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Benefits Data Trust

Benefits Data Trust (BDT) helps people live healthier, more independent lives by creating smarter ways to access essential benefits and services.

To drive lasting and equitable change, Benefits Data Trust uses the power of data, technology, and policy to create solutions that help people today while building a better system for tomorrow. BDT envisions a world where eligible people receive dignified and efficient assistance to pay for food, healthcare, and other critical needs.

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Benefits Data Trust
Benefits Launch Express

Benefits Launch Express

Created by Benefits Data Trust, Benefits Launch Express is a high-level eligibility screening and assistance finder available to Philadelphia residents. The tool screens eligibility for 29 programs and is estimated to take up to 10 minutes to complete.

Benefits Data Trust
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An Early Look at the Impacts of the Response to COVID-19 on Medicaid Churn

An Early Look at the Impacts of the Response to COVID-19 on Medicaid Churn

Given that the effects of the COVID-19 crisis will likely last for a while, it is crucial that states continue to prioritize coverage continuity to further improve the overall health outcomes of their enrollees and reduce administrative burden.

Benefits Data Trust
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BenePhilly SNAP Demonstration Project

BenePhilly SNAP Demonstration Project

The BenePhilly SNAP Demonstration Project (henceforth “BenePhilly”) represents an innovative and successful approach to streamlining access to public benefits. It sought to increase participation in SNAP among eligible senior households in Philadelphia by utilizing existing state and federal data to reach seniors who are likely eligible for, but not participating in, SNAP, as well as simplify the SNAP application and enrollment process. This report summarizes preliminary findings from BenePhilly’s 18 months of operation (June 2010–December 2011).

Benefits Data Trust
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Building Healthier Lives Through Increased SNAP Participation

Building Healthier Lives Through Increased SNAP Participation

This fact sheet describes a study demonstrating that Benefits Data Trust’s Outreach and Application Assistance increased SNAP participation more than seven-fold, reducing Medicaid spending and improving health in North Carolina.

Benefits Data Trust
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Does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Affect Hospital Utilization Among Older Adults? The Case of Maryland

Does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Affect Hospital Utilization Among Older Adults? The Case of Maryland

Accounting for the strong effects of health care access, this study finds that SNAP is associated with reduced hospitalization in dually eligible older adults. Policies to increase SNAP participation and benefit amounts in eligible older adults may reduce hospitalizations and health care costs for older dual eligible adults living in the community.

Benefits Data Trust
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Fast Track: A quicker road to Medicaid enrollment

Fast Track: A quicker road to Medicaid enrollment

Fast Track is an efficient, inexpensive enrollment option to enroll eligible individuals in Medicaid using data the state already has on hand from other applications. Through Fast Track, states can use TANF, SNAP, and LIHEAP data to determine eligibility and quickly enroll large numbers of individuals.

Benefits Data Trust
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Guardrails: Automated SNAP Recertification Assistance

Guardrails: Automated SNAP Recertification Assistance

GuardRails is an experimental new approach to streamline the annual SNAP recertification process by leveraging targeted text messaging and automated voice messages in multiple languages to “nudge” people at the right time with the right information to help them through the recertification process.

Benefits Data Trust
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Helping States and Families Prepare for the End of the Pandemic Emergency Declaration

Helping States and Families Prepare for the End of the Pandemic Emergency Declaration

When the COVID-19 public heath emergency declaration ends, so will the expansion of many key safety net programs, causing millions to lose critical assistance nationwide. This article describes some of the steps the Benefits Data Trust is taking to help states transition and allow families to rectify and access benefits they are eligible for.

Benefits Data Trust
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How the Next Administration Can Use Technology To Prevent Another Unemployment Insurance Meltdown

How the Next Administration Can Use Technology To Prevent Another Unemployment Insurance Meltdown

Clearing applicant backlogs is an important solution to the UI crisis. State governments and federal agencies could facilitate access to public benefits by collaborating to develop interoperable technology platforms that use open source software and modular design. Panelists discuss opportunities to prevent future UI crises by reimagining how governments deliver benefits to their citizens.

