Testimony: Reforms to Improve Public Benefits Access

Testimony: Reforms to Improve Public Benefits Access

Jennifer HinojosaDebipriya Chatterjee

Before the NYC Council General Welfare Committee

Thank you to Chairperson Ayala and to all the members of the General Welfare Committee for the opportunity to submit this written testimony. My name is Jennifer Hinojosa, and I am a policy analyst at the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), a long-time nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of low-income New Yorkers using research, advocacy, and direct services. Together with my colleague Debipriya Chatterjee, a senior economist at CSS, we are pleased to share findings from our recent research and to highlight some of the core challenges within our public benefits system that are adversely impacting New Yorkers.

Barriers to Accessing Public Benefits

The Community Service Society of New York's statewide Annual Survey of Housing and Economic Security, conducted in the fall of 2024, provides valuable insights into the struggles households face across the state-including people's experiences interacting with the public benefits system. We'd like to share several key findings from that survey.

1. Nearly three out of five benefit recipients (57 percent) reported facing significant challenges when applying for and receiving benefits. The most commonly cited obstacles included:

• A perception that the application process was too slow or that processing times were too long
• Confusion about eligibility and paperwork requirements
• Difficulty accessing physical office locations
• Challenges navigating digital applications and online forms.

Notably, accessing a physical location was a major challenge for seniors, while households unable to afford high-speed internet were more likely to struggle with online portions of the process.

2. Across all benefits-WIC, SNAP, SSI, childcare vouchers, and others-around 10 percent reported that they had applied for the benefit but did not receive it.

3. When asked about their mode of application, online applications were most popular, followed by in-person applications, with phone applications being the least popular.

We had highlighted these accessibility issues in our June 2024 report on hardships in The Bronx. We published this report last year when a public benefits office in Mount Eden ceased operations, relocating some services to a location requiring an additional 5-mile or 25-minute journey via public transit.

We would like to commend Commissioner Park and the City administration for recent improvements in SNAP processing times, which are up from around 40 percent in the summer of 2024 to nearly 90 percent today.

Administrative challenges not only make it take longer to receive benefits, they also often cause recipients to lose their benefits. Our survey shows that 15 percent of all potential recipients lost benefits over the last year, mostly due to incomplete or incorrect paperwork and failing to apply by the due date. If the City strengthens support infrastructure to help recipients complete their paperwork and submit applications on time, we would be able to help more New Yorkers access and retain the benefits they need.

The Impact of the Benefits Cliff

In addition to access issues, our survey sheds light on the harmful effects of the "benefit cliff"-when even a small increase in income causes a steep drop in benefits, often leaving the recipient worse off than before. Unfortunately, few public assistance programs are designed to support a gradual transition toward economic stability. Instead, benefits often end abruptly at specific income or asset thresholds, creating disincentives for recipients to earn more. As a result, many are locked in a chronic state of economic insecurity and denied a fair opportunity to improve their circumstances.

For example, if a new job offers a $2/hour raise, but causes someone to lose eligibility for childcare vouchers worth up to $2250 per month, it is only rational for the recipient to turn down the raise. The problem is compounded by the complexity of siloed benefit programs with varying eligibility criteria-where even small income increases can have cascading negative effects on multiple programs.

Our survey shows that approximately one-third of benefits recipients were compelled to take steps to avoid losing their benefits. These actions included some combination of working fewer hours, passing up a promotion, turning down a higher paying job, or deciding against entering the workforce. Among those who took such actions, 38 percent were already working either full- or part-time-highlighting the real constraints the benefit cliff imposes on working families.

Food Insecurity and the Role of Food Pantries

We'd also like to highlight the growing role of local food pantries that serve as a critical lifeline for New Yorkers facing food insecurity. According to our survey, one in four New York City residents (24 percent) reported skipping meals, going hungry, or relying on emergency food resources- such as food pantries, soup kitchens, or meal programs-within the past year. Among food pantry users, 43 percent were Hispanic and over half (53 percent) were families with young children. Food pantries serve as a critical support system for those receiving insufficient public benefits and those who are ineligible for public assistance programs.

Despite the demonstrated need, the Preliminary FY 2026 Budget includes concerning reductions to essential food security programs, such as funding for the Community Food Connection ($31.9 million) and Groceries to Go ($5.2 million). According to the New York City Independent Budget Office's report, Community Food Connection-funded food pantries served 8.4 million individuals in the last quarter of 2024, suggesting their importance to New Yorkers. Due to an 83 percent rise in emergency food visits from 2019 to 2024, NYC's emergency food system is under unprecedented strain.

We strongly urge the Council to:

• Increase funding to $100 million for Community Food Connection (CFC) to meet the growing demand for food assistance across NYC.
• Restore FY 2025 City Council initiatives that remain unfunded in the preliminary FY 2026 budget, including:
  • $8.26 million for food pantries,
  • $2.13 million for Access to Health Food and Nutritional Education (which funds farmers markets, urban farms, community gardens, and programs to expand the use of SNAP benefits), and
  • $1.5 million for the Food Access and Benefits Initiatives (HRA).

Conclusion

This City budget comes at an inflection point. We can choose to invest heavily in our safety net programs-expanding benefits, improving delivery experience, and increasing access to assistance for all. Or we can ignore the urgency of the moment and stand by helplessly as billions of dollars in federal spending cuts inflict unimaginable suffering on our fellow residents.

Thank you for this opportunity to share these findings. Please reach out to Jhinojosa@cssny.org if you have any questions.

Issues Covered

Economic Mobility & Security

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