REPORT: Text campaigns can help states increase public benefit participation

Results of a pilot program conducted by the Maryland Department of Human Services suggest that text message campaigns are an important lever that state agencies can utilize to increase enrollment across benefit programs and, ultimately, better serve families. 

A mobile-first approach to resident outreach demonstrated the potential for state agencies to effectively reach vulnerable populations and link them with government services aimed at reducing hunger and poverty, according to an impact report released last month by mRelief, a nonprofit that helps people nationwide apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

The report evaluated the Maryland Department of Human Services pilot in partnership with mRelief that explored how SMS text messages could impact cross-enrollment of benefit programs in the state. 

“The insights generated through this partnership can also inform similar cross-enrollment strategies in other states seeking to strengthen participation in nutrition programs and better connect families to the benefits they are eligible to receive,” the report reads. 

The initiative launched last year after Maryland leaders realized there was an enrollment gap between its SUN Bucks program, which offers families with school-aged children financial assistance to purchase groceries during the summer, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Indeed, only 51% of SUN Bucks beneficiaries were also enrolled in SNAP in 2024, “despite significant overlap in eligibility criteria,” the report states.

Agency staff believed such gaps persisted in part due to language barriers and challenges connecting with hard-to-reach or otherwise isolated communities, according to the report.  

In a bid to mitigate those challenges, MDDHS and mRelief launched an SMS outreach campaign in September that ultimately increased SNAP enrollment by 2,700 households and unlocked an estimated $5.5 million in federal food assistance. 

To do that, mRelief leveraged the state’s existing enrollment data to send texts to 194,402 unique phone numbers that were enrolled in SUN Bucks but not SNAP. The texts encouraged SUN Bucks recipients to complete the organization’s SNAP eligibility screener. There were 170,707 successful deliveries, and 55% of targeted households — up from 52% the prior year — completed the screener, according to the report. 

More than 40% of those who completed the screener were deemed “likely eligible” for SNAP benefits, and people who fit into that category were then prompted to apply for the program through the state’s benefit portal. 

The report recommends several additional action steps that Maryland could implement to further drive enrollment and program engagement. MDDHS could integrate SNAP-related materials with SUN Bucks content to prompt residents to learn more about the former program earlier in the enrollment process. For example, the agency could include a QR code or referral link on SUN Bucks webpages that directs users to the SNAP eligibility screener. 

“Embedding eligibility tools directly into existing program experiences such as SUN Bucks creates a more seamless pathway for families to access benefits and allows states to operationalize cross-enrollment as a standard part of program delivery rather than a one-time outreach campaign,” the report reads. 

The agency could then deploy automated follow-up text messages to beneficiaries reminding them to apply for SNAP, based on their SUN Bucks program application or enrollment. According to the report, this approach “would eliminate the need for labor-intensive data processing and provide a more client-centric approach, compared to a one-time high-volume SMS campaign.” 

MDDHS should also consider gathering more user data to inform further expansions or improvements to outreach campaigns, the report suggests. Indeed, the agency and mRelief had limited language preference data before implementing the pilot program, preventing them from identifying Spanish-speaking households in advance. 

“Identifying opportunities to collect language preference data near or during the enrollment process would also expand opportunities for SMS outreach,” the report reads. Such information can position the agency to develop targeted communications to populations that speak a language other than English and may be underrepresented in outreach initiatives. 

In fact, the organizations launched “small-scale message tests” to determine how to move forward with the SMS campaign with language accessibility in mind. For instance, program administrators found that fully bilingual texts that included both an English and Spanish translation yielded higher engagement rates among Spanish-speaking clients. 

Ultimately, the agency’s SMS campaign “demonstrated that cross-enrollment strategies where populations are targeted based on current program enrollment are highly effective,” according to the report. 

MDDHS could consider additional benefits programs to weave into its cross-enrollment strategies, such as the state’s Medicaid or Emergency Assistance for Families with Children programs, due to their high crossover in eligibility requirements, access to enrollment data and compatibility with SMS outreach, the report states.