Social Safety Net

Safety net programs provide critical support to people during times of economic hardship. Yet the reach and coverage of the safety net, particularly in times of increased need and among economically disadvantaged groups, is not well understood. The U.S.

Social safety net programs provide different types of support to people facing economic hardship. This data point presents estimates of overall participation in the social safety net in 2019, the latest year of available data and presents rates of participation in multiple programs. Key Points:

People facing economic instability often need more than one program or service. This pre-pandemic analysis looks at the reach of the social safety net, including the interaction of specific programs, to better understand program participation as the economy continues to recover. Key Points:

Nutrition assistance programs have been shown to increase children’s health and well-being and decrease the risk of child maltreatment. At the same time, food insecurity rose in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participation in the social safety net varies widely across programs—from 15 percent among eligibles for subsidized child care (CCDF) to over 75 percent for Medicaid/CHIP and EITC.  Participation differs by race and ethnicity, yet patterns are not consistent. In general rates differ more across programs than between race-ethnic groups.

This report summarizes strategies Indian Health Service (IHS) clinics have used to implement the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of care, challenges they faced during implementation, and lessons learned that might benefit IHS clinics that have not yet received PCMH recognition.  Common strategies to address challenges include use of telemedicine and partnerships with academic me

This study expands upon the analysis of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) begun in “Provider Retention in High Need Areas and continued in “The National Health Service Corps:  An Extended Analysis” by using the same techniques used in these earlier studies to examine retention patterns in Indian Health providers..  The study finds about 81% of the IHS program participants serve

New analysis of data from HUD's Family Options Study of families' experiences in shelter and 20 months later shows that families experiencing homelessness are generally connected to public benefits at similar rates to other families in deep poverty.

San Diego Youth Services (SDYS) is one of nine organizations selected to participate in the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Replication Study. The study is a rigorous five-year evaluation of replications of evidence-based interventions aimed at preventing teen pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), and other sexual risk behaviors.

This research brief examines program coordination between the child SSI and TANF programs, drawing upon analysis of administrative data and site visits to Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.