Program Design to Ease Administrative Burden in Times of Crisis: An Evaluation of Two Emergency Aid Programs in Los Angeles
Abstract
With college students increasingly struggling to afford basic needs, emergency aid (EA) programs seek to help students overcome short-term financial hardships and improve longer-term academic success by providing small one-time grants. However, EA programs often face trade-offs between minimizing administrative burden and targeting limited resources to the highest-need students. We explore these trade-offs by analyzing the learning, psychological, and compliance costs that students face when applying for EA. Using data from two EA programs in Los Angeles, we find that the programs were able to ease burdens, especially compliance costs, and that the vast majority of EA went to high-need students.