Run a Household Through the Safety Net

POSC 459 — Social Welfare Politics and Policy
Week 6 · Wednesday, September 30

No class meeting. Click through these slides and do the exercise.
Due tonight, 11:59 p.m.

Today, instead of class
What Run one hypothetical household through two benefit screeners
Time About 45 minutes
Turn in 2 screenshots + 150–250 words
Points 10 (attendance and participation)
Due Tonight, 11:59 p.m., on Canvas

Why do this?

  • Every eligibility question is a rule about who deserves help
  • Today you meet those rules the way a family does: one question at a time
  • What you find is evidence for Paper 2, due Friday

The two programs

EITC CalFresh (SNAP)
What Tax credit, paid as a refund Money for food, on an EBT card
For Low- and moderate-income workers Low-income households
Run by IRS USDA, through the counties
Reaches 19% of Americans 14% of Americans

Shares: Desmond, p. 93. CalFresh is California's name for SNAP.

Find your household

Your last name Your household
A–H A: single parent, two children
I–R B: married couple, one child
S–Z C: full-time CSUF student

Use the household, not yourself.

Household A · last names A–H
Who Single parent, 31. Children ages 4 and 9
Work 30 hours a week at $17.50
Income $27,300 a year = $2,275 a month
Home Anaheim. Rent $1,800, utilities included
Taxes Head of household. Kids lived at home all year
Also U.S. citizens with Social Security numbers. No other income, savings, or child care costs

Household B · last names I–R
Who Married couple, 34 and 32. One child, age 6
Work One parent works. The other stays home
Income $40,000 a year = $3,333 a month
Home Fullerton. Rent $2,200, utilities included
Taxes Married filing jointly. Child lived at home all year
Also U.S. citizens with Social Security numbers. No other income, savings, or child care costs

Household C · last names S–Z
Who Age 21, no children. Full-time CSUF student (12 units)
Work 12 hours a week at $16.90
Income 2025 wages: $10,296. Now: $879 a month
Home Fullerton apartment. Rent share $900, utilities included. Buys food separately from roommates
Taxes Files as single. Parents do not claim them
Also U.S. citizen with a Social Security number. No Cal Grant, work-study, or EOP

Three rules before you start

  • Hypothetical household only. Never your own information
  • Never enter a name, address, phone, email, or SSN
  • Never start an application. These are screeners

A site asks for personal information? Stop. Screenshot that page and use it.

Step 1 · IRS EITC Assistant

apps.irs.gov/app/eitc

  1. Tax year: 2025
  2. Answer every question as your household
  3. Not on your household card? Take the simple answer: no
  4. Screenshot the result page

About 10 minutes. No login, no personal information.

Step 2 · CalFresh screener

benefitscal.com → Ask Robin → See if I qualify

  1. County: Orange
  2. Household size: A = 3 · B = 3 · C = 1
  3. Income: the monthly figure on your card
  4. People working: 1
  5. Screenshot the result

About 5 minutes. Robin says whether you may qualify, not how much.

While you click, keep a list

  • Every question each screener asked
  • The one that decided your result
  • One it never asked that you expected

Step 3 · Write 150–250 words

  1. What does your household get from each program?
  2. Which question decided the most? What does it assume about who deserves help?
  3. What did a screener not ask, and why might that matter?

Name one reading if it fits (Howard, Campbell, or Desmond, with a page).

Step 4 · Submit on Canvas

Week 6 module → "Run a Household Through the Safety Net"

  • Two screenshots (EITC + CalFresh)
  • Your 150–250 words

Upload as one file or several. Due tonight, 11:59 p.m.

How it's graded
10 points Both screenshots + 150–250 words that answer the questions
Site broken? Screenshot the error and write anyway. Full credit
AI Green: allowed, no disclosure needed

Questions: email me. No office hour Thursday.

What happens next

Fri 10/2: Paper 2 due, 11:59 p.m.

Mon 10/5: we put households A, B, and C side by side

Same programs. Three very different answers.