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National Safety Net Scorecard

The existing system for evaluating state safety net programs does not adequately capture the human experience of accessing services. This new National Safety Net Scorecard is a more meaningful set of metrics that can effectively asses the true state of the current program delivery landscape and measure progress over time, creating a more human-centered safety net.

Code for America
Report

Popular Support for Balancing Equity and Efficiency in Resource Allocation

This article explores how online advertising algorithms bias between Spanish and English speakers for SNAP in California.

Cornell University, Code for America, Stanford University, Harvard Kennedy School
Academic Article

Making Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Enrollment Easier for Gig Workers

This article explores some of the challenges gig workers face in enrolling in SNAP, as well as present and future policy solutions to ease access to SNAP.

American Journal of Public Health
Academic Article

The Pandemic Proved That Cash Payments Work

The $600 cash payments provided by the CARES act prevented joblessness from turning into actual income loss for millions of families. It also gave Americans breathing room to wait for better jobs, rather than settling for bad ones out of desperation.

The Atlantic
News

Best Practices for Accessible Content

Drawing on the Beeck Center’s research on government, nonprofit, academic, and private sector organizations that are working to improve access to safety net benefits, this report highlights best practices for creating accessible benefits content.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

Recommendation of the Council on the Governance of Digital Identity

The Recommendation on the Governance of Digital Identity, adopted by the OECD Council in June 2023, encourages its Adherents to develop and govern digital identity systems as digital public infrastructure.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Government Documents

WIC Eligibility Content Audit and Usability Evaluation Report

We reviewed the online eligibility web presence of all 89 WIC entities to understand what WIC eligibility information each entity gives to potential participants. This report shares the results of our comprehensive content audit and heuristic evaluation of eligibility pre-screeners, including ratings on security, mobile-friendly design, accessibility, and more. The report includes actionable steps entities can take to make their eligibility information easier to understand and use.

Service Design Collective
Report

State WIC Agencies Use Federal Flexibility to Streamline Enrollment

This report outlines how state WIC agencies can adjust their policies to remove enrollment barriers. The report also provides detailed research on the status of WIC eligibility practices and documentation requirements across states.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Report

A Bold Policy Agenda for Work-Family Justice and Gender Equity During COVID-19 and Beyond

New America spoke to to the people at the frontlines of the pandemic—professional caregivers, family caregivers, parents, and essential workers—to understand the policy interventions people need most. This report discusses ideas for policymakers, private sector leaders, and community innovators to use in pursuit of work-family justice and equity across race, gender, and class.

New America
Report

Six Recommendations for Implementing the Next Stimulus Package

The US Digital response partnered with dozens of states, counties, and cities to support them in using and tracking CARES Act grants. This article presents six lessons learned from their work to help governments better assist residents, particularly small businesses and low-income communities.

U.S. Digital Response
Non-Academic Article

Tools to Manage and Share Content

The right tech frameworks can help organize and distribute accessible benefits information, both within your organization and beyond. This primer introduces two foundational software types that can support organizations that are committed to accessible benefits information: content management systems (CMS) and application program interfaces (APIs). It also provides examples of how one local government leveraged these tools to improve services and workstreams.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

In-Depth Equity Assessment Guide

Initially created to inform federal staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this tool describes how to conduct intensive equity assessments of existing programs, policies, and processes. It may be useful for state and local governments, tribal governments, and other private or non-profit organizations focused on programs and policies relating to health and human services.

Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Government Documents

System Alignment for Young Families: Shifting Human Services to Improve Well-Being for Parents Under 24 and Their Children

Building on previous work to develop a roadmap for system-level change to better support young families, the System Alignment for Young Families Learning Academy (SAYF) set out to support cross-systems teams from state and local human services agencies in establishing a System Alignment Plan (SAP) to support young families.

APHSA
Policy Brief

Defining and Demystifying Automated Decision Systems

This article suggests that a lack of clear, shared definitions makes it harder for the public and policymakers to evaluate and regulate technical systems that may have significant impacts on communities and individuals by shaping access to benefits, opportunities, and liberty. It presents and evaluates a definition for automated decision systems, developed through workshops with interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners.

