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CSNS Hawaii: Building a Data-Driven Foundation to Help Hunger in Hawai'i

The Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS), in partnership with the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) and the Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence (CHL Center) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is building foundational capacity to share and analyze administrative data across the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). This groundwork will enable Hawai‘i to increase access to nutrition support programs, in alignment with Hawai‘i’s ‘Ohana Nui framework, which aims to dismantle intergenerational poverty.

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

Improvements in Public Programs' Customer Service Experiences Could Better Meet Enrollees' Needs and Help Build Trust in Government

To better understand the experiences of people applying for public benefit programs and their perceptions of good and bad customer service within those programs, in 2022, the Urban Institute interviewed 27 adults who had applied for or received TANF cash assistance or Medicaid/CHIP in 2021 and reported at least one of four specified enrollment challenges.

Urban Institute
Report

Social Listening: Covid-19, Social Media, and The Path to a Better Safety Net

The Aspen Financial Security Program identified five reoccurring trends of social media platform usage by people in relation to safety net programs and four techniques for capturing people’s experiences in order to reform the safety net. This report describes how the government can use widespread social media feedback and begin to build long-term measures to center people’s experience as an important component of policy design

Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Report

Policy Engine Demo at the Cross-Sector Rules as Code Roundtable

In this video, Policy Engine CEO Max Ghenis provides a demonstration of their product and API and discusses use cases in Rules as Code. The Cross-Sector Rules as Code Roundtable on February 22, 2024 was hosted by Rules as Code Community of Practice at the Digital Benefits Network.

Policy Engine
Video

Making Integrated Benefits Easy to Access Online and on Mobile Phones

This resource describes how different agencies have updated their systems to increase online and mobile access to benefits information and applications, including using text messages to share benefits information with residents. These approaches enable residents to more effectively access benefits information, and can meet resident needs across a range of accessibility requirements.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

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
Toolkit

Overcoming Barriers: Finding Better Ways to Ask GetCalFresh Applicants About Income

County workers typically spend most of their time trying to get income information right during eligibility interviews. This article provides several recommendations for asking about income, accounting for cognitive biases, under-reporting, and complexities in reporting income.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 4: Benefits Data Trust Benefits Launch | Daniel Singer & Preston Cabe

We continued Rules as Code Demo Day with Daniel Singer and Preston Cabe from Benefits Data Trust. Benefits Data Trust provides benefit outreach and application assistance services in seven states. Using Benefits Launch, their in-house interview and rules engine, they support two hundred contact center employees as they screen and apply thousands of clients each year. They also offer a self-service screener, Benefits Launch Express. Additionally, they offer an eligibility API to integrate with other services.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Video

Modernizing Public Benefits Delivery: How Innovation Can Deliver Results for Eligible Households and Taxpayers

A modernized public benefits system would better serve program participants, administrators, policy makers, and taxpayers. This paper proposes a set of principles both define the desired future state and outline the values that shape decision making along the way. Practices describe the processes needed to achieve modernization.

National Academy of Public Administration
Report

Designing Better Programs for Young Parents & Families

This piece highlights lessons learned from the first phase of The Southeastern Cohort on Young Parents and Families—an effort focused on improving economic stability and well-being outcomes for young parent families (January to September 2020)—which has focused on interagency collaboration and community engagement to develop plans for improving policies and program practices to support young parent families. The lessons reflected center on: understanding and engaging young parents, continuous improvement through data and feedback, collaborating and aligning services, and insights related to providing services during COVID-19. These insights can guide government agencies, service providers, or others interested in making efforts at better understanding and supporting young families in their communities through tailored programs and services.

Third Sector, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Report

Playbook For Ethical Tech Governance

Governments and leaders are required to regulate change while mitigating risk, so IFTF's Governance Futures Lab developed this decision-making guide for them. In a world where technologies are transforming faster than we can keep up, anticipatory governance is crucial in order to safeguard against both the intended and unintended effects of technological advances.

