California Makes Headway Toward Full CalFresh Enrollment for SSI Recipients

The expansion of CalFresh benefits to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in 2019 marked the most significant increase in program eligibility in decades. Thanks to dedicated advocacy from the Californians 4 SSI coalition (which CAFB co-leads) and leadership from the Legislature and Governor, we reversed a decades-old policy that excluded low-income older adults and people with disabilities from enrolling in CalFresh benefits. Partnership between SSI recipients, advocates, CalFresh application assisters, county officials, and state agency staff ensured a thoughtful and effective rollout of this change. 

We recognize that maximizing enrollment is one of the most impactful ways to reduce food insecurity among low-income older adults and individuals with disabilities in California. Therefore, efforts have continued to ensure that SSI recipients unaware of or facing barriers to applying for CalFresh are effectively connected to this vital program

Almost two-thirds of SSI Recipients Now Benefit from CalFresh

More than 725,500 SSI recipients (64%) in California can now purchase food with CalFresh, with annualized benefits totaling $1.24 billion. Enrollment increased by 3% (~19,300 people) compared to the last time we analyzed enrollment figures in February 2023. On average, program participants received $154 per person per month, $8 higher than last year’s average benefit. This uptick in participation and benefit levels not only supports SSI recipients, but also farmers, retailers, and local economies where these benefits are being spent.

But, enrollment remains below the national average.

California’s CalFresh enrollment rate among SSI recipients (64%) remains below the national average (68%, excluding California).  Increasing California’s enrollment rate to 68% would give 47,430 people an estimated $87 million in new food assistance annually, generating an additional $158 million in economic impact for the local economy. Were California to become a top 10 state for CalFresh enrollment of SSI recipients (e.g. 80%+), the impact would be much higher. One county (San Francisco) has already exceeded that rate; CAFB believes through outreach strategies and partnerships, that it is possible statewide.

Outreach and in-reach strategies need to be targeted to improve equity. 

Some SSI sub-populations are enrolled at notably lower rates than others. The largest group with a major gap in enrollment rates is Spanish speakers, followed by people with disabilities 18-59. Our updated dashboard shows the top 10 enrollment counties for under-enrolled SSI recipient populations and summaries of enrollment opportunities for under-enrolled recipients throughout the state. 

The Path to Full Enrollment

Full CalFresh enrollment of eligible SSI recipients will require dedicated efforts in outreach, policy refinement, and operational improvement. These short- and long-term recommendations are largely focused on areas that will need strong leadership from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the California legislature, as well as federal partners at the USDA and Congress, in partnership with county administrators and advocates.

1. Set our sights on becoming a leading state for SSI enrollment in CalFresh benefits.

Currently, 20% of states have enrollment rates of 80% or higher for SSI recipients. The state should maintain the momentum of the past five years of excellent enrollment work and set an attainable but ambitious target.

2. Invest in targeted outreach and support for enrollment of Spanish-speaking SSI recipients.

Enrollment of Spanish speakers has increased over the last year, but remains troublingly low. Successful enrollment of Spanish-speaking SSI recipients will require targeted communications campaigns along with culturally-relevant application assistance, and trusted presence in the community.

3. Strengthen support for targeted outreach and in-reach strategies in under-enrolled communities.

Enrollment rates of SSI recipients continue to vary significantly by county. CDSS should work with counties with enrollment rates below the national average to address barriers to SSI recipient enrollment. This can include urging counties to focus on data matching and other in-reach strategies that target enrollment efforts across programs (In-Home Supportive Services, MediCal), mail postcards to people from low enrolled populations and zip codes, as well as finding opportunities for counties and outreach contractors to share best practices with each other. CDSS should also offer technical assistance to make in-reach strategies a reality, if needed.

4. Pursue all avenues to maximize simplified enrollment at Social Security Administration (SSA) touch points.

In comparison to people in other states, SSI recipients are at a structural disadvantage for CalFresh program access. CDSS should pursue several policy and technology changes to address this:

• Advocate for Food and Nutrition Services to reopen Combined Application Project applications, allowing for enrollment automation via state data exchange.
• Encourage counties to review the often low rate of SSI CalFresh enrollments from local SSA offices and strengthen partnerships and protocols to ensure consistent implementation of required SSA onramps.

5. Improve application design shortcomings that cause procedural denials; Address denials from technology migration.

CalFresh application denial rates for the SSI population have often been as low as 15%, but have been climbing in recent years, often with increasing rates of procedural denials. Recent technology migrations have coincided with a major uptick in denials. The CalSAWS Project team, who run the backend statewide case management system, known as the California’s Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS), and the public facing website for applying for many public benefits (BenefitsCal) should:

• Prioritize making improvements to California’s BenefitsCal system for older adults and people with disabilities, who often face higher barriers to successfully navigating online application platforms.
• Reach out to applicants who may have been denied due to heightened access barriers during county migrations to CalSAWS.

For additional details, please check out these resources:

• Read the two-page summary here.
• Use the interactive data dashboard here. 
• Read our 2024 Goldman School of Public Policy report here for more information about challenges and best practices for increasing participation.
• Read our 2022 report here for more information about the multi-stakeholder planning and implementation.