Maryland Law Review
Academic Article

Benefit Eligibility Rules as Code: Reducing the Gap Between Policy and Service Delivery for the Safety Net

The complexity of eligibility rules creates a burden for state and local government agencies, delivery organizations, and policymakers who interpret and implement policy to deliver benefits in their jurisdictions. This report explores how the U.S. federal government could improve the efficiency and equity of benefits delivery to Americans in need by applying new approaches to eligibility requirements for core safety net programs, and using a “rules as code” approach to improve digitization of legislation and policy documents.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration

While most data sharing and integration occurs within a legal and governance framework, an emphasis on racial equity, transparency, and community engagement is often peripheral. This report focuses on the importance of a racial equity lens in data integration.

Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP)
Toolkit

Guidance on Adding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions to State Medicaid and CHIP Applications for Health Coverage

Starting November 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) began asking three new optional sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions on the single, streamlined application developed by the Secretary. This guidance gives instructs states on the process for modifying SOGI questions in their applications.

Center on Medicare and Medicaid Services
Government Documents

How our work with Montana WIC demonstrated the value of a national API standard

Members of Nava's team describe how their work with WIC Montana cemented their belief that an API standard can fuel modernization to improve experiences for WIC staff, participants, and applicants.

Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Non-Academic Article

Unemployment Insurance IT Modernization Strategy

A guide to the strategy to help states move from monolithic, brittle unemployment insurance systems to modular, flexible solutions.

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization (OUIM)
Government Documents

Overcoming Barriers: Helping Self-Employed Applicants Access Their Full CalFresh Benefit

People who are self-employed can receive a higher CalFresh benefit amount because of a 40% automatic deduction for expenses. Yet, many who would be considered self-employed for the purpose of CalFresh don’t think of themselves as self-employed. Code for America researched how to help CalFresh applicants correctly identify themselves as self-employed. This article describes their various experiments and efforts to help people understand their status as self-employed.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

Looking before we leap: Exploring AI and data science ethics review process

This report explores the role that academic and corporate Research Ethics Committees play in evaluating AI and data science research for ethical issues, and also investigates the kinds of common challenges these bodies face.

Ada Lovelace Institute, University of Exeter’s Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Alan Turing Institute
Report

Mass Layoff in Maine: Lessons Learned from the Maine Department of Labor and Peer Workforce Navigators

This report explores the Maine Department of Labor’s (MDOL) remarkable response to this layoff through collaboration with the Peer Workforce Navigator project—a coalition of community-based organizations in partnership with the MDOL—which made a huge difference in the lives of these laid off workers. The report also examines aspects of the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system that might be improved to account for similar situations in the future.

The Century Foundation
Report

Identity Fraud Victim Redress Process and Systems

This report provides specific actions the federal government could take to reduce identity fraud and establish a whole-of-government victim redress approach.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, MITRE
Report

Incremental Steps to Integrated Benefits

By taking on one or more steps to integrate benefits incrementally, on a small, more localized scale, benefits administrators can make progress towards improving resident and staff experiences. This guide outlines ideas for launching an integrated benefits application in stages, and strategies to pilot new tools.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

Federal Field Guide

Few large government software projects are successful, as current ecosystems in place at agencies do not support agile development practices. This guide provides instructions to federal agencies on how to effectively budget for, procure, and oversee software development projects.

18F
Toolkit

CSNS Mecklenburg: Strengthening Community Relationship to End Child Hunger

This report outlines how the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (DSS) is leading an initiative to coordinate nutrition supports across government and community partners to streamline access to resources that improve food security for families in Mecklenburg County. Through this project, households experiencing food insecurity will not only have a better understanding of the resources and services available to them, but also will find it easier to apply for public benefit programs.

Share Our Strength, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Case Study

Domain Shift and Emerging Questions in Facial Recognition Technology

This policy brief offers recommendations to policymakers relating to the computational and human sides of facial recognition technologies based on a May 2020 workshop with leading computer scientists, legal scholars, and representatives from industry, government, and civil society

Stanford University, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Academic Article

C-STAT: Achieving Results for Colorado - Summary Report

This report describes C-Stat 2.0, an updated version of the the Colorado Department of Human Services’ performance-based analysis strategy that allows them to better focus on and improve performance outcomes that enhance people’s lives.

Colorado Department of Human Services
Report

Artifice and Intelligence

This piece outlines the Privacy Center’s decision to stop using the words “artificial intelligence,” “AI,” and “machine learning” in their work.

Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law
Non-Academic Article

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
Academic Article

California Health and Human Services Agency Data Playbook

This data playbook created by the California Health and Human services agencies discusses five plays designed to help Departments utilize data to inform program and policy development.

