Administrative Failures Linked to Dramatic Decline in Chicago Area Welfare Caseloads
Administrative disorganization, delays, miscommunication, and processing hassles are blocking access to the safety net that provides public benefits to eligible poor and low-income Chicago-area residents, according to a new study released by the Public Benefits Hotline Steering Committee and the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Accessing the Safety Net: Administrative Barriers to Public Benefits in Metropolitan Chicago uncovers problems limiting access to the three major benefits programs: TANF, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. A team of University of Chicago researchers analyzed records of calls to the Public Benefits Hotline for one year between August of 2002 and July of 2001, three years after Illinois initiated major changes under the rubric of welfare reform. Problems with TANF accounted for 46 percent of calls; 33 percent reported problems with Food Stamps; and 21 percent encountered difficulties with Medicaid.
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