Administrative burdens: inequitable burdens, inequitable access.

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel considers the role that administrative burdens can play in hindering access to public benefits and programs, particularly for underrepresented groups.  Scholarly work around administrative burdens has been widely applied to evaluate the accessibility and efficiency of a variety of public programs, including university completion grants, Social Security, and Medicaid, to better understand the costs incurred by recipients when attempting to access the benefits of these programs.  

In the first paper, Jessie Harney (University of Colorado) and co-authors aim to understand public perceptions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) access for system-involved populations. While most states have since removed or modified these bans, SNAP has been historically barred for individuals with drug-related felony convictions. Most modifications construct either elevated administrative burden in accessing the program or more narrowly-defined categories of eligibility based on conviction history. Thus, PRWORA serves as a mechanism for constructing this impacted population as a separate administrative category . This study aims to experimentally test whether exposure to policy language of modified SNAP bans for individuals with previous drug-related felonies impacts public perceptions of deservingness. Additionally, this study tests whether exposure to the perspective of a system-involved recipient impacts perceptions of deservingness and beliefs that the government should reduce burdens in safety net access. 

In paper two, Michael Hill (University of the Pacific) and colleagues examine California’s Cross-Enrollment policy, a postsecondary enrollment opportunity defined in the Education Code that allows community college students to take classes at public 4-year universities at a nominal cost prior to matriculation.  Despite positive evidence on the benefits of cross-enrollment, the administrative burdens associated with navigating the application and registration processes required to successfully cross-enroll create a significant barrier for students wishing to participate.

In paper three, Jaeyoung Nam and colleagues examine gender differences in burden in California’s GetCalFresh (California version of food stamps) program.  The authors analyze the associations between gender and self-reported burden (learning, compliance, and psychological costs), finding that women experience fewer burdens than did men, particularly learning and compliance costs, in models that account for age, household size, whether the individual has stable housing, whether the individual received assistance with the application, and whether the household includes non-citizens and children.  

In the fourth and final paper, Isaac Sederbaum examines the limitations created by binary definitions of gender when assessing the impact of administrative burdens.  Binary definitions disregard the experiences of gender-expansive individuals during citizen-state interactions, effectively ignoring the disproportionate impact of burdens on this population.  This mixed-method study of transgender and nonbinary adults who considered applying for or applied for SNAP, Medicaid, and Unemployment Insurance, fills this gap in the literature.

This panel is chaired by Xunfei Li (UCI), an expert in postsecondary education student support policies and barriers to student success. Discussant Carolyn Heinrich (Vanderbildt) will provide perspectives on these works as well as their implications for public administration and policy implementation.

Policy Area

• Public and Nonprofit Management and Finance

Chair

• XunFei Li, University of California, Irvine

Discussant

• Carolyn J. Heinrich, Vanderbilt University

Organizer

• Michael Hill, University of the Pacific

Individual Presentations

• Clarity Conundrum: Policy Language & Perspectives' Impacts on Perceptions of Safety Net Access for System-Involved Populations - Presenting Author: Jessie Harney, Colorado State University

• Administrative Burdens in Higher Education: A deep-dive into California’s Cross-enrollment policy. - Presenting Author: Michael Hill, University of the Pacific

• Gender Disparities in Administrative Burden - Presenting Author: Jaeyeong Nam, Kyung Hee University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Pamela Herd, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jeremy Barofsky, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Eric Giannella, Georgetown University

• Normative Sexual Citizens: Administrative Burden, Citizen-State Interactions, and Transgender People in the US - Presenting Author: Isaac Sederbaum, University of California, Berkeley