blog post Is California the Poorest State? By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Sep 29, 2014 One poverty measure ranked California as the poorest state in the U.S. But according to the latest official estimates, 16 states had higher poverty rates. How do we make sense of this?
blog post Examining the Federal EITC’s Impact on Poverty By Tess Thorman, Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Jan 25, 2018 The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) keeps hundreds of thousands of Californians out of poverty. But its role varies widely across regions.
Report Improving California Children’s Participation in Nutrition Programs By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Dec 12, 2016 Food and nutrition assistance programs help children gain access to adequate amounts of nutritious food—reducing child hunger and food insecurity as well as promoting healthy development. Yet in California, enrollment varies widely across counties and across the main nutrition programs that serve children: CalFresh, popularly known as food stamps; the WIC program, which serves infants and preschool-age children; and school meals, which include lunch and often other meals. Increasing children’s enrollment in CalFresh and achieving healthier outcomes for Californians are priorities for the state. The governor’s January 2016 budget set a goal of enrolling 400,000 more eligible children in CalFresh over two years. This report assesses children’s eligibility for CalFresh and eligible children’s participation in the three main nutrition programs to explore opportunities for improving enrollment and the benefits of higher enrollment. Key findings include: CalFresh has lower enrollment than free school meals and WIC. In 2015, 24 percent of all California children participated in CalFresh, while more than twice as many age-eligible children (51%) were enrolled in free school meals; 44 percent of infants and 34 percent of young children were enrolled in WIC. There is substantial potential to expand the impact of nutrition programs. We estimate that if all CalFresh-eligible children were fully enrolled in both CalFresh and either free school meals or WIC, these programs would reach 1.6 million more children. Infants and young children are better connected to nutrition programs. Among CalFresh-eligible children, we find that 12 percent of public school students participate in neither CalFresh nor free school meals—more than a quarter million school children (331,000). In contrast, only 4 percent of infants (21,000) and 9 percent of young children (87,000) are disconnected from both CalFresh and WIC. Higher participation in nutrition programs would lower child poverty. Among public school students living in poverty, we project that full participation in nutrition programs would increase family resources by 15 percent. Among infants and young children living in poverty, we project that family resources would increase by 9 percent following full participation in nutrition programs. To some extent, lower CalFresh enrollment reflects more restrictive eligibility requirements. However, there is good reason to believe that more children participating in free school meals and WIC could be connected to CalFresh. Currently, most policies designed to integrate nutrition programs run from CalFresh to school meals. Building robust, two-way connections could help counties and the state better achieve the goals of these programs so more children have access to adequate, nutritious food.
blog post Federal Work Requirements Are Changing for Some CalFresh Participants By Tess Thorman, Caroline Danielson Jul 12, 2023 Recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—known as CalFresh in California—alter how employment affects eligibility for some participants. We examine what these changes might mean for CalFresh participants as well as for state and local policymakers.
blog post A California Earned Income Tax Credit By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn, Sara Kimberlin Jun 3, 2015 The governor’s proposed state Earned Income Tax Credit adds to the mix of strategies policymakers are considering to address the state’s poverty rate—the highest in the nation when the cost of living is accounted for.
press release Most Think California Children Will Be Worse Off than Their Parents; Two-Thirds See Income Inequality Widening Dec 9, 2020
blog post Testimony: Measuring Poverty By Sarah Bohn Jul 14, 2015 New and more comprehensive measures update a definition of poverty that is now more than 50 years old.
blog post For California’s Homeless, CalFresh Is Essential Part of Safety Net By Caroline Danielson Jun 19, 2020 CalFresh food assistance is a key support for people confronting homelessness, and efforts to expand access to CalFresh are critical.
Report The Role of CalFresh in Stabilizing Family Incomes By Caroline Danielson, Tess Thorman Sep 21, 2022 CalFresh—California’s largest safety net program—helps mitigate income instability for many low-income families. But those without recent employment often do not experience this stabilizing effect. Additional efforts to automate income reporting and ensure that individuals can access CalFresh as soon as they are eligible could strengthen the program’s reach and impact.
