Staff

Clay Fannin

Researcher

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Dr. Clay Fannin is a Researcher at Chapin Hall. He has expertise in program evaluation and quantitative analysis, specializing in applying quasi-experimental methods to public and administrative data to evaluate the design and implementation of U.S. social policy. Fannin partners with child welfare stakeholders to develop and evaluate prevention-focused strategies aimed at improving outcomes for children and families. In his current work, he is examining the relationship between prevention spending and child welfare outcomes and supporting data analytics efforts to inform the implementation of community pathway programs.

Before joining Chapin Hall, Fannin was a National Poverty Fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in residence at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There, he studied child support, safety net participation, benefit cliffs, family structure, and family well-being using quantitative methods and microsimulation modeling. He has also studied the consequences of administrative burden in public benefit programs and the links between social policy and labor market outcomes. His research has been published in Social Service Review, The American Review of Public Administration, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, and Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.

Fannin earned a PhD in Public Administration from Syracuse University, specializing in Social Policy and Public Finance. He also holds a Master of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Kentucky.

PhD in Public Administration, specializing in Social Policy and Public Finance, Syracuse University

Master of Public Policy, University of Kentucky

Bachelor of Science in Economics, University of Kentucky

Fannin, W. C. (2025, November). The effects of WIC physical presence requirements on benefit redemption: Evidence from remote services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paper presented at the 47th Annual APPAM Research Conference, Seattle, WA.

Fannin, W. C. (2024, October). The effects of SNAP certification interview waivers on multiple program participation. Paper presented at the 2024 Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Conference, Alexandria, VA.

Fannin, W. C. (2024, April). Do SNAP interviews cause program spillover?: The effects of SNAP interview waivers on multiple program participation. Paper presented at the Population Association of America 2024 Annual Meeting, Columbus, OH.

Heflin, C., Fannin, W. C., & Lopoo, L. (2022, April). COVID-19 and the effects of the decision to implement federal waivers for SNAP. Paper presented at the Population Association of America 2022 Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Heflin, C., Fannin, W. C., & Lopoo, L. (2021, March). Variation in access to WIC and SNAP during the COVID crisis. Paper presented at the 43rd Annual APPAM Research Conference, Austin, TX.

 

Larry D. Schroeder Award for Excellence in PhD Research, Syracuse University, 2022.

Fannin, W. C. (2025). Can reducing administrative burdens increase benefit amounts?: Evidence from SNAP simplified reporting. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 47(3), 965–982.

Fannin, W. C., Heflin, C., & Lopoo, L. M. (2024). The effects of waiving WIC physical presence requirements on program caseloads. Social Service Review, 98(3), 482–513.

Fannin, W. C., Heflin, C., & Morrissey, T. (2024). Earnings and employment patterns following child-care subsidy receipt. Social Service Review, 98(2), 329–365.

Heflin, C., Fannin, W. C., & Lopoo, L. (2023). Local control, discretion, and administrative burden: SNAP interview waivers and caseloads during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Review of Public Administration, 53(7-8), 334–346.

Morrissey, T. W., Heflin, C. M., & Fannin, W. C. (2023). Room to grow: Examining participation and stability in child care subsidies using state administrative data. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 62, 150–162.