other community services will rise. Families may also need to divert money from rent to food, leading to housing instability, Dr. Palley says.

How Adelphi Prepares Students

Adelphi University's social work programs teach students how to help clients access resources and, more importantly, how to engage in policy advocacy to support legislative changes that benefit their client population. "It's important to have social workers who understand the experiences of clients, but also understand how to navigate and lead systems," Dr. Palley says.

Students learn how to understand an issue, conduct research and interpret data, and create a convincing argument. "Those are the skills you would take into advocacy," Dr. Palley says.

In addition to classroom learning, all students must participate in the School of Social Work's annual social action initiative. Students can choose from various projects, including social media campaigns, expert interviews, website creation and legislative advocacy. Interested students can even travel to Albany and nearby counties to meet with legislators or testify on issues they care about at the county level.

"As a social worker, you're closely tied to the populations you're working with, so you can make a really good case and present people's stories, because sometimes it's too hard for people who are currently struggling to be able to testify and meet with legislators," Dr. Palley says.