Policy leaders today look to quality statistics to help inform and guide programmatic decisions. Assessing the quality and validity of major household surveys in capturing accurate program participation is essential. One method for evaluating survey quality is to compare self-reported program participation in surveys to administrative records from the program itself. Previous research using administrative records to evaluate self-reported Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt have found evidence of underreporting in the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC).

One possible solution to the issue of underreporting of transfer program benefits is to use a microsimulation model that corrects for this underreporting, such as the Transfer Income Model, version 3 (TRIM3). TRIM3 produces annual baseline simulations of actual program rules to correct for the underreporting of transfer program participation in the CPS ASEC.
We report the extent of mismatch between self-reports, a microsimulation model, and administrative records. We also replace values from the CPS ASEC with TRIM3 values or administrative records to see how it changes poverty measurement.