When States Align Social Welfare Programs: Considering the Child Support Income Exclusion for SNAP

Colleen M. Heflin, Leonard M. Lopoo and Mattie Mackenzie‐Liu

Social Science Quarterly, 2020, vol. 101, issue 6, 2272-2288

Abstract: Objective In the United States, state social services rarely coordinate across departments, a practice that could both increase receipt and reduce administrative burden. The purpose of this article is to investigate the state‐level conditions associated with the adoption of policies that benefit participants in multiple social welfare programs, focusing on the case of the child support income exclusion for SNAP benefit eligibility calculations. Methods Using annual data for each of the states (including the District of Columbia), we estimate multiple analyses to test three hypotheses regarding which factors are associated with policy adoption. Results We find that collaboration across social programs is more likely as state income tax revenues increase and when administrative costs are lower. Conclusions Our findings suggest that state revenue and administrative costs are associated with state interagency alignment but find only weak evidence that political ideology is a factor.

Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12864

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:101:y:2020:i:6:p:2272-2288

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0038-4941

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry

More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().