Joshua Leftin studies nutrition assistance programs, focusing on their implementation, participation, and impacts. He has played key roles on evaluations of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
Leftin leads an evaluation examining SNAP benefit and eligibility parameters and their alignment with actual expenses of low-income households. He has also worked extensively on annual federal microsimulation and related SNAP data analyses to produce reports on characteristics of SNAP households as well as national and state participation rates. His quick-turnaround simulations and analyses have been instrumental to help policymakers estimate the distributional and cost impacts of proposed SNAP reforms. He has also studied efforts to better reach the underserved elderly and working poor, examined the SNAP Employment and Training program, and developed improvements for SNAP participation surveys.
Before joining Mathematica in 2008, Leftin held positions at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and ICF International. He holds an M.P.P. and M.A. in economics from Georgetown University.
The demonstration of Direct Certification with Medicaid for Free and Reduced-Price Meals (DCM-F/RP) allows authorized States and school districts to use information from Medicaid data files to identify students eligible to receive meals under the NSLP and SBP for free or at a reduced price.
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