Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Summary

There is a large number of people that qualify for welfare benefits but do not access one or more of these benefits. This paper examines how ease of access to information about welfare benefits impacts enrollment in benefits. The first question examines if ease of access to information increases people accessing any benefits. The second question examines if ease of access to information increases the number of benefits accessed.

Background

There are more than 80 welfare programs (e.g., SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, SSI, EITC, and Housing Choice Vouchers) offered by the U.S. federal government. These programs are authorized through many different congressional committees which are then overseen by different federal departments, which are then overseen by different federal agencies. As a result, the eligibility criteria is different for each program. Eligibility factors include differences in the target population, applicant units (i.e., individual or household), accounting for income and assets, and work requirements. This eligibility can even differ for the same program based on the state of residence.

There are millions of people in the United States that have incomes below the official U.S. poverty threshold that do not receive any welfare benefits. There are also individuals in the U.S. that do not access all of the social program benefits they are qualified to receive.

Navigating the bureaucracy of accessing these different programs may be one of the factors that is inhibiting eligible people from access welfare benefits. The ease of access to information about benefits varies among states, local communities, and programs.

One exemplary of a local community reducing the burden of access to information about welfare benefit is the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Service. The department has simplified the process of accessing welfare benefits by creating an online portal for potential welfare beneficiaries to determine eligibility and sign up for benefits. The ease of access to information in Los Angeles County compared to other communities throughout the United States shows a considerable knowledge and resource gap.

Research Question

Does the ease of access to information about welfare programs increase the receipt of any benefits?

Does the ease of access to information about welfare programs increase the number of benefits accessed?

Method

The dependent variable for these models will be the number of benefits accessed within a county. The independent variables will include characteristics about the access of information online provided to the community and controls for characteristics of the community. The data used for the analysis will come from two sources. The first data source is the Census Bureau American Community Survey. The second source of data is primary data I am collecting on the type of information provided through welfare services websites in each U.S. county. The sample will include all counties in the United States.