Institute For The Future
Toolkit

MyFriendBen Demo at the Cross-Sector Rules as Code Roundtable

In this video, MyFriendBen.org Executive Director Elise Henson and Gary Community Ventures VP of Technology Brian Hiatt provide a demonstration of their new benefits eligibility screening tool in Colorado. The Cross-Sector Rules as Code Roundtable on February 22, 2024 was hosted by Rules as Code Community of Practice at the Digital Benefits Network.

Gary Community Ventures
Video

European Digital Identity

This website provides information on the European Union's efforts to develop an EU Digital Identity.

European Commission
Organization Website

An Updated Measure of Poverty: ReDrawing the Line

This report recommends updating the methodology used by the Census Bureau to calculate the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to reflect household basic needs and replace the current Official Poverty Measure as the primary statistical measure of poverty. The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the SPM and provides recommendations for updating its methodology and expanding its use in recognition of the needs of most American families such as medical care, childcare, and housing costs.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
No items found.

A Playbook for Improving Unemployment Insurance Delivery

A playbook by New America describing lessons learned from past recessions, recent pandemic-inspired innovations, and complementary benefit spaces like SNAP and WIC.

New America
Toolkit

Think Big, Start Small: How Implementing Flexible Interviews Improves Benefit Delivery

LA County and GetCalFresh made access to food assistance more equitable by offering a more flexible interview process.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

What Happens When People Feel Ownership Over Their Benefits

An interview with Wendy De La Rosa, assistant professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. De La Rosa discusses how the concept of “psychological ownership” can encourage people to take up benefits they are eligible for.

Code for America
News

Unemployment insurance modernization: Examples from states and territories in their unemployment insurance modernization journeys

The U.S. Department of Labor is working with states, territories, and the public to develop strategies to continuously improve the nation’s unemployment insurance (UI) systems. All of the work shown on this site to date came from the Claimant Experience Pilot engagement between U.S. Department of Labor, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services funded through ARPA.

U.S. Department of Labor
Government Documents

A Tsunami of Volatility: The Impact of the Design and Implementation of CARES Act Supplemental Unemployment Benefits on Lower-Income Households

While CARES Act benefits themselves have been critical to households, their design and implementation have led to more uncertainty and volatility for lower-income households. This report discusses the financial resilience strategies families used to manage gaps before benefits arrived, in addition to providing recommendations for how benefits can be better designed in the future to fit the financial lives of lower-income households.

Commonwealth
Report

Making Public Benefits More Accessible in Minnesota

This report highlights work with Minnesota and includes nine suggestions for states seeking to launch their own integrated benefits applications

Code for America
Report

Decoded: Digital Identity in Public Benefits (Webinar)

In this webinar, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Digital Benefits Network explored key terms related to digital identity, and provided ecosystem-level context on how authentication and identity proofing may show up in the online benefits experience and impact clients. Presenters also shared a list of resources, including guidance from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), introductory materials, and other research to support participants in continued learning.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Video

State Software Budgeting Handbook

Handbook by 18F designed for executives, budget specialists, legislators, and other “non-technical” decision-makers who fund or oversee state government technology projects that receive federal funding and implement the necessary technology to support federal programs. It aids in setting projects up for success by asking the right questions, identifying the right outcomes, and equally important, empowering decision-makers with a basic knowledge of the fundamental principles of modern software design.

18F
Toolkit

Language and Disability Access in NYC

Description of NYC language and disability access requirements, along with best practices to improve communication between NYC government and its diverse constituents.

NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs
Organization Website

A phased approach to modular contracting

Modular contracting doesn’t just mean that you break one procurement into several pieces. This article shows you how to take a modular approach with a single contract divided up into natural break points.

