Robert Goerge, Principal Investigator
2009

Although a host of employment support programs exist to support families in their efforts to achieve self-sufficiency, including the child care subsidy program, the Food Stamp Program, the Employment Income Tax Credit, employment and training programs, the State Child Health Insurance Program, and the Women, Infants and Children Special Nutritional Program, government officials and advocates have for many years been concerned about the low take-up of these employment support programs. Over the years, states have made significant efforts to improve take-up, but these efforts have been hampered, in part, by the lack of detailed information at the local level on program utilization.

By integrating individual-level U.S. Census Bureau survey data with individual-level social program administrative data from Chapin Hall’s Integrated Database on Child and Family Programs in Illinois, Chapin Hall is developing a comprehensive model of employment support program eligibility and take-up. The resulting dataset will include a representative sample of all families at the smallest geographic level possible.

Researchers will examine individual, family, household, and neighborhood characteristics that affect program take-up; the conditions under which low-income families utilize these programs; and the effect of participation in these programs on employment.

This work is based on a partnership among the Illinois state agencies responsible for human services and employment, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Chapin Hall.