Laura A. Castner
Senior Researcher

Laura Castner joined Mathematica in 1998. Her research has primarily focused on federal nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Castner currently directs several projects related to SNAP for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These studies look at (1) efforts by states to track the performance of recent changes to their administration of SNAP, including changes aimed at improving access to SNAP while ensuring accuracy in benefit determination and (2) evaluating pilot projects intended to increase SNAP participation among the elderly. She is also examining patterns of entry and exit into SNAP and the duration of participation.

In recent years, Castner has led studies related to the relationship between spending on food and diet outcomes and changes in spending patterns following the increase in the SNAP benefit resulting from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. She also played a key role in the development and use of the SNAP microsimulation models. These models help predict program impacts under different policy scenarios. She continues to use data from these models and small area estimation techniques to estimate the percentage of the eligible population participating in the program by state.

Castner holds an M.A. in applied mathematics from Kent State University and an M.S.W. from the University of Maryland.

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