Ad Hoc
Non-Academic Article

Removing Barriers: Public Benefits and Voter Registration

The GetCalFresh team, the California Department of Social Services, and the California Secretary of State’s office worked together to create a simplified, accessible voter registration experience with clients. When people come to GetCalFresh.org, they are looking to apply for food assistance, so the state of California did not want voter registration to become an obstacle to the goal of getting food assistance. Thus, rather than directing clients to anther website, they offered to text clients a link to the CA Secretary of State’s voter website with directions on how to register.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

Cell Phones as a Safety Net Lifeline

Eligible people struggle to maintain their case status for critical safety net services, often due to administrative hurdles and poor communication. Code for America piloted text message reminders to support Louisianans, which helped clients avoid costly churn. Text messages are an underrated, efficient solution for human service agencies to meet client expectations and improve case outcomes.

Code for America
News

Encouraging Uptake of Benefits with Psychological Ownership Messaging

A brief report on our quantitative research about messages that increase people's take-up of government benefits by making them feel like those benefits belong to them.

Code for America
Report

Making Our Systems See People

Code for America CEO introduces the Safety Net Innovation Lab in a TED Talk, their initiative to work with state governments to reimagine and rebuild delivery of accessible and equitable benefits. This article also includes the video of Renteria’s talk and a transcript.

Code for America
Video

Using human-centered design and low-code tech to inform unemployment insurance policy implementation

As the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and prioritizes economic recovery efforts, governments must deliver critical benefits to the American people at scale. By applying human-centered design principles, policy makers can create systems that help people complete application forms more efficiently while delivering benefits more quickly to those who need it the most. Through a partnership with the Department of Labor, U.S. Digital Response deployed a team of staff, volunteers, and fellows from the Google.org Fellowship Program to produce a set of research-based recommendations for how to retroactively determine if claimants were eligible for unemployment benefits. Watch a live demo and hear about how developing an almost fully automated, low-code solution aimed to reduce both claimant and administrative burden. This virtual breakout session was presented at Code for America Summit 2022 in the Policy + Administration track.

U.S. Digital Response
Video

Struggles and solutions: Insights into the SNAP Application Process from Illinois Outreach Workers and Applicants

mRelief recently completed a research study to investigate whether there are specific parts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; also known as food stamps) benefits application process that make it difficult to complete. We conducted interviews with mRelief users and SNAP outreach workers (individuals whose job responsibilities include providing SNAP application assistance in person or over the phone) in Illinois. We also conducted group interviews with SNAP outreach workers to collaborate with them to uncover findings and develop recommendations.

Report

Why All Guaranteed Income is Narrative Work: Best Practices for Centering Dignity, Race, and Gender in Cash-Based Programs

This guide and set of best practices was created to help leaders of new and existing guaranteed income projects to thoughtfully narrate their work.

Insight Center for Community Economic Development, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income
Report

Matching and Verifying Client Data Using Linkages Across Benefit

Data linking is an important tool that lets benefits program administrators efficiently determine eligibility, and ensure that applicants receive all of the benefits for which they are eligible. This resource provides examples and practical guides that explain how to use existing regulations and data sharing agreements to transfer client information or eligibility status between benefit programs.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

Guide to robotic process automation

The Guide to Robotic Process Automation, including the RPA Playbook provides detailed guidance for federal agencies starting a new RPA program or evolving an existing one.

Digital.gov
Government Documents

How Human-Centered Is our Social Safety Net?

This article discusses Code for America’s research into the user experience of applying or Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, WIC, and LIHEAP in the United States. They found that user experience applying for benefits programs varies greatly by (and often within) each state.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

SNAP Community Characteristics Dashboard Congressional District Explorer

This exploratory tool was built to share information about SNAP participation, income, and household demographics within each congressional district. Users may select their own district, along with any other district of interest, and can compare two districts at once within a given state.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Dataset

What Are Generative AI, Large Language Models, and Foundation Models?

What exactly are the differences between generative AI, large language models, and foundation models? This post aims to clarify what each of these three terms mean, how they overlap, and how they differ.

