We are a statewide policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of low income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious, affordable food.

Program Access Index (PAI)

CFPA's Program Access Index (PAI) estimates CalFresh utilization among
low-income individuals in each of California's 58 counties.

CFPA Primary Contact

Tia Shimada
Nutrition Policy Advocate
Oakland Office
510.433.1122
tia@cfpa.net

CalFresh Resources

For more on CalFresh, visit our
CalFresh page.

Measuring County CalFresh Performance in 2010

Press Releases

County-specific press releases are available here:

Full Report

Meauring County CalFresh Performance in 2010: The Program Access Index PDF

Please note that the methodology used to generate the 2010 Program Access Index (PAI) differs from the methodology used in years past. This adjustment was necessary due to a change in available data sources. For full details, please see the Methodology section of the full report.

County Data Tables

Tables showing the PAI for all California counties are available below.

What is the PAI?

The PAI estimates CalFresh utilization among low-income individuals. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) produces an annual state-level PAI. The PAI provided on this page is a county-level analysis modeled on the USDA methodology. As shown in the general formula below, the county-level PAI estimates CalFresh utilization among individuals who meet three eligibility criteria:

  • Income below 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG)1
  • No participation in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)2, and
  • No receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI)3

PAI Equation

The PAI incorporates only three CalFresh eligibility criteria. Therefore, it is not a participation rate that measure CalFresh utilization among fully-eligible individuals. However, the PAI can help illuminate county-level differences in CalFresh administration and utilization.

Comparing the PAI and State Participation Rates

Each year, USDA releases SNAP/CalFresh participation rates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These participation rates are complex estimates of SNAP/CalFresh utilization among eligible individuals. The rates take into account several criteria for food stamp eligibility, including income, household resources, receipt of SSI, and citizenship/immigration status.4 In comparison, the PAI takes into account three CalFresh criteria: income, FDPIR participation, and SSI status.

State participation rates for any given year are typically released two years following. In comparison, the PAI can be calculated within one year.

Using the PAI

USDA state participation rates may be the best available estimates of CalFresh utilization among fully-eligible individuals. However, the rates are calculated as statewide measures and have limited relevance at the county level. USDA does not calculate county-level participation rates. Because CalFresh policies and practices vary across California counties, a county-level indicator of utilization and administrative performance is necessary. The PAI is one such indicator.

The PAI can be used to draw comparisons of CalFresh performance between counties and between counties and the state. The tables below include county rankings. The county ranked number one has the highest estimated CalFresh utilization relative to the total number of income-eligible individuals who do not participate in FDPIR or receive SSI.

The county-level PAI is not designed to establish trends of county performance or CalFresh utilization over time. There are two primary challenges with using the PAI in this manner:

  1. Methodological approaches may change over time, altering the comparability of PAI estimates calculated before and after each change.
  2. Income data from the American Community Survey are used to calculate the PAI. These data have a given level of precision expressed as a margin of error. Margins of error can make it difficult to distinguish true trends from variations inherent to the methods used for collecting and analyzing survey data.

PAI Tables

The tables below show the PAI for all 58 California counties and include county rankings. The number-one-ranked county has the highest CalFresh utilization relative to the total number of income-eligible individuals who do not participate in FDPIR or receive SSI.5

Table 1 lists the counties alphabetically. Table 2 lists the counties by PAI rank.

Printable version of Tables 1 and 2 PDF

Table 1: PAI for all Counties Listed Alphabetically

PAI table with counties listed alphabetically

Table 2: PAI for all Counties Listed by Rank

PAI table with counties listed by rank

Table notes 1-2: The PAI is listed here with three significant digits. However, the PAI used to calculate the county ranking contained 15 significant digits. Viewed with four significant digits, San Bernardino County’s PAI is 0.6593 and Lassen County's PAI is 0.6950. Thus, their respective ranks are 8 and 9. Similarly, Nevada County’s PAI is 0.3804 and San Francisco County’s PAI is 0.3795.

_______________________

1 Eligibility criteria for CalFresh allow participants to have incomes up to 130 percent of FPG. However, annual county-level estimates are not available for the number of individuals with incomes below 130 percent of FPG. Therefore, having an income below 125 percentof FPG is used as a proxy for CalFresh income eligibility. The use of this proxy may underestimate the number of individuals who are income-eligible for CalFresh.

2 FDPIR participants are not eligible for CalFresh.

3 In California, SSI recipients are not eligible for CalFresh.

4 The USDA state participation rates do not take into account FDPIR participation or “people eligible solely through State categorical eligibility policies.” Please see the USDA report Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Participation Rates in 2009. PDF

5 For Tables 1 and 2, all Supplemental Security Income (SSI) participants are subtracted from the population of individuals who are income-eligible for CalFresh. An adjunct set of PAI tables, for which the estimated SSI population with income below 125 percent of FPG is subtracted from the population of individuals who are income-eligible for CalFresh, is appended in the full report. PDF