Summary
Federal agencies that administer means-tested programs are responsible for both ensuring that people have appropriate access to assistance and ensuring the integrity of the programs they oversee. To balance these two priorities appropriately, it is important for agencies to have information on program integrity and program access. Knowing the proportion of the population that qualifies for these programs relative to the numbers who actually participate can help ensure that agencies can monitor and communicate key information on program access. To better understand participation in low-income programs, this report provides information on: (1) the proportion of those eligible who are participating in 12 selected low-income programs; (2) factors that influence participation in those programs; and (3) strategies used by federal, state, and local administrators to improve both access and integrity, and whether agencies monitor access by measuring participation rates.
For 12 federal programs supporting low-income people, we found that the proportion of those eligible who are enrolled varies substantially both between and within programs. Among entitlement programs--those programs that provide benefits to all applicants that meet program eligibility criteria--these rates range from about 50 to more than 70 percent. Among non-entitlement programs--those with limited funding--these rates ranged from less than 10 percent to more than 50 percent. While it may be neither feasible nor desirable for programs to serve 100 percent of those eligible for benefits, information on the share of those eligible who are enrolled in means-tested programs and on particular recipient groups such as the elderly or families with children, can help program managers more effectively address issues related to program access. However, participation rate estimates must be interpreted carefully because of limitations in the data sources and estimation methodologies used to calculate the estimates. Many factors influence access to low-income programs--including the type of benefits, ease of access, misperceptions about program requirements, and application and eligibility verification procedures. These factors can impact not only the share of eligible people who participate in low-income programs, but other aspects of program access as well, including the composition of the program caseload and how programs work together to serve low-income individuals and families. Federal, state, and local administrators have implemented many strategies to achieve the goals of access and integrity, but federal agencies generally put more emphasis on tracking information and outcomes related to program integrity than program access. To better ensure that program administrators achieve program integrity goals, agencies have begun to develop measures to track and report on program integrity. Federal agencies have developed participation rate estimates for several low-income programs, but only four--CCDF, food stamps, WIC, and EITC--either currently collect and report information on the extent to which they are reaching their target populations or plan to do so. Such information can guide administrators in setting priorities and targeting scarce resources, even among programs that were not intended to serve everyone eligible for program benefits.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change
from "In process" to "Implemented" or "Not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director:
Team:
Phone:
Kay E. Brown
Government Accountability Office: Education, Workforce, and Income Security
(415) 904-2272
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: As the department moves forward with participation rate estimates for the WIC program, the Secretary of Agriculture should take steps to clarify to users the limitations of the estimates.
Agency Affected: Department of Agriculture
Status: In process
Comments: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has commissioned an expert panel of the National Research Council to review the method used to calculate the number of individuals eligible for the WIC program and to develop an improved methodology. The new estimates incorporate technical improvements and provide a more accurate picture of program coverage. New estimates were released in February 2006.
Recommendation: As the department moves forward with participation rate estimates for the WIC program, the Secretary of Agriculture should compare between estimates by reanalyzing data as estimation methodologies change, so that consistent methods are applied over time.
Agency Affected: Department of Agriculture
Status: Implemented
Comments: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) completed revisions to the methods and assumptions used to estimate the number of people who are income-eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The estimates using the new methodology were calculated for 1994 through 2003 and provide USDA with estimates that are consistent over a substantial time period and comparable over time. The Department anticipates using the same approach to develop updated estimates.
Recommendation: To help ensure that agencies have information on program access, the Secretaries of Education and HUD should study the feasibility of calculating participation or coverage rates and including them in key program management reports.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: In process
Comments: The Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) completed a study examining the feasibility of implementing a student unit record system that could provide Education with certain information on every student enrolled in postsecondary education. The study was published in March 21, 2005. If the Department is able to develop efficient and effective ways to measure Pell Grant program participation rates as part of the reauthorization effort for the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, it will incorporate those measures into its management reports.
Agency Affected: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Implemented
Comments: The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Public and Indian Housing has estimated coverage rates for the Section 8 and Public Housing programs included in the Public and Indian Housing rental assistance programs under two sets of assumptions. The table showing these estimates provides information on the limitations of the estimates. The table was included in the appendix to the Seventh Annual Report to Congress on Public Housing and Rental Assistance Programs.
Recommendation: The Secretary of HHS should consider making some improvements to the participation and coverage rate information produced for the CCDF, Medicaid, SCHIP, and TANF programs, such as quantifying errors that result from calculating these estimates to help users better understand the accuracy of the data.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: In process
Comments: In 2005 HHS reported that it had taken several steps to improve its participation and coverage rate estimates and was reviewing the possibility of making additional enhancements to its Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) estimates. Work was also underway to improve estimates of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) eligibility and participation, and participation in various programs by immigrants. With regard to quantifying errors, HHS noted that not all errors can be quantified, but stated that the agency would consider ways in which to provide information that will help users better understand the accuracy of the data used to calculate participation and coverage rates. HHS did not provide any additional updates on this work in 2007.
Recommendation: The Secretary of HHS should consider making some improvements to the participation and coverage rate information produced for the CCDF, Medicaid, SCHIP, and TANF programs, such as ensuring, to the extent possible, that estimates are comparable over time.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: In process
Comments: In 2005 HHS stated that there is value in ensuring that estimates are, to the extent possible, comparable over time, but the agency places a higher priority on investing in model enhancements to improve current estimates rather than devoting substantial resources to retroactively adjust prior estimates for the sake of consistency. HHS did not provide any further updates in 2007.
Recommendation: As the IRS moves forward on developing participation rate estimates to use as a program performance measure for the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service should take steps to quantify errors that may result from estimating these participation rates to help users better understand the accuracy of the data and ensure that estimates will be comparable over time.
Agency Affected: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: In process
Comments: IRS is continuing its work to develop a reliable participation rate methodology to use in measuring EITC participation. The agency worked with Census to perform a match of EITC to 2003 CPS data to compare and validate its mathematical participation rate methodology, but the results could not be used due to data limitations. IRS is now working with Census and Treasury on a 2005 data match to resolve the prior data issues. In reporting the results of this study, the agency will note the limitations in its methodology and data, and the estimates that they produce. IRS is scheduled to complete this action during the summer of 2008.
Recommendation: To help ensure that the agency has information on program access, the Commissioner of SSA should consider the feasibility of providing participation rate information (from the existing source or another source) in SSA program management reports.
Agency Affected: Social Security Administration
Status: Implemented
Comments: SSA has considered the feasibility of providing participation rates and has come to the conclusion that the Current Population Survey cannot be used to estimate SSI participation rates. Because the Census Bureau has discontinued the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the agency's preferred source of data for this type of estimate, the agency has concluded that a suitable data source is not available to estimate participation rates.
Recommendation: The Secretary of HHS should include participation and coverage rate estimates in key program reports for the CCDF, Medicaid, SCHIF, and TANF programs.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: In process
Comments: In 2005 HHS reported that it had no plans to include program participation and coverage rate estimates in key program reports beyond what has been done in the past. HHS did not provide additional updates in 2007.
Recommendation: The Secretary of HHS should study the feasibility of estimating the coverage rate for the Head Start program on a regular basis and include these estimates in key Head Start program reports.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: In process
Comments: In 2005 HHS reported that the Head Start Bureau had plans to study the feasibility of estimating the coverage rate for the Head Start program. HHS did not provide updated information on the status of this effort in 2007.