Center for Security and Emerging Technology
Non-Academic Article

Accessible Numbers

Use the accessible numbers project to design services for people who need help with numbers.

Accessible Numbers
Toolkit

The Consequences of Decentralization: Inequality in Safety Net Provision in the Post–Welfare Reform Era

Study examining cross-state inequality in social safety net programs due to decentralized social provision. The authors find substantial cross-state inequality in provision, with increased inequality due to the devolution of authority under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).

The University of Chicago Press Journals
Academic Article

Administrative Burdens and Economic Insecurity Among Black, Latino, and White Families

This study investigates how administrative burdens influence differential receipt of income transfers after a family member loses a job, looking at Unemployment Insurance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Academic Article

Demystifying Inclusive Design: How to Design More Equitable and Accessible Products

Inclusive design means making design choices that take into account personal identifiers like ability, race, economic status, language, age, and gender. This resource walks folks through an introduction to inclusive design, focusing on accessibility and equity.

Exygy
Presentation

Eligible Low-Income Children Missing Out on Crucial WIC Benefits During Pandemic

The share of WIC-eligible families participating in the program has declined, though the number of individuals eligible for WIC has likely grown substantially. By working together, state WIC, Medicaid, and SNAP leaders can use data to assess the extent to which WIC is reaching eligible families and enroll more of them.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Report

Benefits Data Trust Demo at the Cross-Sector Rules as Code Roundtable

In this video, Benefits Data Trust Senior Product Manager Daniel Singer and Software Engineering Manager Preston Cabe present their eligibility screening platform including their rules engine, API, and DMN rules notation. The Cross-Sector Rules as Code Roundtable on February 22, 2024 was hosted by Rules as Code Community of Practice at the Digital Benefits Network.

Benefits Data Trust
Video

Algorithmic Accountability for the Public Sector

This report presents evidence on the use of algorithmic accountability policies in different contexts from the perspective of those implementing these tools, and explores the limits of legal and policy mechanisms in ensuring safe and accountable algorithmic systems.

Ada Lovelace Institute (Ada), AI Now Institute (AI Now), Open Government Partnership (OGP)
Report

Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 8: PolicyEngine | Max Gehnis and Nikhil Woodruff

We wrapped up Rules as Code Demo Day with Max Ghenis and Nikhil Woodruff, the founders of PolicyEngine. The PolicyEngine web app computes the impact of tax and benefit policy in the US and the UK. With PolicyEngine, anyone can freely calculate their taxes and benefits under current law and customizable policy reforms, and also estimate the society-wide impacts of those reforms. Policymakers and think tanks from across the political spectrum can analyze actual policy. PolicyEngine is built atop the open source OpenFisca US and UK microsimulation models and they are building an open unified data set utilizing data from the Policy Rules Database, Current Population Survey, Survey of Consumer Finances, Consumer Expenditures, tax records, and IRS Public Use File.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Video

Helping People with Low Incomes Navigate Benefit Cliffs: Lessons Learned Deploying a Marginal Tax Rate Calculator

This report details findings and lessons from a project to develop a calculator to help people anticipate how a change in earnings from employment would affect their net income and information on their estimated effective marginal tax rate.

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

Better Together? An Evaluation of AI-Supported Code Translation

This research explores how software engineers are able to work with generative machine learning models. The results explore the benefits of generative code models and the challenges software engineers face when working with their outputs. The authors also argue for the need for intelligent user interfaces that help software engineers effectively work with generative code models.

IBM Research
Academic Article

Race and Inequity in Identity Proofing Methods

The vast fraud committed through the use of stolen and synthetic identities in UI programs has spotlighted the need for updated identity fraud detection mechanisms. As states are implementing new technologies and systems, they need to consider the ways in which they are impacting racial inequities in UI benefits.

U.S. Digital Response
Toolkit

Default to Open

This article discusses the various benefits of publicly-funded open-source software. These benefits include fairness and transparency, economic stimulus, and support of the Federal Source Code Policy Agenda.

