Fleeing Felon
Duke Legal Assistance Project
Under the 1996
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), Congress prohibits the distribution of benefits
for purported “fleeing felons” in four federal programs: Supplemental Security
Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, and
housing assistance. The fleeing felon component of the law had not been a
significant issue for the legal aid community until about the year 2000, when
the Social Security Administration began cooperating with state law enforcement
agencies to cross-reference their databases. In addition, The Social Security
Protection Act of 2004 added Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and
Old Age, Survivor, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program benefits to the
prohibition, thereby increasing their reach exponentially. If a client has
received notice that he or she has an outstanding warrant, it is critical that
the matter be resolved as quickly as possible. In addition, it would be
pragmatic for the client to proactively contact any other service providers
with documentation of the cleared warrant to avoid disruptions in service.
Who is a
fleeing felon?
How does the process work? Or,
how did they find me 38 years later?
What should I do now that
I have been identified as a fleeing felon?
How does the fleeing felon status
affect Social Security benefits and what should I do?
How does the fleeing felon status
affect Veteran’s Administration benefits and what should I do?
How does the fleeing felon status
affect TANF/Welfare benefits and what should I do?
How does the fleeing felon
status affect food stamp benefits and what should I do?
How does the fleeing felon
status affect federal housing assistance benefits and what should I do?
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