Work support
The Food Stamps Program is known in public policy circles as a “work support,” meaning it is used primarily by people looking for a job, or employed but not making enough to make ends meet. Because food stamps allow this latter group to maintain their low-wage employment, most experts believe food stamps actually keep people off the welfare rolls. Peer-reviewed research on the "dependency" effect referenced above is non-existent. The available evidence, in particular a University of Maryland study conducted in 2002, indicates that enrollment in the food stamps program keeps former welfare recipients from sliding back into poverty and re-enrolling in welfare programs.
Fraud and abuse
Claims of fraud and abuse of the program have likewise proved to be unfounded. In 2005, 98% of food stamp benefits went to eligible households. According to the Government Accountability Office, at last count (2004), only 4.48% of food stamps benefits were found to be overpaid, down by more than a third from six years earlier.[citation needed] Two-thirds of all improper payments were found to be the fault of the caseworker, not the individual.