New America
Non-Academic Article

After the toolkit: anticipatory logics and the future of government

Building on the concept of anticipatory governance, this article aims to show how approaches associated with foresight and design can enact an anticipatory logic which is necessary for public administrations to achieve their goals in the face of uncertainty and dynamic environments.

Policy Design and Practice
Academic Article

The Federal government is redesigning how it delivers services

Article announcing five new projects by the Office of Management and Budget that will improve experiences the public has with the government during significant movements in their lives. These “life experience” projects are at the center of a new model for how the Federal Government should better design and deliver benefits, services, and programs to the American people during the moments in their lives that matter most.

Performance.gov
Non-Academic Article

Creating a More Dynamic Unemployment Insurance System: The Case for Eliminating Experience Rating

Policy analysis and recommendations for eliminating the experience rating system in UI.

Niskanen Center
Policy Brief

Unemployment Insurance Email Template Kit v1.0

This kit contains a collection of styles, components, and building blocks to quickly create action-forward emails for Unemployment Insurance programs within the U.S. An email library of 50+ examples are also provided for you to get started. Customize with your state logo and colors that are already in the file. Report of project is included.

Semicolon Design Group, New Jersey Office of Innovation, New Jersey Department of Labor
Toolkit

How to create an inclusive user research environment

This article describes the necessity of building an inclusive research environment that empowers participants, as well as techniques for creating such environments in both in-person and remote capacities.

Ad Hoc
Toolkit

Toolkit for Helping States Implement People-Centered Pandemic EBT

With the extension and expansion of P-EBT during COVID and the Food and Nutrition Service releasing new guidance, states have an opportunity to effectively deliver essential resources to children and families. Code for America built this toolkit of resources to share recommendations and promising practices around the implementation of P-EBT and to support state agencies and partners tasked with the development of P-EBT programs.

Code for America
Toolkit

Going Big with Human-Centered Redesign

Redesigning benefits applications, renewals, and correspondence using human-centered design is one of the most impactful things state and local government agencies can do to ensure that all eligible residents can access social safety net resources. This guide includes practical insights for benefits administrators considering a comprehensive redesign of benefits delivery processes.

Civilla, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Toolkit

Reimagining a U.S. Benefits System That Supports All Workers: Five Key Takeaways from Public and Private Benefit Leaders

This rapporteur’s report features 5 key takeaways from the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program's 2022 Benefits Forum with 55 experts in public and private benefits, including corporate leaders, policymakers, worker advocates, entrepreneurs, and researchers, who came together to brainstorm solutions for closing gaps in our public and private benefits and strengthening their design and delivery to support all workers and their families. The goals were to identify areas of agreement across stakeholders and imagine and invent the benefits solutions that workers need today, and in the future, to promote household financial security. Participants concluded on five key takeaways from the discussions: 1. Households Need a Core Bundle of Benefits 2. Technology is Important, but it’s not a Panacea 3. Narrative change around Benefits is critical 4. Government and Employers have Important, Shared Roles 5. Financial Security Outcomes of Benefits must be Measured

Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Report

Shaping Digital Identity Standards: Explainer and Recommendations

A plain-language explainer and recommendations on technical standard-setting for digital identity systems for non-technical audiences

Temple University Institute for Law, Innovation & Technology, NYU Digital Welfare State Project
Link to Other Resources

Design Patterns Catalogue

A catalogue to help teams design trustworthy services that work for people. Categories including informing decisions, signing into services, giving and removing consent, and doing security checks.

Projects by If
Toolkit

What Government Programs Should Measure: How Well They Help People

It is necessary give the public servants who manage safety-net systems the technology tools and incentives to track critical outcomes and meet people where they are.

Governing
News

How Data Sharing Can Improve Equitable Access to Public Programs

Accessing safety net benefits can involve complicated and duplicative processes that create barriers to access. Using cross-enrollment strategies can minimize the difficulties community members face in getting access to life-saving resources.