California Health and Human Services Agency
Toolkit

5 Things to Know About SNAP Employment & Training

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is well known for providing nutrition support for individuals and families with low incomes. The lesser-known SNAP Employment and Training Program (SNAP E&T) helps eligible participants develop skills to achieve economic mobility. SNAP E&T provides employability assessments, training, case management, transportation, child care and other services and supports to help participants attain sustainable employment. State legislatures have an opportunity to support economic recovery and decrease food insecurity among individuals and families by investing in the SNAP E&T program, including with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
Policy Brief

Evaluating Facial Recognition Technology: A Protocol for Performance Assessment in New Domains

In May 2020, Stanford's HAI hosted a workshop to discuss the performance of facial recognition technologies that included leading computer scientists, legal scholars, and representatives from industry, government, and civil society. The white paper this workshop produced seeks to answer key questions in improving understandings of this rapidly changing space.

Stanford University, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Academic Article

Recommendations to Set Path for Reform at the Employment Development Department

To better serve workers who have experienced job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a strike team charged with creating a blueprint for improvements at the Employment Development Department (EDD). In this report, the Strike Team outlines its recommendations and suggested next steps for the EDD to address the backlog and improve on future processing of unemployment claims.

GovOps
Report

Using SNAP Data for Medicaid Renewals Can Keep Eligible Beneficiaries Enrolled

Medicaid enrollees must renew their eligibility every 12 months, resulting in extensive “churn,” whereby eligible people continuously cycle on and off of Medicaid instead of remaining continuously enrolled. States can use detailed SNAP income data to reduce churn and thus reduce the burden on beneficiaries and agencies.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Report

CSNS New Jersey: Sharing Nutrition Program Data to Raise WIC Enrollment

This report outlines how the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Family Development (DFD) and the Department of Health (NJDOH) are increasing SNAP & WIC co-enrollment through data sharing, outreach, and systems integration.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and No Kid Hungry, Share Our Strength
Case Study

Digital Identity and Public Benefits: Announcing a New Research Agenda

An announcement about the Digital Benefits Network's new research agenda on digital identity in public benefits.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
News

Pandemic EBT Policy + Delivery Memo

Policy memo by Code for America regarding how to deliver P-EBT benefits during the COVID-19 crisis.

Code for America
Policy Brief

Aggressive State Outreach Can Help Reach the 12 Million Non-Filers Eligible for Stimulus Payments

Aggressive outreach by states is necessary to ensure that 12 million Americans do not risk missing out on the stimulus payments provided by the CARES Act.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Report

Rules as Code – Test, Learn, Repeat

The New South Wales government describes its efforts to connect with other Australian jurisdictions and international colleagues in its move towards making machine-consumable legislation and policy.

New South Wales Government
Toolkit

“It has meant everything”: How P-EBT Helped Families in Michigan

This report explores Michigan’s implementation of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. Drawing on interviews from individuals within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and input from SNAP participants via surveys distributed using the Fresh EBT app, this report provides insights into the strategies that enabled Michigan to roll out an entirely new program quickly and effectively.

New America
Report

How to begin designing for diversity

In order to create for all, we have to employ processes that authentically engage misrepresented communities. People tend to think of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in terms of implicit bias workshops, employee resource groups, and hiring processes. These efforts are all important, but it is also necessary to focus on DEI as it relates to the creation of products, services, and content, and use a design-thinking approach to tackle these tricky issues.

The Creative Independent
Toolkit

Introducing a new digital application for health care at VA

Less than 10% of applications for VA health care are submitted digitally. This article describes how the U.S. Digital Service partnered with the Health Eligibility Center to change that, making it possible for anyone with an internet connection to apply anytime, anywhere, from any device.

United States Digital Service (USDS)
News

A tool to drive toward equitable policy advocacy approaches and outcomes

A modification of Bolder Advocacy’s ACT!Quick capacity self-assessment tool to incorporate additional equity-centered capacities, engage community authentically, and conduct research in culturally responsive ways.

American Evaluation Association
Non-Academic Article

A Guiding Framework to Vetting Public Sector Technology Vendors

This guiding framework supports thoughtful evaluation of how new digital technology-based proposals can affect the U.S. public sector, with a particular focus on their impacts on human rights, social and economic justice, and democratic values. It will benefit funders, procurement officers, and advocates evaluating proposed projects that are often framed as “tech for good,” “justice tech,” or public interest technologies.

