Making the application process for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program more flexible generated “tangible downstream economic consequences”—like reduced credit card delinquencies—in Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to a new study.
The study assesses the impact of program designs aimed at making it easier to apply or recertify for SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, and less prone to process-related denials.
More than 22.7 million households in the US receive SNAP benefits, or one in eight people. An estimated two-thirds are children, older adults, and the disabled.
The interventions in Los Angeles and San Francisco focused on giving applicants greater flexibility in scheduling their caseworker interviews, a mandatory component of the application process since missed interview appointments account for as many as half of all food stamp program denials nationwide.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper estimates the effects of the Los Angeles and San Francisco application processes on financial health, using individual-level data derived from Californians’ credit reports (newly available in the University of California Consumer Credit Panel database) and SNAP administrative data for each of the two cities.
“[W]e find that reducing administrative burdens leads to significant improvements in the financial well-being of individuals seeking to gain or maintain access,” wrote researcher Tatiana Homonoff of NYU Wagner along with Min S. Lee and Katherine Meckel, both of the University of California-San Diego.
In the case of Los Angeles, people seeking food stamps were granted more autonomy over the scheduling of their interview through access to a new caseworker hotline. As a result of this procedural intervention, applicants were more likely to enroll successfully in the SNAP program.
That result led to meaningful improvements in their financial well-being: food stamp recipients were less likely to end up with a delinquent credit card account, and had higher credit scores. The amount of debt they carried through the year was hundreds of dollars less than those who were denied SNAP benefits solely due to the less flexible application process that was previously in effect, according to the paper.
The Los Angeles data covered 2020-21 and 65,000 who applied for SNAP.
The researchers noticed similar effects resulting from scheduling flexibility in the SNAP recertification process in San Francisco. People seeking food stamps renewals there were more likely to recertify for the program when they had additional time to reschedule missed caseworker appointments prior to the renewal deadline. This, in turn, improved financial health. The San Francisco data covered 2014-2016 and 40,000 people.
Taken as a whole, enhancing application and program integrity processes meant that SNAP applicants in the two counties were better able to pay their credit card balances or to carry less debt, according to the paper.
Source: NYU
