Accessing Mainstream Benefits Research
Web-Based Screeners and Applications: Potential Tools for Improving Benefit Access and Program Efficiency
HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
September 2011
ASPE released a new issue brief on the design and operation of web-based tools that assist individuals experiencing homelessness in learning...
Strategies for Improving Homeless People's Access to Mainstream Benefits
Martha R. Burt, Jenneth Carpenter, Samuel G. Hall, Kathryn A. Henderson, Debra J. Rog, John A. Hornik, Ann V. Denton, and Garrett E. Moran
March 2010
In 2000, HUD, in recognition that any solution to homelessness must emphasize housing, targeted its McKinney-Vento Act homeless competitive programs towards housing activities. This policy decision presumed that mainstream programs such as ...
Findings from a Study of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery Initiative
Jacqueline Kauff, Jonathan Brown, Norma Altshuler, Noelle Denny-Brown, and Emily Sama Martin
September 2009
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs provide critical income support for those who meet eligibility requirements. For individuals or families who are homeless, receiving SSI or SSDI is often an important first...
Evaluation of Homeless Outreach Projects and Evaluation (HOPE)
Marion L. McCoy, Ph.D., Cynthia S. Robins, Ph.D., James Bethel, Ph.D., Carina Tornow, and William D. Frey, Ph.D.
October 2007
"In 2003, Congress appropriated funds for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to conduct outreach and application assistance to people who were homeless and to other under-served populations. SSA used these funds to develop and implement the Homeless ...
What Factors Account for State-to-State Differences in Food Security
Judi Bartfeld, Rachel Dunifon, Mark Nord, and Steven Carlson
November 2006
States differ in the extent to which their residents are food secure—meaning that they have consistent access to enough food for active, healthy living. The prevalence of food security in a State depends not only on the characteristics of households in the State, such as their income, employment, and household ...
Effect of Social Security Payments on Substance Abuse in a Homeless Mentally Ill Cohort
Marc I. Rosen, Thomas J. McMahon, HaiQun Lin, Robert A. Rosenheck
November 2005
The purpose of this study is to determine whether receipt of social supplemental security income (SSI) or Social Security disability income (SSDI) payments is associated with increased drug and alcohol use...
Food Stamp Program Access Study: Final Report
Susan Bartlett, Nancy Burstein, and William Hamilton, with the assistance of Ryan Kling
November 2004
The Food Stamp Program Access Study was motivated by a desire to learn whether and how the administrative policies and practices of local food stamp offices influence the chances of eligible households participating in the program. This report examines the participation decisions of ...
Simplified Reporting and Transitional Benefits in the Food Stamp Program
Carole Trippe, Liz Schott, Nancy Wemmerus, and Andrew Burwick
May 2004
"This study examines the experiences of four States (Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio) that use the simplified reporting option of the Food Stamp Program; Arizona also uses the transitional benefit option. With simplified reporting, States lengthen the certification period for most food stamp recipients, minimize ...
Variations in Maternal and Child Wellbeing by TANF Participation
Nancy E. Reichman, Julien O. Teitler, Irwin Garfinkel, and Sandra Garcia
January 2004
"This study uses baseline and one year follow-up data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to estimate the TANF participation rate among financially-eligible mothers and to compare their wellbeing and that of their one year old children across the following four groups: (1) Mothers who were ...
Employment Factors Influencing Food Stamp Program Participation
Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe, with contributions from Emily Rosenberg
November 2003
"This study examines how employment characteristics of low-income households influence Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation. The relationship between employment and FSP participation is of special interest because, although more low-income working families are eligible to participate, many do ...
Holes in the Safety Net: Mainstream Systems and Homelessness
Katharine Gale and Aram Shepherd
February 2003
Research has show that any successful effort to end homelessness must include a combination of services, income supports, and housing. However, research has also shown that the most important but under-utilized source of income, housing, and services to people who are homeless or at risk for homelessness is government-funded programs ...
Homelessness, Substance Misuse, and Access to Public Entitlements in a Soup Kitchen Population
Peter C. Nwakeze, Stephen Magura, Andrew Rosenblum, and Herman Joseph
January 2003
This study examines the effects of homelessness on access to public entitlements (Medicaid and food stamp programs) in a soup kitchen population. Data were collected between 1997 and 1999 from a sample of 343 at two soup kitchen sites in New York City...
Promoting Medicaid and Food Stamp Participation
LaDonna Pavetti, Kathleen Maloy, and Liz Schott
June 2002
This study, 'Promoting Medicaid and Food Stamp Participation: Establishing Eligibility Procedures That Support Participation and Meet Families' Needs', conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ...
The Effects of SSI & SSDI Benefits Termination As Seen in HCH Projects
Sarah McCarthy, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
April 1999
The Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) was created to provide critically needed income support for aged and disabled individuals. Similarly, the Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI) provides cash assistance to disabled workers. In 1996, the Social Security Act was amended to provide that an ...
