The design and delivery of public assistance programs comprise some of the biggest consumer protection issues facing low-income households today. Low-income consumers can be harmed in three ways: through an overall design flaw within the program, by specific rules and regulations within the program shown to be irrational or unreasonable (either facially or on application), or by program mismanagement.

Program design and implementation decisions are often made in response to budget constraints. In addition, state and federal agencies often respond to program challenges by claiming that it would be fiscally impossible to provide the requested remedies. Fiscal impossibility defenses to program challenges must be carefully reviewed.

FSC work on public benefits includes:
	Designing federal home energy assistance components
	Reviewing utility allowances for public and assisted housing
	Assessing the impact of "cash for clunkers" programs on low-income consumers
	Critiquing the determination of TANF "needs" in Tennessee
	Supporting the challenge to Food Stamp exclusion of depreciation expenses from the determination of self-employment income
	Supporting the challenge to TANF auto asset limitations
	Calculating damages to the Native Hawaiian Homelands Trust from mismanagement of the trust fund designed to provide homesteads to native Hawaiians
	Calculating damages to individual native Hawaiians who were denied homesteads due to mismanagement of the Homelands trust fund