In this clip from WPTF Morning News, I sit down with Tony Riggsbee to discuss Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy’s (IFPG) new report. North Carolina is one of nine states included in the study, which analyzes what individuals and families need to go through to qualify for SNAP, TANF and Medicaid.

We discuss how in North Carolina residents must apply separately for SNAP, TANF and Medicaid — each with its own lengthy application and periodic eligibility recertifications:

— Medicaid: 20 pages + recertification after 6–12 months

— SNAP: 8 pages, plus 2 pages of instructions + recertification after 6 months

— TANF: 10 pages

Once applications are submitted, residents must still wait for an interview. But deep funding cuts by the Republican-led legislature have led to even longer wait times, making it harder than to access these essential benefits.

The result? Residents face unnecessary barriers when trying to meet their most basic needs — and public trust suffers because of it.