JSIT23-05: Exploring Disability and Social Welfare Participation through the Lens of Food Insecurity

Households with disability (HWD) experience elevated rates of food insecurity compared to those without disability and represent a special case of need when it comes to addressing gaps in household well-being. HWD often face the dual challenge of a higher level of financial resources needed to meet an adequate standard of living and a higher administrative burden when accessing the array of social welfare programs that could help meet this need. This study examines the relationship between disability and social welfare program participation and explores how it differs by household-level need, as measured by food security status. This paper answers: 1) whether program participation differs for HWD; 2) how factors that influence selection into program participation vary across disability status; and 3) whether there is variation in participation by household food security status.
Although HWD participate in social welfare programs at significantly higher rates than households without disability, there are not meaningful differences across disability status in the theorized selection factors predicting social welfare program participation. Moreover, when stratifying participation by food security status, differences in participation rates across disability status become smaller and less significant for more severe levels of food insecurity. While unable to prove administrative burden as the cause, together with theory, results plausibly suggest that those with the greatest need for social welfare programs (i.e., very low food secure households with disability) may have more difficulty accessing certain social welfare programs than counterparts without disability or with higher food security.