This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free school meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs. 

This study describes some of the choices state agencies made as they exercised the flexibility offered during the implementation and describes the resulting food packages.

The Food Stamp Program uses an asset test (also called a resource test) to target food assistance benefits to the neediest households. This report is one of a series presenting the asset and vehicle holdings of low-income households.

This analysis explores patterns of permanent benefit removal in Texas, Arizona, and Wisconsin, three states where EBT is the primary method of benefit distribution, but where there are low percentages of elderly. The findings suggest that a relatively small number of food stamp participants do not access their benefits for extended periods.