Policy & Practice | Summer 2023

partnering for impact

By Amelia O’Rourke-Owens

How State Administrators Can Protect and Empower Families: Insights from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

T he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a 21st-century agency that helps consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empow ering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. Recently, the CFPB assessed the challenges public benefits recipients encounter when accessing their benefits payments through program cards and other financial products. Federal government programs provide support to eligible individuals and families during life’s inevitable ups and downs, for instance, to eligible older adults via Social Security, qualified children and families via Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), individuals with disabilities via Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and individuals who are recently unem ployed via Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Given the often-acute needs of the populations who receive and rely on this support, full and timely access is often critical. The CFPB recognizes the vital role human services professionals play in administering complex public benefits programs and is actively engaging with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and state and local administrators to better understand how to best support recipients. Recently, the CFPB was invited to join an APHSA call with state administrators to discuss the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

received, and (3) inadequate customer service from card providers. The CFPB also found these issues compound; often, when consumers faced one issue, their difficulties were exacerbated by the intersection of other obstacles. While program cards can benefit con sumers and government agencies alike, via speedier access to funds or cost efficient distribution, there can also be disadvantages for recipients using these cards. For example, some program card providers charge numerous fees, such as maintenance, balance inquiry, customer service, or ATM fees that chip away at the client’s benefits. Offering consumers an opportunity to elect direct deposit may provide lower-cost access to benefits as some checking accounts may be a less expensive alter native than program cards.

Program (SNAP) and TANF, front-line staff training, and the ways states have been served by their respective public benefits products and their delivery. The CFPB has subsequently heard from human services administrators across the country about their experi ences of distributing public benefits by card and direct deposit. These engage ments have provided the CFPB a clearer understanding about the many roles state and county administrators play in successfully managing their programs. The CFPB remains inter ested in hearing more from state and local administrators on this issue. In researching mechanisms to deliver benefits payments, the CFPB identi fied three common challenges across multiple program cards. The themes were (1) numerous and sometimes high fees for basic financial services, (2) limited options in how payments were

See CFPB on page 50

Illustration by Chris Campbell

10

Policy & Practice Summer 2023