Improving Access to Food Stamps, SCHIP, and Medicaid

Since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the employment rate of never-married mothers, the primary recipients of cash assistance, has increased dramatically. This increase has been accompanied by efforts to provide work supports to low-income working families, including nutritional assistance through the Food Stamp Program and health insurance through Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). However, low levels of participation in these programs have raised concerns about whether welfare offices are organized and equipped to deliver these benefits to working families, and whether federal requirements constrain their ability to do so. In response to these concerns, the federal government and some states have started to reassess the way eligibility for these benefits is determined, and to implement new strategies to reach more working families.

This study, conducted with American Management Systems, Inc., and the George Washington University Center for Health Services Research and Policy, was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to identify strategies states and local welfare offices are using to promote participation in food stamps, Medicaid, and SCHIP, as well as the ongoing challenges they face in providing support to working families.

In addition to a final report and literature review, we produced a series of state reports, listed at left. The documents identify promising practices in enrollment and retention, as well as program improvement opportunities to increase participation, in a number of states.

To order printed copies of these reports, please contact Jackie Allen.

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