CSDP Forum: State Trends in the Child SSI Program: The Growing Role of SSI in the Safety Net

In 2013, about 1.3 million children were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, a net increase of 45 percent over the last 15 years. There have been no major changes in SSI’s eligibility rules that would explain this increase—or the differences in caseload growth across states—which raises questions about the factors driving these trends. In a new study completed for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mathematica examined this growth in child SSI benefits and some of the potential factors driving it, along with the changing role of the program in the broader safety net.