Ford Foundation
Toolkit

Reddit Is America’s Unofficial Unemployment Hotline

Thousands of Americans have begun frequenting the r/Unemployment subreddit to get help navigating state and federal unemployment systems.

The New York Times
News

ID Verification Controls Simulator

This simulator, created by the Joint Financial Management and Improvement Program (JFMIP), allows users to model program performance for a hypothetical government program, based on different identity verification decisions. The simulator illustrates concepts from the JFMIP report on payment integrity.

Joint Financial Management and Improvement Program (JFMIP)
Other

Reconceptualizing Public Procurement to Strengthen State Benefits Delivery and Improve Outcomes

Drawing on interviews and convenings with experts and practitioners from the field of public interest technology, this report contains recommendations across five core priority action areas for cross-sector innovation and collaboration to improve state benefits systems through procurement practices.

New America
Report

DHS Biometric Technology Rallies

The Department of Homeland Security's Biometric and Identity Technology Center (BI-TC) has hosted Biometric Technology Rallies to test new and emerging biometric technologies since 2018. This website hosts information about the 2022 and 2023 rallies.

Department of Homeland Security Biometric and Identity Technology Center (BI-TC)
Organization Website

AI-Powered SNAP Modernization

This report explores how AI is currently used, and how it might be used in the future, to support administrative actions that agency staff complete when processing customers’ SNAP cases. In addition to desk and primary research, this brief was informed by input from APHSA’s wide network of state, county, and city members and national partners in the human services and related sectors.

American Public Human Services Association
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Designing for Connection: 5 Key Principles for IES Solutions That Put People First

Alluma outlines five key principles for a people-first approach to eligibility and enrollment systems.

Alluma
Non-Academic Article

Digital Identity and Inclusion: Tracing Technological Transitions

This article explores technological transformations underway in the digital identity sector.

Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Academic Article

ideas42 Methodology

This article introduces ideas42, a non-profit behavioral research and design firm applying insights from behavioral sciences, including behavioral economics (BE), social psychology, and other disciplines, for social good. Their behavioral design methodology is human-centered, but it incorporates scientific insights and iterative testing, applying observations about how people choose and act from experimental academic research to inform qualitative research.

The Communication Initiative Network
Toolkit

Core Principles for TANF Modernization: A Legislative Framework for TANF Refo

Working with TANF administrators and human services leaders across the country, the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) embraces the call to reimagine how TANF can work in support of the families it serves and has established a set of TANF Modernization Core Principles to guide our vision for the future of TANF. Grounded in these Core Principles, APHSA’s members have laid out a legislative framework to unlock the potential of TANF. We call upon Congress to use this framework as a starting point to build common ground to achieve a TANF reauthorization that promotes a more equitable and prosperous future for all Americans.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Policy Brief

Digital Distortions and Interpretive Choices: A Cartographic Perspective on Encoding Regulation

This article analyses ‘digital distortions’ in Rules as Code, which refer to disconnects between regulation and code that arise from interpretive choices in the encoding process.

Queensland University of Technology, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Academic Article

The Ad Hoc Government Digital Services Playbook

A playbook by AdHoc for agencies ready to replace enterprise software patterns with proven techniques from the world of commercial software. These plays can better equip teams with the practices that create resilient, flexible, and customer-friendly digital services.

Ad Hoc
Toolkit

Why Californians need food assistance: The stories behind the numbers

Californians who receive food assistance come from all backgrounds, but many share a similar story: they were barely getting by financially when they were tipped into crisis by an unexpected expense or loss of income. This site shares their stories.

Code for America
Fact Sheet

Administrative Burden Scale

The Better Government Lab at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University has developed a new scale for measuring the experience of burden when accessing public benefits. They offer both a three-item scale and a single-item scale, which can be utilized for any public benefit program. The shorter scales provide a less burdensome way to measure by requiring less information from users.

Better Government Lab at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University
Other

Improving State Unemployment Insurance Technology: A Guide for Advocates

This guide is intended to provide everything else, with a focus on the basics of UI technology projects, guidance on standards for equitable uses of technology, and strategies for how to have a positive impact on these projects.

