Safety Net Support Use in California (ACCESS)

August 22, 2022 updated by: University of California, Berkeley

Assessing Californians Communities' Experiences With Safety Net Supports Survey

The investigator's goal is to promote equity by understanding the drivers of disparities in access to income support, particularly among urban and rural Latinx, African American, and white populations in California (CA). This study aims to capture levels of awareness, barriers to uptake, and the benefits of participation in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families, among households with children ages 0-5 years old. To achieve this goal, the investigators will conduct a mixed-methods, cross-sectional, descriptive study in three diverse counties in California: Los Angeles (urban, nearly half Latinx), Alameda (urban, ethnically diverse), and Merced (rural, predominantly Latinx and white).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Using both focus groups and survey interviews, the investigators will recruit parents of young children (ages 0-5) eligible for the EITC (confirmed with screening questions regarding age, family size, marital status, and income) who either: 1) have utilized the program, or 2) have not utilized the program (do not file taxes or filed taxes but have not filed for EITC benefits). For the first group, the investigators will probe the value of the EITC benefits for their families, what experiences they had filing their taxes and receiving the benefit, how they spent the EITC benefits, and their thoughts about alternative approaches for benefit delivery that would better support their families. For the second group, the investigators aim to understand what they have heard of the program, why they may not have taken advantage of the benefits, and their recommendations for making the program more accessible. The investigators will also explore how EITC take-up varies by demographic variables, such as county of residence, income, and race/ethnicity, as well as children's and parents' characteristics, and enrollment in other programs designed to support low-income families with young children. The investigators will also ask questions about families' experiences with COVID-19 and related mitigation strategies (e.g. school closures, etc). As described in greater detail below, all data collection activities will be conducted in partnership with agencies such as WIC and Head Start, and through partnerships with the University of California Cooperative Extension program and other similar agencies.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

501

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • California
      • Berkeley, California, United States, 94704
        • UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Families living with low-income, in three selected counties in California

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Parents of children 0-6
  • Lives in Alameda, Merced of Los Angeles counties
  • Income below certain cut-offs

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Poverty: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Income Assets Food insecurity (USDA 6-Item Food Security Module, range=0-6 with 0=high food security and 6=very low food security) Food resources
Baseline
Employment: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Employment type and status over the past year, earned/unearned income, transfers
Baseline
Safety net participation and perceptions of participation: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Safety net program participation & enrollment in programs, such as Special Supplemental for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Unemployment Insurance, Medi-Cal, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Covered CA, and paid sick leave and other poverty alleviation programs, perceived barriers, amount of benefits received, stigma (Welfare Stigma Scale: 6-item Treatment Welfare Stigma Scale, a multiple choice format questionnaire, possible scores 6-30, with 30 representing high stigma towards participating in welfare programs from other individuals.)
Baseline
Mental health: survey
Time Frame: Baseline

CES-D - Center for Epidemiologic Studies- Depression scale (Depression Scale: 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), a multiple choice format questionnaire, possible scores 0-30, with 30 representing a high risk of depression diagnosis.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale: 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), a multiple choice format questionnaire, possible scores 0-21, with 21 representing a high risk of generalized anxiety diagnosis.

Baseline
Physical Health: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Adult and child self-rated health, comparing self-rated health to 12 months ago, occurrence of health, developmental, emotional, or behavioral problem.
Baseline
Health care utilization: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Health care utilization, insurance, concerns about affording healthcare, last visit with a healthcare provider, delays in receiving healthcare, forgoing healthcare.
Baseline
COVID-19-related questions
Time Frame: Baseline
Effect on employment and income, essential worker, childcare/schooling, shelter-in-place, housing stability and changes, experiences with racial discrimination, risk for contracting COVID-19, ability to self-isolate, ability to partake in behaviors to prevent spread of COVID-19. Questions pulled from two different surveys: The Epidemic/Pandemic Questionnaire and COVID-19 Community Outcome Surveys.
Baseline
Tax Credit Question
Time Frame: Baseline
Self-perceived awareness, eligibility, participation, sources of information, intended vs actual spending patterns of Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), CA EITC, Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), and federal child tax credit (CTC), resources used to file taxes, reasons for participation or lack of participation
Baseline
2018 and 2019 Tax Return Data: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Awareness of tax filing deadline changes, tax filing status, number of dependents, EITC receipt, amount of EITC received, adjusted gross income, federal CTC receipt, amount of federal CTC received CA EITC receipt, amount of CA EITC receipt, YCTC receipt, amount of YCTC received.
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Racial discrimination: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Perception of safety, major experiences of racial discrimination, minor experiences of racial discrimination. Questions pulled from Major Experiences of Discrimination Scale and Racial Microaggressions Scale.
Baseline
Housing: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Housing status, house ownership/characteristics, current living situation, access to bathrooms, housing crowding, housing quality, cross streets, zip code, rent payment amount, frequency of rent payments, rental assistance program participation, trouble paying utilities, living in a "doubled up" arrangement, letting others live with them in a "doubled up" arrangement, history of homelessness in childhood, history of homelessness in adulthood
Baseline
Attitudinal variables: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Attitudes about public assistance, civic engagement, role of government
Baseline
Food insecurity: survey
Time Frame: Baseline

Food Insecurity Survey: 6-item Food Insecurity Scale, a multiple choice format questionnaire, possible scores 0-6, with 6 representing very low food insecurity.

Food Insecurity Survey - Kids Module: 9 additional questions to assess childrens' food insecurity.

Self-perceived food insecurity comparison to 12 months ago Changes in food-related habits. Questions pulled from United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition.

Baseline
Housing-related changes from Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Ability to pay rent, application to emergency housing money, reasons for not applying to emergency funding, number of moves, reasons for moves (e.g. difficulty paying rent, eviction), knowledge of eviction moratoriums, legal assistance seeking behavior
Baseline
Demographic information: survey
Time Frame: Baseline
Gender, age, education level, race/ethnicity, marital status, number of children, birthplace, language spoken at home. Questions were pulled from National Health Interview Survey.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 21, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

July 24, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 24, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 22, 2022

Last Verified

August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 048228-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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