Joint Contributions of SNAP and Unemployment Insurance to the Social Safety Net:

1. Joint Contributions of SNAP and Unemployment Insurance to the Social Safety Net: A Data Linkage Project John A. Kirlin and Michael Wiseman September 20, 2010 Presented at APDU 2010 Annual Conference “Public Data 2010: Opportunities and Challenges for the New Decade”

2. Outline • Background • Study and research teams • What is the policy issue? • Study rationale • Hypotheses and data needs • Planned analyses and schedule

3. Background • SNAP (formerly food stamps) is by far the largest food and nutrition assistance program in US • Over 41 million participants in June 2010 • Over $5.5 billion in monthly benefits • 12 months before “only” 34.9 million participants receiving $4.7 billion

4. Background • Despite its popularity, only 2 of every 3 eligible individuals participates (2008) • After years of research on SNAP/food stamp participation, we still do not understand all that we would like, e.g.: • Why don’t all eligibles participate? • How do people end up on SNAP? How do they leave?

5. Background • In addition to the SNAP questions, what happens to individuals after their UI benefits end? • Some find work • Some retire (early retirement rising) • Some go on public assistance

6. Background • We are interested in the “some go on public assistance.” It’s a big unknown. • How many? • Who? • For how long? • Need longitudinal UI data matched to longitudinal SNAP data

7. The SNAP-UI Study Joint Contributions of SNAP and Unemployment Insurance to the Social Safety Net: A Data Linkage Project

8. Research Teams – States 1) Jacob France Institute – Maryland • Andrew Young School – Georgia • Chapin Hall Center – Illinois • Upjohn Institute – Michigan • Ray Marshall Center – Texas 2) California Institute of Public Policy – California 3) University of Missouri – Florida

9. Seven States

10. Policy Issue • Economy is in a deep and protracted recession • Existing assistance programs (UI, SNAP, TANF) have responded in different ways • How can such programs improve their response to economic hardship? • Can information about individuals’ use of UI and SNAP suggest ways to better serve unmet needs?

11. The EconomyThe worst recession since WWII

12. Unemployment has risen dramatically

13. The deficit of available jobs has increased drastically since early 2007

14. The SNAP caseload has grown in response to this recession (and every past recession)

15. But relatively few SNAP households collect UI and SNAP at the same time

16. Rationale for the Study • Historically, the relationship between SNAP and UI has been tenuous, but • Do households sequence their UI and SNAP receipt? • Given the severity of the current recession, is the relationship changing? • Most important part of the relationship is probably dynamic, not cross-sectional

17. Rationale for the Study • We do not know about the dynamic interaction between the two programs • This project intends to go to the state level to understand the past and evolving relationship between SNAP and UI, in order to improve SNAP administration and access

18. Possible Scenarios:No UI Benefits Earnings → SNAP → Earnings

19. Possible Scenarios:Non-overlapping Spells Earnings → UI → SNAP → Earnings

20. Possible Scenarios:Overlapping Spells Earnings →UI → UI/SNAP → SNAP

21. Why the SNAP/UI relation may be changing • Worst recession since Great Depression • A large proportion of job losses in this recession has been a result of layoffs, making local re-employment more difficult • Changed eligibility rules--broad-based categorical eligibility for SNAP essentially eliminates asset limits for many potential applicants

22. Research Hypotheses 1) Both the concurrent and sequential links between UI and SNAP grow during recessions. 2) Over time, the likelihood of taking up SNAP in conjunction with UI has increased, and the lag between initiation of UI and SNAP take-up has declined. 3) There is a large group of people who are collecting UI and may be eligible for SNAP, but who are not receiving SNAP benefits.

23. Data Needs • Need access to longitudinal and matched data on SNAP and UI participation to test previous hypotheses • Available data are limited • Administrative data for SNAP and UI are maintained at the state level; the federal government only has access to a cross-sectional sample of the SNAP data

24. Solution • Turn to researchers who: • Have access to state data • Have experience processing and analyzing large data sets • Are knowledgeable of the issues

25. 7 States and 7 Research Teams

26. These 7 states face diverse economic situations

27. Three Levels of Planned Analysis • Level 1 covers the foundational question of the project: What is the intersection of SNAP and UI? • Divided into two parts: • Cross-sectional over 2006 - 2010 • New SNAP entrant cohorts over 2006-2010 • Each looking backward and forward at UI wage coverage and claims receipt

28. Level 2 Analyses • Level 2 repeats the Level 1 analyses for specific subgroups of the SNAP population • Individuals (age, gender, citizenship, race/ethnicity, work/earnings history) • Households (size, type, composition, spell length, metro/rural, income sources, and gross and net income amounts)

29. Level 3 Analyses • Level 3 offers opportunities for researchers to address issues that are particular to: • Their unique data strengths • The needs of the SNAP or UI programs in their state

30. Challenges • Getting permission from multiple state agencies to have their data matched and used by outside researchers • Our teams have prior experience working with their states so a level of trust already exists • Getting consistent data for similar time periods from all states • Using consistent definitions, especially given: • Weekly, monthly, quarterly time periods for data

31. Study Schedule • Finish data prep by late fall • Analyses over winter • Individual reports to ERS in the spring/summer • ERS summary report thereafter

32. Joint Contributions of SNAP and Unemployment Insurance to the Social Safety Net: A Data Linkage Project Thank you