Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This project is a randomized evaluation of various interventions designed to encourage enrollment of eligible, elderly individuals in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It is being conducted in partnership with Benefits Data Trust (BDT), a national non-profit organization based in Philadelphia. The study is designed to investigate (1) the barriers to enrollment (such as information, transaction costs and stigma), and (2) the characteristics of the marginal enrollee who responds to a reduction in these barriers.

This randomized trial investigates the impact of BDT’s outreach and application assistance to individuals aged 60 and over who are likely to be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Through random assignment to receive BDT’s outreach and assistance, outreach only, or to control, we plan to study the impact of outreach and application assistance on attempts to enroll and enrollments, as well as the characteristics of the marginal individual who responds to the intervention. The primary outcome will be SNAP enrollment nine months after outreach; secondary outcomes will be: intermediate steps toward enrollment (calls in response to outreach and applications submitted), dollar amounts of benefits received and deductions listed (since benefit amounts increase with better documentation of certain household expenses), and SNAP enrollment with alternative time horizons (including recertification attempts and results). Secondary outcomes also include baseline characteristics (including, e.g., demographics, measures of economic well-being, and measures of health) of marginal responders, applicants, and enrollees.