@EdWorkingPaper{ai26-1531,
title = "One Fell Through the Safety Net: Embeddedness and Take Up of Social Benefits",
author = "Marissa E. Thompson, Katherine Michelmore, Kelcie Ferrara-Gerson, Nathan Sotherland, Kevin Stange",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1531",
year = "2026",
month = "July",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1531",
abstract = {The U.S. social safety net comprises a patchwork quilt of welfare programs, but not all eligible beneficiaries receive aid. Incomplete take-up suggests that some children and families are not receiving access to the education, healthcare, housing, and income needed to break the cycle of poverty and may reflect unequal burdens in accessing benefits. We examine incomplete take-up using the case of Michigan’s largest need-based financial aid program, where eligibility is based on childhood Medicaid participation. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that economic disadvantage—proxied by duration of childhood on Medicaid—is positively associated with take-up, suggesting that those most in need have highest take-up rates. While prior work has focused on the relationship between individuals and single programs in isolation, we illustrate how embeddedness (both of individuals within programs and individuals within communities) can help explain patterns of incomplete benefit take-up. Those with consistent safety net attachment—continuous Medicaid enrollment and participation in other programs like food stamps—have higher take-up than those with inconsistent attachment, despite similar need. Additionally, community-level take-up among the network of one’s peers is associated with individual take-up patterns. Overall, we argue that policies to improve take-up might be more effective if safety net take-up is considered holistically rather than individually.},
}