WIC enrollment has declined over the past decade, but evidence from randomized control trials indicates that using data from other programs to identify WIC-eligible families and following up with text-based outreach can boost program participation.
Accessing safety net benefits can involve complicated and duplicative processes that create barriers to access. Using cross-enrollment strategies can minimize the difficulties community members face in getting access to life-saving resources.
Fast Track is an efficient, inexpensive enrollment option to enroll eligible individuals in Medicaid using data the state already has on hand from other applications. Through Fast Track, states can use TANF, SNAP, and LIHEAP data to determine eligibility and quickly enroll large numbers of individuals.
Medicaid enrollees must renew their eligibility every 12 months, resulting in extensive “churn,” whereby eligible people continuously cycle on and off of Medicaid instead of remaining continuously enrolled. States can use detailed SNAP income data to reduce churn and thus reduce the burden on beneficiaries and agencies.
Although Medicaid and SNAP participants are automatically income-eligible for WIC, many don’t enroll. Pilot projects in four states have shown that matching data across programs to identify these families and conducting outreach to them can increase WIC enrollment.