Alluma
Toolkit

NIST Digital Identity Guidelines

These guidelines from the National Institutes of Standard and Technology provide technical requirements for federal agencies implementing digital identity services.

National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST)
Report

Roadmap: NIST Special Publication 800-63-4 Digital Identity Guidelines

The Revision 4 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-63, Digital Identity Guidelines, intends to respond to the changing digital landscape that has emerged since the last major revision of this suite was published in 2017 — including the real-world implications of online risks. This roadmap outlines NIST's project milestones and opportunities to provide feedback through March 2023.

National Institute of Standards and Technology
Government Documents

What Are Human Services, and How Do State Governments Structure Them?

This report describes the human services landscape within state governments and uses case studies to show the range of approaches state governments take in structuring their human services systems. It also explores some implications of these structures for alignment and coordination within human services and with the health care sector.

Urban Institute
Report

The IRS as a Benefits Administrator

The IRS is arguably the single most critical benefits administrator in the country, given its responsibility for tax credit-based relief programs, and COVID-19 relief payments. Despite these programs’ incredible progress in reducing poverty, and despite great strides by the IRS to implement them successfully, accessing IRS benefits remains too difficult for many low-income families. This report presents a comprehensive agenda to increase benefit coverage rates, simplify Americans’ interactions with the IRS, and decrease the portion of IRS benefits diverted to third parties.

New America
Report

Dataset: Digital Authentication and Identity Proofing in Public Benefits 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.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Dataset

Study to Identify Methods to Assess Equity: Report to the President

Study by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget assessing methods for determining whether agency policies and actions create or exacerbate barriers to full and equal participation by eligible individuals. This study followed the Executive Order on racial equity.

Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget
Government Documents

2021 Poverty Projections: Assessing Four American Rescue Plan Policies

This report describes key elements of the American Rescue Plan Act and how it would reduce the projected poverty rate for 2021. Various projections regarding the effects of the policy are described in this report.

Urban Institute
Report

Laying the Tracks for an Equitable Recovery and Long Term Repair

In this brief, APHSA outlines its commitment to addressing the causes of structural inequities by first illuminating structural root causes of race inequity within the context of human services. The brief outlines approaches to doing the intentional and systematic work that is required to counteract the structural barriers human services systems have fostered.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Policy Brief

Recoding America at BenCon 2023

Jennifer Pahlka, Deputy CTO in President Obama’s Administration and author, shares her new book, Recoding America on how government must be equipped for digital delivery in order to meet ambitious policy goals. This video was recorded at the Digital Benefits Conference (BenCon) at Georgetown University on June 14, 2023.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
Video

The New Practice Lab’s Racial Equity Framework

New America’s New Practice Lab discusses insights into racial inequities within the Unemployment Insurance System, and provides recommendations its framework for rectifying inequality in policies and programs moving forward.

New America
Toolkit

Digital Welfare States and Human Rights

In this report, the UN Special Rapporteur critically examines uses of digital technologies for administration of welfare programs across international contexts, and makes recommendations for using technology responsibly and ethically.

United Nations
Report

Make RFPs More Equitable

A Request For Proposals (RFP) is a document describing a project that needs an outside business to complete. Clear, concise RFPs are necessary to attract potential talent, in addition to making the process more equitable and efficient. This article provides several suggestions on improving an organization’s RFP.

Bellweather Agency
Toolkit

Potential and Progress for Benefits Eligibility: A Recap of Rules as Code Demo Day

Building on our February 2022 report Benefit Eligibility Rules as Code: Reducing the Gap Between Policy and Service Delivery for the Safety Net, the Beeck Center’s Digital Benefits Network (DBN) recently held a convening to share progress and potential in digitizing benefits eligibility and to begin addressing how a national approach could be started. At Rules as Code Demo Day, on June 28th, 2022, there were eight demonstrations of projects and code followed by a collaborative problem-solving session on how to continue advancing rules as code for the U.S. social safety net.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
News

Software Update Required: COVID-19 Exposes Need for Federal Investments in Technology (Virtual Hearing)

House Committee on the Budget virtual hearing regarding the importance of federal investments in technology and software updates during COVID-19.

