Helping Young People Secure Access to Public Benefits [aecf.org]

By The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Image: screenshot from article, February 5, 2025

A new report iden­ti­fies proven and promis­ing approach­es for expand­ing access that teens and young adults have to the pub­lic safe­ty net pro­grams for which they qual­i­fy. Fund­ed by the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion, the Urban Insti­tute report, Strate­gies to Sup­port Young People’s Access to Pub­lic Ben­e­fits, ana­lyzes exist­ing evi­dence for what works to increase eli­gi­ble young people’s access to pub­lic ben­e­fits and pro­vides pol­i­cy, pro­gram and research rec­om­men­da­tions for advanc­ing this goal.

Pub­lic ben­e­fit pro­grams — for exam­ple, Med­ic­aid, the Sup­ple­men­tal Nutri­tion Assis­tance Pro­gram and Child Care and Devel­op­ment Fund sub­si­dies — are designed to help indi­vid­u­als and fam­i­lies with low incomes meet their basic needs, includ­ing health insur­ance, food and child care.

Dis­cov­er how New Mex­i­co expand­ed youth fund­ing through Med­ic­aid reimbursements

“In addi­tion to inform­ing pol­i­cy, prac­tice and research, these find­ings can inform the work of oth­er fun­ders work­ing to ensure young peo­ple and their fam­i­lies can meet their basic needs and pur­sue their edu­ca­tion, employ­ment and finan­cial goals,” said Jef­frey Poiri­er, a direc­tor in Casey’s Cen­ter for Eco­nom­ic Opportunity.

[Please click here for more information and to access the report.]