New America, Code for America, Benefits Data Trust, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Day One Project
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Matching Data Across Benefits Programs Can Increase WIC Enrollment

Matching Data Across Benefits Programs Can Increase WIC Enrollment

Although Medicaid and SNAP participants are automatically income-eligible for WIC, many don’t enroll. Pilot projects in four states have shown that matching data across programs to identify these families and conducting outreach to them can increase WIC enrollment.

Benefits Data Trust, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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Medicaid Churn Toolkit

Medicaid Churn Toolkit

Benefits Data Trust (BDT)  has developed this “Medicaid Churn Toolkit” to guide Medicaid agencies and their partners in the design and implementation of efforts to reduce churn as they plan for the resumption of normal eligibility and enrollment actions after the after the initial COVID shock.

Benefits Data Trust
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Nudging Benefits Access in the Right Direction

Nudging Benefits Access in the Right Direction

Article describing partnership between NYC Department of Social Services, Benefits Data Trust, and the Robin Hood foundation to send targeted text messages to SNAP recipients to encourage them to successfully compete the annual recertification process required to stay in the program.

Benefits Data Trust
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Promoting Equity and Dignity in Benefits Access: Supporting North Carolina and Washington in Advancing Statewide Change

Promoting Equity and Dignity in Benefits Access: Supporting North Carolina and Washington in Advancing Statewide Change

Social safety net programs that provide children, older adults, and families access to food, medicine, and other critical assistance have been an invaluable part of America’s COVID-19 response and remain equally vital in the face of persistent inflation. Yet antiquated technologies and practices continue to present monumental challenges to connecting people easily and efficiently to benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC. What would the country’s response to these emergencies have looked like if our systems were designed to help every eligible person quickly and easily receive assistance? And how could modernizing the benefits system today enable states to recover from the pandemic while strengthening health, education, and economic outcomes tomorrow?

Benefits Data Trust
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Seniors and SNAP

Seniors and SNAP

Cross-sector research indicates that access to SNAP reduces healthcare spending, improves health, and allows low-income seniors to age in place with dignity. However, though they qualify, a substantial portion of seniors are not enrolled in SNAP, preventing them from saving on healthcare expenses.

Benefits Data Trust
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SNAP Takeup and Targeting

SNAP Takeup and Targeting

Rigorous research shows that targeted outreach and application assistance triples Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment among people ages 60 and over. This randomized experiment involved over 30,000 Pennsylvania seniors, and found that directly informing seniors about SNAP dramatically increased SNAP participation.

Benefits Data Trust
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Streamlining SNAP for the Gig Economy

Streamlining SNAP for the Gig Economy

This issue brief explores how states can leverage existing policy to better support self-employed workers. The Simplified Self-Employment Deduction option available to state SNAP programs is a key example of one such supportive policy. This brief discusses the advantages of this policy option, and highlights the experiences of officials in Alabama, Maryland, Nebraska, and South Carolina, in addition to offering a roadmap for other states.

Benefits Data Trust
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Targeted Text Message Outreach Can Increase WIC Enrollment, Pilots Show

Targeted Text Message Outreach Can Increase WIC Enrollment, Pilots Show

WIC enrollment has declined over the last decade, preventing millions of eligible low-income individuals from accessing its benefits. This report examines state WIC outreach pilots and discusses the effectiveness of text message outreach and key considerations when developing and launching targeted text outreach campaigns.

Benefits Data Trust, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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Text to Connect: Data Collection Considerations for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

Text to Connect: Data Collection Considerations for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

This guide is the fifth part of a series designed to help SNAP administrators implement a text messaging program to reduce SNAP churn. This guide is intended to help data engineers and analysts build the data pipeline and manage, analyze, and synthesize data needed for a text messaging program.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Text to Connect: Engineering + Technology Requirements for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

Text to Connect: Engineering + Technology Requirements for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

This guide is the sixth and final part of a series designed to help SNAP administrators implement a text messaging program to reduce SNAP churn. This guide addresses technical and engineering requirements for a text messaging program, including texting platform options, and procurement and vendor management, among other technical implementation topics.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Text to Connect: Evaluation of your Text Messaging Program to Reduce SNAP Churn

