Document Tag: public benefits

Connecting College Students with Public Benefits Programs (2024)

Colleges and universities can support their most at-risk
students by providing pre-screening and application
assistance for public benefits as a campus resource.
Benefits coordination can have a big impact, but this type
of basic needs program is relatively rare: a recent analysis
of nearly 450 postsecondary institutions found that only
18 percent offered public benefits access facilitation.
This toolkit outlines key steps that institutions can take
to support their students in accessing public benefits.

Assessing Utilization and Accessibility of Public Cash Assistance Benefits among Postsecondary Students (Ahead of Print)

Low-income students struggle with resources while trying to achieve future financial stability. As colleges explore ways to support students, one solution is integration with public benefits. This study focuses on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a program that offers cash assistance to low-income adults with children. Statistical analysis of New Jersey data on applications from students (N = 1,064) is complemented by interviews with higher education experts (N = 6). Findings indicate that knowledge about the program is lacking. Among students who do apply, many either withdraw their application or do not complete the requirements. Findings offer recommendations to improve access for students.

The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Using FAFSA Data to Secure Today’s Students’ Basic Needs (2024)

Postsecondary credentials are a good investment for individuals, families, and communities. Yet college is more expensive than ever and financial aid has not kept pace. And, as college costs continue to grow, students still need to meet their basic needs, such as food, housing, and child care. Ensuring students’ needs are met is critical to postsecondary success. Basic needs insecurity adversely affects students’ well-being, as well as their college persistence and completion. Research shows that food and housing insecurity are contributing factors to lower graduation rates.1 Higher education funding alone is not enough to meet those needs.
Today’s Pell Grant maximum award remains at a level similar to Fiscal Year (FY) 1978, after adjusting for inflation. In 2022-23, the maximum Pell Grant covered 63% of average published in-state tuition and fees and 30%
of average tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year colleges and universities,2 while it covered more than three-quarters of those costs in 1975. States have also disinvested in higher education, all while federal student loan limits haven’t increased since 2008.
One solution is to ensure students access all available financial support, including means tested public benefits such as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), subsidized health insurance, broadband assistance, and tax credits. Millions of college students are eligible for such benefits, however, they are unaware of their eligibility or do not know how to apply. For instance, roughly 2 million students who are eligible for SNAP do not participate, leaving around $3 billion in benefits on the table.4 The combination of need-based financial aid and enrollment in means-tested programs could help increase student graduation rates for students with low incomes who may be juggling a mix of work, school, and family responsibilities.

Which Eligible Philadelphians Are Not Accessing Public Benefits? (2023)

Across the United States, people with low incomes, meaning those who earn less than 150 percent of the federal poverty threshold ($41,207 for a family of four in 2021), may be eligible to receive public benefits. In Philadelphia, about one-third of residents have low incomes, including more than 40 percent of the city’s Chinese and Hispanic
residents and about 40 percent of its Black residents. Meanwhile, just 18 percent of white non-Hispanic Philadelphia residents have low incomes.

The public benefit system, however, doesn’t reach every eligible group equally. To better understand which Philadelphia residents receive the public benefits they are eligible for, we used data from the American Community Survey 2017–21 five-year sample to compare the demographic makeup of Philadelphians with low incomes who reported receiving benefits with that of those who did not report receiving benefits. People are counted as receiving benefits if they are in a household where at least one person reported receiving either SNAP, SSI, TANF, or general assistance.

Although these results suggest areas for improvement in outreach and engagement, benefit receipt tends to be underreported in survey data, so these findings should not be considered a definitive analysis of who does and does not receive benefits. People may also be ineligible for benefits for various reasons, including immigration status.