House Committee on the Budget
Video

Optimizing Federal COVID Relief Funds: State Perspectives On Bolstering Child Care And Early Childhood Systems

This report examines how states strategically approached managing and administering the historic influx of COVID-19 relief funds for child care and early childhood systems, focusing on governance structures, funding management systems, and data systems

National Governors Association
No items found.

Engaging People with Lived Experience to Improve Federal Research, Policy, and Practice

This webpage links to materials ASPE has prepared as it leads work on how federal agencies and programs can meaningfully and effectively engage people with lived experience.

Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Link to Other Resources

The Ohio Benefits Program is “BOT” In

This award documentation from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) explains how agencies in Ohio used automation to support administration of public benefits programs.

National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
Case Study

Helping More Than 1.3 Million Schoolchildren Access Pandemic EBT—in Just One Week

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the federal government authorized a new emergency program, Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), to replace school meals with money for groceries while schools are closed. Code for America describes its efforts to launch an accessible, online P-EBT application under an accelerated timeline due to to immense demand caused by the pandemic.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

A Modernized System of Benefits is the Foundation for an Inclusive Economy

Report by the Aspen Institute discussing Benefits21, a multi-stakeholder, multi-faceted initiative to integrate and modernize benefits systems. This paper provides an overview of Benefits21, along with a discussion of the shortcomings of current public and private benefit systems.

Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Report

What does it take for a public interest technology project to succeed?

This article describes the necessary factors for a public interest technology project to succeed, including leadership support, organizational and team support, proper scoping, time and resources, and a sustainability plan.

New America
Non-Academic Article

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
Toolkit

Opening Keynote–a Fireside Chat with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee on Identity Fraud

In this video, Susan S. Gibson, chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee's (PRAC) Identity Fraud and Redress Working Group, speaks with Jeremy Grant of the Better Identity Coalition, about the challenges of identity fraud for benefits program during the COVID-19 pandemic. This video comes from the Better Identity Coalition’s 2022 policy forum, “Identity, Authentication, and the Road Ahead."

Better Identity Coalition
Video

Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 7: MITRE Corporation (CCASH) | Joe Ditre and Frank Ruscil

MITRE’s Joe Ditre and Frank Ruscil demoed the code for the Comprehensive Careers and Supports for Households (C-CASH) at Rules as Code Demo Day. The MITRE team expanded the accessibility of the Policy Rules Database and the Cost-of-Living Database (the prior demo) by creating a web service API and a front-end Window’s application called C-CASH Analytic Tool (CAT). CAT provides a more scalable, flexible, and portable functionality which allows end-users to generate various households to run eligibility scenarios across different U.S. counties and states. They are currently working to create a national data hub and analytics tool, starting with utilizing U.S. Census data and populating the data warehouse by pushing large amounts of data through the PRD.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Video

Software Sharing Models

Governments around the world are sharing custom-built software already, and have done so for many years. It’s vital, cost-saving, and meets the needs of users. This article provides examples of a range of different software sharing models.

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

Increasing Older Adult Access to SNAP

This brief highlights the complex journey that older adults experience when applying for and enrolling in SNAP, including the major barriers and solutions that improve access along the way.

AARP Foundation
Fact Sheet

Algorithmic Accountability: Moving Beyond Audits

This report explores how despite unresolved concerns, an audit-centered algorithmic accountability approach is being rapidly mainstreamed into voluntary frameworks and regulations.

AI Now Institute
Non-Academic Article

Unemployment Insurance Claim Status Playbook

A U.S. Department of Labor published claim status playbook and model prototype on how to help make states' unemployment insurance claim process efficient and hassle-free.