Text to Connect: Evaluation of your Text Messaging Program to Reduce SNAP Churn

This guide is the second in a series designed to help SNAP administrators implement a text messaging program to reduce SNAP churn. This guide focuses on designing an evaluation plan to assess the impact of a text messaging program.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Text to Connect: Legal + Policy Considerations for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

Text to Connect: Legal + Policy Considerations for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

This guide is the third part of a series designed to help SNAP administrators implement a text messaging program to reduce SNAP churn. This guide is intended to provide a general overview of the national statutory and regulatory landscape governing the legality of sending large volumes of text messages and sharing client information.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Text to Connect: Planning a Text Message Program to Reduce SNAP Churn

Text to Connect: Planning a Text Message Program to Reduce SNAP Churn

This guide is the first part of a series designed to help SNAP administrators implement a text messaging program to reduce SNAP churn. This guide outlines how to scope and plan a text messaging program.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Text to Connect: Strategy + Content for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

Text to Connect: Strategy + Content for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

This guide is the fourth in a series designed to help SNAP administrators implement a text messaging program to reduce SNAP churn. Focused on strategy and content, this guide offers recommendations and best practices for crafting messages, engaging clients, and obtaining consent.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Text to Connect: Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn (Full Guide)

Text to Connect: Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn (Full Guide)

Nearly 1 in 5 lose SNAP benefits during the recertification process. When SNAP-eligible residents want to start receiving benefits again, they must go through the lengthy process of reapplication, generating administrative burden and cost. Text messaging allows for direct communication with clients to support them through the recertification process. This guidebook aims to equip state and local agencies with the practical insights they need to develop a text messaging outreach program for SNAP recertification.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
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Toolkit: Increasing WIC Coverage Through Cross-Program Data Matching and Targeted Outreach

Toolkit: Increasing WIC Coverage Through Cross-Program Data Matching and Targeted Outreach

This toolkit is designed to help state and local WIC agencies leverage data from Medicaid and SNAP to measure enrollment gaps and increase enrollment using tools to plan, launch, and/or strengthen data matching and targeted outreach to eligible families who are not receiving WIC benefits.

Benefits Data Trust, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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Data Sharing to Build Effective and Efficient Benefits Systems: A Playbook for State and Local Agencies

Data Sharing to Build Effective and Efficient Benefits Systems: A Playbook for State and Local Agencies

This playbook is designed to help government and other key sectors use data sharing to illuminate who is not accessing benefits, connect under-enrolled populations to vital assistance, and make the benefits system more efficient for agencies and participants alike. It is a step-by-step guide to conducting smooth and efficient data sharing projects that are permissible and secure.

Benefits Data Trust
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Benefits Access for Student Success: A Toolkit For Leveraging Data to Find Eligible Students

Benefits Access for Student Success: A Toolkit For Leveraging Data to Find Eligible Students

Each year, millions of college students struggle to pay for their education and basic needs, including food, childcare, housing, healthcare, and internet service. Among those students are a disproportionate number of first-generation students and students of color. This toolkit aims to build institutional capacity to enable all students to put food on the table, improve health outcomes, focus on school, and graduate.

Benefits Data Trust
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Data Coordination at SNAP and Medicaid Agencies: A National Landscape Analysis

Data Coordination at SNAP and Medicaid Agencies: A National Landscape Analysis

Benefits Data Trust (BDT), in collaboration with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), conducted a nationwide analysis of how states coordinate across Medicaid and SNAP programs to streamline access to benefits. Between June and August of 2022, BDT and CHCS collected 114 survey responses from Medicaid and SNAP programs in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

Benefits Data Trust, Center for Health Care Strategies
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Medicaid Strategies Making a Difference: A Spotlight on Rhode Island

Medicaid Strategies Making a Difference: A Spotlight on Rhode Island

Sharing lessons learned via the Medicaid Churn Learning Collaborative, which is working to reduce Medicaid churn, improve renewal processes for administrators, and protect health insurance coverage for children and families.

Benefits Data Trust
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AI and the Future of Government Services: A conversation with Afua Bruce

AI and the Future of Government Services: A conversation with Afua Bruce

Trooper Sanders interviews Afua Bruce, a leading public interest technologis to examine the pros and cons of AI and key considerations for when humans rely on technological solutions.

Benefits Data Trust
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