Millions of people could lose health coverage when the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, but states can make changes to avoid massive coverage losses.
Together, the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) are working to design and build a sustainable process to improve cross-enrollment for families eligible for both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This report outlines how Kansas will integrate data matches between SNAP and WIC—as well as targeted outreach— within the ongoing business processes of the agencies to help streamline the experience of accessing nutrition supports for clients. These functions will contribute to the agencies’ shared goal of reducing rates of food insecurity in Kansas.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Coordinating SNAP and Nutrition Supports (CSNS) is a cohort program funded by Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry and administered by the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) with the goal of aligning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with other federal, state, and local nutrition supports to combat childhood hunger.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
A state partner needed to reopen applications to claimants who were previously denied benefits and determine if they are eligible to receive retroactive PUA payments. To help combat these issues, the state agency wanted to create a self-guided experience that was clear for claimants as well as reduce load on their call center. The team focused on providing enough contextual information in order to build trust and provide clarity with claimants, and worked to test content and form design before launching the new service in order to preempt and mitigate support issues.
The WIC Certification and Eligibility Resource and Best Practices Guide is a compilation of existing regulations and best practices that WIC state and local agencies may choose to use when determining eligibility for the program. The guide walks through the certification process.
Data linking is an important tool that lets benefits program administrators efficiently determine eligibility, and ensure that applicants receive all of the benefits for which they are eligible. This resource provides examples and practical guides that explain how to use existing regulations and data sharing agreements to transfer client information or eligibility status between benefit programs.
This toolkit provides questions for agencies to consider, examples, and suggested resources for exploring ways to make certification easier for families and WIC staff.
This policy brief outlines how improved data sharing between federal agencies, state and local governments, and institutions can leverage existing data from other benefits programs to streamline eligibility processes and benefits uptake for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and other programs.
This report outlines how state WIC agencies can adjust their policies to remove enrollment barriers. The report also provides detailed research on the status of WIC eligibility practices and documentation requirements across states.
This report outlines strategies to reduce administrative burdens and expand Medicaid participation and advance racial and health equity. The report also offers historical context on Medicaid eligibility.
As family’s earnings rise, those earnings increases are often offset by declines in public assistance benefits (commonly called “benefit cliffs” when the declines are sharp) and increases in taxes owed. At the same time, refundable tax credits—which offset taxes owed and are delivered as a tax refund—can boost income. These interactions can be confusing and make it difficult for parents to anticipate how increasing their work hours, hourly wage rate, or both will affect their benefits, taxes, and income to support their families. This study estimates what happens to benefits and taxes when earnings increase and also explores how people perceive public benefit interactions, trade-offs, and benefit cliffs as they increase their work hours or earn higher wages.
