Should we expect full participation in benefit programs?

A blog post this week by Brookings Institution discussed the importance of increasing participation in public benefit programs that have been shown to reduce poverty, specifically citing participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the earned income tax credit (EITC), the National School Lunch Program, and the Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Currently, the participation rate among those determined to be eligible is over 80% for SNAP, EITC, and the National School Lunch program. WIC participation is similarly high for eligible infants (85%), but lower for eligible children and pregnant mothers.

SNAP and the EITC are important work support programs that reduce poverty, especially for children. The Census Bureau’s supplemental poverty measure (versus the official poverty measure) shows that in 2013, refundable tax credits (mostly the EITC) reduced poverty among children by 6.4 points and SNAP reduced child poverty by 2.9 points. From a poverty perspective, it is important that eligible people be able to access benefits without unnecessary burdens. But is full participation realistic—or even desirable?

Reasons for non-participation suggest that it may not be. A commonly-held belief is that barriers prevent eligible participants from receiving benefits. According to Brookings:

Why do people forgo these programs? It seems unlikely that many do so because of personal preferences or access to other forms of support. More likely they struggle to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of receipt.

But research shows that a sizeable number of eligible people do not participate in SNAP because they do not want government assistance. According to a 2003 USDA report on the subject, 27% of eligible non-participants indicated that they would not enroll in the program even if they were assured they were eligible. The report cited the desire to feel independent as the primary driver in not wanting benefits.

In New York City, we conducted a similar survey of eligible non-participants in three separate years (2007, 2008, and 2010) and found that not needing or wanting government benefits was the third most common reason in each year for not participating in SNAP (at approximately 11% of respondents), behind not believing they were income eligible or not knowing how to apply. Not wanting government benefits was a more common reason than the application being too complicated and the office wait times being too long.

Government should ensure that unnecessary barriers do not prevent eligible people from accessing public benefits, especially when these benefits reduce poverty. But we should not discount the fact that some people do not want government assistance even when they are eligible; and there is nothing wrong with that. The desire to be independent from government assistance is respectable and policy makers should not try to change that.