The Century Foundation
Toolkit

Reducing Poverty and Advancing Equity: A Retrospective

This retrospective looks at the way the NYCOpportunity initiative worked across City government, partnering with agencies to initiate new approaches and enhance city practices. It also highlights key areas of focus for the NYC Opportunity team between 2014 and 2021.

NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity
Report

Enterprise Single Sign-On Playbook

The Enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO) Playbook is a practical guide to help federal agencies implement or modernize an SSO service for federal employee access to government applications.

Identity, Credential, and Access Management Subcommittee of the Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Council, General Services Administration Office of Government-wide Policy, Identity Assurance and Trusted Access Division
Toolkit

Technology, Data, and Design-Enabled Approaches for a More Responsive, Effective Social Safety Net

This landscape analysis examines data, design, technology, and innovation-enabled approaches that make it easier for eligible people to enroll in, and receive, federally-funded social safety net benefits, with a focus on the earliest adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

Creating a State Software Collaborative

Only 13% of major government software projects succeed, and the successful and failed ones alike cost 5–10 times more than they should. When those projects fail, so too do the public policy initiatives that depend on them: unemployment insurance, small business loans, paid family and medical leave, SNAP, Medicaid, etc.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Non-Academic Article

18F Agile-based project approach

18F describes its Agile-based project approach combining iterative software development, product management, user-centered design, and DevOps.

18F
Toolkit

Accessible Technology Procurement Toolkit

A guide on how to procure for accessible technology.

Disability:IN
Toolkit

Identity Authentication Pilot Projects – Conversion to State Option

This guidance document from the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) allowed states more flexibility in verifying SNAP applicant identity. This guidance followed six years of pilot projects, during which states gave SNAP applicants the option to authenticate their identity using a set of multiple choice authentication questions produced by a third-party vendor based on electronically matched public records, in place of using traditional methods to authenticate identity. In addition, and consistent with federal law, states participating in the project continued to accept and begin processing any application that included at least the applicant’s name, address and signature, even if the application was otherwise incomplete.

Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Government Documents

Equitable Name Test

An open source list of names and considerations for names to make systems more equitable.

New America and community contributors
Non-Academic Article

Pandemic Unemployment Benefits – Where Franz Kafka Meets Fraud

In this panel conversation, presenters at the Better Identity Coalition’s 2022 policy forum “Identity, Authentication, and the Road Ahead” discuss the challenges of identity verification and access in pandemic unemployment benefits. Presenters include representatives from government, advocacy groups, and private industry.

Better Identity Coalition
Video

Design Kit: The Human-Centered Design Toolkit

IDEO’s Human-Centered Design Toolkit lays out how and why human-centered design can impact the social sector.

IDEO
Toolkit

Improving Unemployment Fraud Reporting with User Research

User research + design kit in for improving the UI fraud reporting experience, available in English and Spanish

U.S. Digital Response, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
Toolkit

The Transformative Power of a People-Centered, Digital-First Safety Net

Code for America discusses the importance of a people-centered, digital-first safety net. Tools of technology, policy, and good implementation can advance a bold vision that will allow the nation to push through the end of the COVID-19 crisis.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

Helping people access government services through Login.gov

This case study describes how Nava is working with the General Services Administration, Fearless, and the U.S. Postal Service to design, build, and deliver a new in-person identity verification service to nearly 20,000 USPS locations

Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Case Study

Login.gov to provide authentication and identity proofing services to a limited number of federally funded state and local government programs

The US General Services Administration announces that it is seeking a limited number of state and local government partners to take advantage of login.gov to administer their federally funded programs.

Login.gov
Non-Academic Article

The Benefits Cliff Dilemma: Navigating Wage Increases and Public Benefits

The goal of the brief is to encourage policy makers and employers to consider benefits cliffs as they look to create mandatory wage increases, with a look at a legislative action in NYC.

Financial Health Network
Case Study

Use Cases for Robotic Process Automation in UI Claims Processing

For the past year, modernization teams at the Department of Labor (DOL) have been helping states identify opportunities to automate rote, non-discretionary, manual tasks, with the goal of helping them speed up the time that it takes to process claims. This post provides more context on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and potential use cases in unemployment insurance.

U.S. Department of Labor
Government Documents

Evaluating CX with Survey Design

In the Fall of 2022, the USDOL Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization (OUIM) consulted with the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) to provide hands-on support with IT modernization and customer experience strategy. Primary discussions focused on making informed product, service, and business decisions based on qualitative and quantitative data— how might IDES leverage existing data streams to identify the most pressing technology issues in their unemployment insurance system, and how might IDES act upon this information in a timely and impactful manner?

