Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Kenneth Finegold on Governance

Food stamp benefits can provide an important supplement to the income of working families (families with children under 18 and earnings), who now make up nearly 40 percent of program participants. States can take advantage of Food Stamp Program policy options that increase eligibility and benefits. Seven policy options are particularly important for working families: more liberal vehicle rules, expanded categorical eligibility, transitional benefits for families leaving cash assistance, outreach, longer certification periods, reduced reporting requirements, and waivers of the required face-to-face interviews at recertification.

This paper explores the key features of four essential federal-state-local programs that have offered supports to low-income families and individuals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina -- housing, unemployment compensation, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It argues that the complexity of their structures and limited scale have inhibited their ability to respond effectively and quickly to the needs created by Hurricane Katrina. It recommends that national policymakers develop a set of disaster relief mechanisms better suited to address the large-scale cross-jurisdictional migration, diminished state fiscal capacity, increased demand for assistance, and other challenges that major disasters present.

This issue brief draws lessons for public administrators from a study of the devolution of federal policies in HHS programs covered by "Charitable Choice" legislation--Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT), and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)--and the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF). Contracting with FBOs in three cities studied (Birmingham, Boston, Denver) changed little since Charitable Choice, though perceptions about what was permissible had changed. Contracting with congregations and faith expression were more prominent in CCF. The role of faith in services was largely unmonitored, and implementation of the right to an alternative provider was problematic.

This study examines the devolution of federal policies regarding faith-based involvement in three HHS programs covered by "Charitable Choice" provisions--Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT), and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)--and in the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF). The study sites were Birmingham, Boston, and Denver. FBO contracting changed little since Charitable Choice, though perceptions about what was permissible in federal contracting had changed. Contracting with congregations and faith expression was more prominent in CCF. Implementation of the right to an alternative provider for welfare or substance abuse services is uncertain. [View the corresponding press release]

This report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, reviews existing data sources and prior research on six programs operated by the Department that provide food assistance to American Indians living on or near reservations. The purpose of the review is to help identify future research needs and opportunities to exploit administrative data systems and recurring national surveys. The programs covered are the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Food Stamp Program (FSP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Research topics of continuing importance include the impacts of reservation food assistance on health and nutrition, the characteristics that make nutrition education effective on reservations, the dynamics of program participation, and the contribution of tribal administration to program coordination.

This report examines the design and potential impact of current proposals to block grant Child Welfare, Food Stamps, Head Start, housing assistance, job training, Medicaid, transportation, and local law enforcement. The authors conclude that fixed funding may drive states to cut services or narrow eligibility during periods of fiscal stress. Four of the 10 proposals include maintenance of effort (MOE) provisions, but only the Medicaid proposal adjusts the level of required state spending for inflation. Requirements for public participation, data collection, and performance evaluation vary widely across the proposals. In a new twist, several proposals allow states to choose whether to participate in the block grants or continue under current programs.

Block grants were first enacted during the Johnson administration, in 1966. Three subsequent surges in the use of block grants occurred during the Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton administrations. Experience with block grants offers several lessons. The real value of block grant funding tends to diminish over time. Once in operation, Congress gradually erodes the flexibility of block grants. Block grant implementation is smoothest when states can draw upon existing administrative capacities. This study did not find consistent evidence that states use block grants to redirect benefits away from those with the greatest need.

This analysis of seven states (California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Washington) shows that the severity of the current revenue crisis far exceeds that of the recession that triggered it because states cut taxes and expanded programs based on unsustainable revenue growth during the late 1990s. All of the states studied responded to revenue declines with short-term solutions -- using reserves, transferring other funds to the general fund, refinancing debt, and shifting expenditures or revenues across fiscal years. All but New Jersey and Washington cut spending. Only New Jersey relied heavily on tax increases. The authors suggest that states should be realistic about the sustainability of future revenue trends and should not count on federal help. States should also build up reserves and be able to draw on them when needed, and should make tax policies symmetrical rather than place special barriers against tax increases.

In FY 2002 and FY 2003, states responded to fiscal stress by using one-time revenue sources such as reserves and borrowing against future tobacco settlement payments. States took modest steps to increase revenues by increasing cigarette taxes, business taxes, and gambling revenues while avoiding increases in income or sales tax rates. States reduced spending by implementing across-the-board cuts, delaying planned program expansions, and reducing state labor costs and payments to private providers. Federal maintenance of effort requirements in TANF and high matching rates in Medicaid and SCHIP protected these programs to some extent. As the budget crisis deepens in FY 2004, cuts in social programs are likely to be larger. The report is based on visits to 7 states.