A new study on safety net programs explores the characteristics associated with take-up, that is, participation among those eligible, across programs including Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, and the Child Tax Credit, or CTC. Safety net programs help promote physical and mental health and provide support for healthcare, food access, and income. A survey of 380 households with low-income assessed changes in safety net program participation between 2019 and 2021 and potential associations with sociodemographic or mental health characteristics. Take-up of several programs increased substantially, possibly due to policies that lowered barriers to program access during the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced burden in applying for and maintaining program participation. Medicaid take-up increased from 88% to 96%, SNAP take-up increased from 56% to 64%, and CTC take-up increased from 44% to 79%. WIC and EITC take-up decreased by 8% and 3% respectively. Take-up of more programs was associated with having more children and more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Identifying as Hispanic was associated with lower take-up in SNAP. Take-up in EITC and CTC was associated with having lower income. This study was conducted by researchers at the Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, and Harvard School of Public Health and was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Tipping Point, the University of California Office of the President, the Berkeley Population Center at the University of California Berkeley, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award no. P2CHD073964 and no. 5T32HD101364.