U.S. Department of Labor
Government Documents

The Social Life of Algorithmic Harms

This series of essays seeks to expand our vocabulary of algorithmic harms to help protect against them.

Data & Society
Non-Academic Article

Universal Design 101 Recording

Initially created for and shared with staff at the Administration for Children and Families, this webinar provides an introduction to Universal Design, covering plain language, accessibility, user research, and Agile development.

Digital Service at the Administration for Children and Families
Video

Lightning Talks at BenCon 2023

Lightning talks on innovative ideas, approaches, and pilots to understand and improve benefits delivery. This video was recorded at the Digital Benefits Conference (BenCon) at Georgetown University on June 14, 2023.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Video

Unlocking the "Prevention Services" in the Family First Prevention Services A

In recent years, there has been a deliberate shift to move our public systems that support child and family well-being upstream. These efforts reflect the growing consensus that true and lasting progress toward a nation where everyone can thrive requires we get to the root of the barriers that keep people and communities from achieving their potential. A foundational building block of this effort is the work happening to advance prevention strategies within child welfare agencies. In this brief, we focus on the challenges and opportunities that the Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First) offers to accelerate the shift toward a prevention-oriented child well-being system.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Policy Brief

GSA extends login.gov access to states and localities

This article describes the General Services Administration’s efforts to get a limited number of state and local governments to try login.gov with their federally funded programs.

Fed Scoop
News

Promoting Public Benefits Access Through Web-Based Tools and Outreach: A National Scan of Efforts. Volume I: Background, Efforts in Brief, and Related Initiatives

Demand for public benefits is rising in response to continued economic pressure on vulnerable people, in addition to changes in eligibility rules for some safety net programs. This report summarizes existing benefits access efforts, studies the successes and challenges of benefits expansion efforts through a subset of in-depth case studies, and analyzes the potential for sustaining, expanding, and replicating successful efforts.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Report

Framing the Risk Management Framework: Actionable Instructions by NIST in their “Govern” Section

This post introduces EPIC's exploration of actionable recommendations and points of agreement from leading A.I. frameworks, beginning with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's AI Risk Management Framework.

Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Non-Academic Article

Building the Tech-Enabled Safety Net: Public Benefits and Innovation Amid COVID-19

COVID-19 has highlighted the central role that technology plays in delivering essential services such as food, housing assistance, and unemployment insurance. How that technology is designed can make the difference between receiving or being denied the public benefits people are eligible for. The social safety net has been remade on the fly in response to COVID-19, but temporary patches to our systems aren’t sustainable. A growing field of tech-enabled safety net organizations have begun building tools that apply modern digital technology to the safety net. Getting people the services they’re eligible for requires the government to create policy and build technology that are inclusive, portable, interoperable, and people-centric. Read our new field scan, “Building the Tech-Enabled Safety Net” to understand a dozen fintech and civic tech organizations working across fourteen safety net programs and showing what’s possible when modern technology is married to a consumer insights perspective.

Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Policy Brief

Digital Authentication and Identity Proofing in MAGI Medicaid Applications

On May 19, 2023, the Digital Benefits Network published a new, open dataset documenting authentication and identity proofing requirements across online SNAP, WIC, TANF, Medicaid, child care (CCAP) applications, and unemployment insurance applications. This page includes data and observations about authentication and identity proofing steps specifically for online applications that include MAGI Medicaid.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Dataset

Digital Authentication and Identity Proofing in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Applications

On May 19, 2023, the Digital Benefits Network published a new, open dataset documenting authentication and identity proofing requirements across online SNAP, WIC, TANF, Medicaid, child care (CCAP) applications, and unemployment insurance applications. This page includes data and observations about authentication and identity proofing steps specifically for online applications that include TANF.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Dataset

States Can Make Applications More Accessible During COVID-19 Crisis

The inability to apply for Medicaid and SNAP in person during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a new way of interacting with social service agencies through online application submission. States can facilitate this by making online applications and systems more accessible and allowing for telephonic signatures on benefits applications.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Non-Academic Article

Tips on Equitable Communication Practices in a Policy Context

Initially created to inform federal staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this tip sheet highlights the importance of using equitable communication and includes tips, guiding questions, and additional resources.

Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Toolkit

Framework for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Use of Artificial Intelligence for Public Benefit Administration

This framework outlines USDA’s principles and approach to support States, localities, Tribes, and territories in responsibly using AI in the implementation and administration of USDA’s nutrition benefits and services. This framework is in response to Section 7.2(b)(ii) of Executive Order 14110 on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Government Documents

Simple Changes Can Make a Big Difference for Clients Accessing Government Benefits

Our work with Pennsylvania to implement user experience and user interface changes shows that innovation can be easier to implement than it might seem.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

How Government and Industry are Rethinking Authentication

In this panel conversation from the Better Identity Coalition’s 2022 policy forum, “Identity, Authentication, and the Road Ahead," representatives from industry and government discuss priorities for authentication and identity management.

Better Identity Coalition
Video

Elevating Family Input in TANF and Child Support Programs: Resources for Program Staff, Leaders, and Families

This expansive toolkit provides guidance, real world examples, and resources to help TANF and child support programs engage the families they serve in improving service delivery, policy, and program operations.

Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, Administration for Children & Families
Toolkit

Michigan's Coordinating SNAP & Nutrition Supports Impact Report

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, together with the Food Bank Council of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Education developed a comprehensive Food Insecurity Map and a closed-loop referral system for nutrition and economic supports. The goal of these initiatives was to leverage cross-sector data to inform policy decisions, streamline access to food assistance, and reduce administrative burden. This report documents lessons learned and outcomes of their project.

American Public Human Services Association
Report

Assessing Your WIC Certification Practices

This toolkit provides questions for agencies to consider, examples, and suggested resources for exploring ways to make certification easier for families and WIC staff.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Toolkit

Access for All: Innovation for Equitable SNAP Delivery

This brief describes the current state of SNAP benefit delivery through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, identifies the features necessary for SNAP benefit delivery to ensure consistency with principles of equity and inclusion, and explores how future SNAP benefit delivery can keep up with rapid changes in commercial payment infrastructure.

Urban Institute
Report

The Ad Hoc Research Thinking Field Guide

This field guide is for digital services and technology leaders working at the federal, state, or local government level. It describes a way of applying research approaches to strategic decision making across digital services.

Ad Hoc
Toolkit

Guide on Advancing Equity by Incorporating Intersectionality in Research and Analysis

This guide explores intersectionality and why it is essential for advancing equity. It explores strategies for planning and conducting research with an intersectional lens, describes quantitative measures and methods to examine differences across groups of people with intersecting identities, and provides key considerations for using qualitative data to better understand intersectionality.

Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Toolkit

Challenges of participation in large-scale public projects

This paper examines the challenges of participation in large-scale public projects. Taking its offset in a case-study of the development of a new public multimedia library, the paper discusses methods and values of Participatory Design in the face of the challenges that a project of this scale entails. These challenges concern how to address and manage a heterogeneous group of stakeholders and end-users, how to inform stakeholders and establish participation as a relevant activity, the development of new techniques and technologies to scaffold participation, and the interplay between iterative development and institutional transformation.

11th Conference on Participatory Design
Academic Article

Time to Get It Right: State Actions Now Can Preserve Medicaid Coverage When Public Health Emergency Ends

Millions of people could lose health coverage when the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, but states can make changes to avoid massive coverage losses.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Non-Academic Article

Eligibility APIs Initiative

Documentation of 18F's and 10x's Eligibility APIs Initiative

18F
Apps and API
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Automation + AI
Text Messaging
Data Sharing
Outreach + Awareness
Eligibility
Applying + Enrolling
Buying Design + Technology Services
Maintaining Benefits
Human-Centered Design
Digitizing Policy
Digital Services
Diversity, Equity + Inclusion
Policy Analysis
Digital Identity
Basic Income
CCDF: Child Care and Development Fund
COVID-19 Assistance
CTC: Child Tax Credit
EITC: Earned Income Tax Credit
Housing
LIHEAP
Medicaid/CHIP
Other Supplemental Nutrition Programs
P-EBT
Paid Leave
SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance
SSI: Supplemental Security Income
TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Tax Assistance
UI: Unemployment Insurance
Veterans Benefits
WIC: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Executive Branch
Academic
Community Members
Community-based Organization
Legislative Branch
Non-profit
Private
Government Agency
Federal/National
State/Provincial
County
Local/Municipal
Territorial
Tribal/Indigenous