U.S. Department of Labor
Toolkit

Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 1: 18F Eligibility APIs Initiative | Alex Soble and Mike Gintz

We kicked off Rules as Code Demo Day with Alex Soble of 18F and Mike Gintz of 10x presenting their Eligibility APIs Initiative that explores whether APIs and rules as code might improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which federal public benefits programs communicate their policy to states. They demonstrated their original prototype, and how the open source code has now been extended into several initiatives.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
Video

COVID-19’s Impact on the Social Safety Net

California’s SNAP program faced record application volume due to the COVID-19 crisis, and other states must anticipate similar demand. This post summarizes key takeaways from GetCalFresh’s real-time data and client communications, and offers recommendations for how other states can implement effective responses.

Code for America
News

Effective Strategies to Collect Address Changes from Medicaid Beneficiaries via State Websites

As a part of Benefit Data Trust (BDT)’s Medicaid Churn Learning Collaborative, BDT has created a memo describing strategies for states to collect current mailing addresses of Medicaid beneficiaries in advance of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement — in effect under the federal public health emergency — unwinding.

Benefits Data Trust
Policy Brief

A Better Way to Connect People with the Benefits They Need

Outdated, cumbersome and inefficient government processes have long stymied innovation and prevented people from accessing social services for which they are eligible. BenePhilly has helped more than 110,000 Philadelphians, both in and out the workforce, enroll in assistance programs and has unlocked over $350 million in benefits.

Governing
Case Study

Opportunities to Improve Online Access to SNAP for Older Adults

This issue brief illustrates the challenges that many older adults with low income face in gaining access to benefits online. It addresses digital literacy, access to broadband internet, and the increasing prevalence of connecting online to SNAP.

AARP Foundation
Fact Sheet

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Responsible AI

This paper argues that a human rights framework could help orient the research on artificial intelligence away from machines and the risks of their biases, and towards humans and the risks to their rights, helping to center the conversation around who is harmed, what harms they face, and how those harms may be mitigated.

2022 ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization
Academic Article

The Government has a Rare Chance to Modernize its Outdated Tech Systems. They Can’t Afford to Waste it.

Part of the $1.9 trillion recovery package that Biden signed into law includes a $1 billion grant to the Technology Modernization Fund. The fund’s purpose is to help federal agencies upgrade their cybersecurity and modernize their technology. The TMF is a chance for federal agencies to move toward a responsive model of government, where people quickly and easily access the resources they need.

New America
Non-Academic Article

Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Lifecycle Management

These guidelines provide technical requirements for federal agencies implementing digital identity services and are not intended to constrain the development or use of standards outside of this purpose. These guidelines focus on the authentication of subjects interacting with government systems over open networks, establishing that a given claimant is a subscriber who has been previously authenticated.

National Institute of Standards and Technology
Report

Renewed Principles of Delivery-Driven Government: Evolving and expanding our vision for how government should serve the public

Code for America initially introduced the concept of Delivery-Driven Government in 2018. This article refreshes its original principles and expands on what the organization has learned to make its concepts clearer.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

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
Video

Proposed Performance Standards for Equitable Access to Unemployment Insurance

This proposal recommends a set of new federal performance standards that would measure and improve UI access. The proposal is intended to supplement existing federal UI standards, but all UI standards and metrics should be periodically reevaluated and updated as the conditions facing unemployed workers and benefit delivery change.

National Employment Law Project (NELP)
Non-Academic Article

State of California: Benefits and Risks of Generative Artificial Intelligence Report

This report on the use of Generative AI in State government presents an initial analysis of the potential benefits to individuals, communities, government and State government workers, while also exploring potential risks.

California Government Operations Agency
Report

Delivery-Driven Policy: Policy designed for the digital age

There is a key disconnect between policymakers’ intent and implementation of policies. A user-centric, iterative, and data-driven approach can result result in digital technology that provides much needed data and insights at a substantially lower cost.

Code for America
Report
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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