View Research by Author - Kenneth Finegold

Publications

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have no eligibility restrictions based on the legal status of immigrants. This study reveals an increase in the number and share of immigrants and their children in WIC and NSLP between the mid-1990s and 2006; however, their share of participants is generally comparable to their shares of the eligible populations. Findings suggest that immigrants face fewer barriers to access in WIC and NSLP than they do for TANF, SNAP, and other benefits subject to immigration-related eligibility restrictions.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides low-income households with electronic benefits to purchase food in grocery stores. People residing on Indian reservations, and households with American Indians and Alaska Natives residing near reservations, or in certain areas of Oklahoma, may have a food assistance option besides SNAP-the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), which provides a monthly package of commodities. This report combines findings from site visits to seven reservations that participate in FDPIR with analysis of administrative and survey data to compare the two programs with regard to eligibility, participation, administration, and possible effects on health.

This brief, part of the Urban Institute's "Recession and Recover" series, examines how the SNAP program (formerly food stamps) responds during a recession and how that response may differ in the current recession from its response in the past.

This report is an analysis of alternative datasets and research approaches to assess the effects of Hurricane Katrina on populations served by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The assessment addresses four overarching research questions, with an emphasis on using existing datasets: 1) where did populations of interest go and where are they living since Katrina; what are the effects on income and employment; what are the needs for ACF programs and services; and how did the disaster affect ACF programs themselves? The report includes an extensive annotated bibliography of analyses through January 2007.

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.

Each month, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides supplemental food packages to half a million women, children and seniors. This study looks at how CSFP operates, who participates, and how it fits into the overall food assistance landscape. It estimates that 2.9 million mothers, infants, and children meet eligibility requirements for CSFP but not for WIC. About 7.5 million seniors would be eligible if CSFP were available everywhere. In states where the program is widely available, more seniors participate in CSFP than in the Food Stamp Program. Use of volunteers, staff stability, and the small scale of operations contribute to CSFP’s simplicity and accessibility.

Whether they're running for a local office or for president, candidates on the hustings in recent weeks have turned to a new campaign issue: the rising cost of food. Voters are facing sticker shock in grocery aisles, communities are seeing food pantry stocks dwindle, and the presidential candidates are focusing on kitchen-table issues far more intensely than they might have expected when the campaign season started more than a year ago.

This paper uses monthly SIPP data from 1996 through 2003 and state-level policy data to measure the effects of specific food stamp and welfare policies, as well as the minimum wage and EITC, on the food stamp receipt of the low-income population. We find strong evidence that more lenient vehicle exemption policies, longer recertification periods, and expanded categorical eligibility increase food stamp receipt and that the use of biometric technology reduces food stamp receipt. We also find some evidence that more lenient immigrant eligibility rules, simplified reporting, implementation of the EBT program, and outreach spending increase food stamp receipt.

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.

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