	Introduction

Benefits and services for low-income families have received increased attention from policymakers in recent years. However, it is more challenging to identify how these programs interact with each other and how they cumulatively provide benefits to families and individuals. Specifically, this report provides information on eligibility and benefit receipt among individuals and households in 2012 from nine major need-tested programs for which adequate data were available, listed in the order of the amount of their FY2012 federal obligations: 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); housing assistance provided through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, the public housing program, and the project-based rental assistance program (collectively referred to as "housing assistance"); Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC); special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); cash assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant; Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF); and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Eligibility for Selected Need-Tested Benefits

In 2012, the total number of people who were estimated to be eligible for at least one of the need-tested programs examined in this report was 135 million, or more than 4 in 10 persons among the nation's non-institutionalized population. Of families with children with workers, 44.6% received need-tested aid in 2012. In 2012, the annual median benefit to families who received at least one need-tested benefit was estimated to be $3,300 (i.e., half the families who received at least $1 in aid received an amount less than or equal to $3,300, the other half received more than $3,300). About one-third of all persons were estimated to receive at least some benefit from the selected need-tested programs in 2012, and the rate of benefit receipt among some groups—such as those in families with an individual with disabilities or a family with a child—was even higher. As discussed earlier, 25% of all families that received any aid received benefits of $9,027 or more. Table 11 shows the estimated composition of all families, families receiving any need-tested benefit, and families that received $9,027 or more in benefits during 2012, by family type. Because families who have an individual with disabilities and families with children collectively account for the largest share of all families that receive relatively large benefits—and also account for a large share of total spending—they are the focus in the next sections of this report of detailed examination of characteristics associated with economic well-being. For example, an estimated 38% of families with children that included a full-time, full-year worker received at least some benefit from a need-tested program. Benefit Receipt by Program

Total need-tested benefit amounts are typically higher for families that combine benefits from multiple programs than they are for families that receive benefits from only one program. Table 15 shows for families that received benefits from each of the nine programs, estimates of the median benefit total received from all programs and the median benefit from that specific program. However, not all persons eligible for need-tested benefits actually received them. Among the programs examined in this report, an estimated 70% of eligible families actually received SNAP and 65% of eligible families received WIC in 2012. However, the estimated rate of benefit receipt among eligible persons was 28% for TANF cash assistance, 22% for LIHEAP, 18% for subsidized housing, and 17% for CCDF (based on eligible children). In 2012, one in three people were estimated to have actually receive d benefits from at least one of these programs. Many of these families had characteristics not typically associated with economic disadvantage; a substantial portion of families that received aid had pre-welfare incomes above the poverty line in 2012.
Need-tested benefits have received increased attention from policymakers in recent years, as spending levels for these programs remain elevated well into the economic expansion that followed the 2007-2009 recession. While information is available on the number of people who receive benefits from individual programs, it is more challenging to examine how these programs interact and the cumulative benefits families receive from them. Case studies based on hypothetical families often show how much in benefits a family may potentially receive from multiple programs under federal and state policies. However, these case studies assume families receive all the benefits they are eligible for and receive them all year. This is often not true.
This report examines estimated benefit receipt by families from nine major need-tested benefit programs in 2012. The nine programs are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); subsidized housing assistance; the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC); the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance; the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF); and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The estimates are derived from a combination of information from a Census Bureau household survey and a model that estimates program eligibility and participation based on information from that survey.
An estimated 135 million persons, 4 in 10 persons in the noninstitutionalized population, were eligible for benefits from at least one of these programs in 2012. However, not all persons eligible for need-tested benefits actually received them. Among the programs examined in this report, an estimated 70% of eligible families actually received SNAP and 65% of eligible families received WIC in 2012. However, the estimated rate of benefit receipt among eligible persons was 28% for TANF cash assistance, 22% for LIHEAP, 18% for subsidized housing, and 17% for CCDF (based on eligible children).
An estimated 106 million persons (1 in 3 persons in the population) actually received benefits from one of these programs in 2012. Benefits were concentrated among people in families with children and families with an individual with disabilities with those two groups accounting for an estimated 78% of total benefit dollars from the selected programs. Many families that received need-tested benefits had characteristics not typically associated with economic disadvantage; a substantial portion of families that received aid had pre-welfare incomes above the poverty line in 2012. Among families with children in 2012, an estimated 45% of those who had a worker and 38% with at least one adult working full-time all year received at least one need-tested benefit.
The estimated median annual benefit amount from the nine programs in 2012 was $3,300 (i.e., half the families that received benefits received less than $3,300 and half received more). About 40% of families that received need-tested aid did so from only one of the nine selected programs.
Some families received relatively large amounts of need-tested aid. In 2012, an estimated 25% of families that received benefits from one or more of the selected programs received a total of $9,027 or more. These families accounted for two-thirds of all spending for these programs in 2012. Families with children who received $9,027 or more had characteristics indicative of a more disadvantaged population: working less than full-time all year, lacking a high school diploma, being in a family headed by a single woman, being of a racial/ethnic minority (other than Asian-American), and being in a large family.