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18F Methods: Journey Mapping

18F describes journey mapping: a visualization of the major interactions shaping a user’s experience of a product or service. This allows design teams to view a service through the perspective of the user and incorporate their learnings throughout the development process.

18F
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

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
Toolkit

Maximizing Linkages: A Policymaker’s Guide to Data Sharing

Maximizing Linkages: A Policymaker’s Guide to Data Sharing

Alluma
Toolkit

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

Eligibility Rules Weekly Recaps

Github page with weekly recaps on the activities taking place during 18F’s Eligibility Rules Service project.

18F
Non-Academic Article

WIC Policy Memorandum #2023-5: Data Sharing to Improve Outreach and Streamline Certification in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

This policy memorandum from the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provides guidance on data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participation and retention.

Food and Nutrition Service
Government Documents

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
Video

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

2022 Benefits Scorecard

Framework by the Aspen Institute to assess how both public and private benefits are performing to support workers’ financial security needs, identify where innovations are needed to fill current benefit gaps, and explore opportunities to improve and modernize design and delivery. This resource allows policymakers, employers, benefits providers, and researchers assess benefits performance for constituents and identify opportunities in market and policy innovation to ensure equitable benefits distribution.

Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Toolkit

Starting Small with Human-Centered Redesign: Approachable Ideas for State and Local Public Benefits Agencies to Improve Applications, Renewals, and Correspondence

This guide highlights approachable ideas for state and local public benefits agencies to improve applications, renewals, and correspondence. As outlined in this resource, even small improvements can be transformative for residents and caseworkers alike.

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

Strengthening Analytics in Government Agencies: A Toolkit for Sustainable Data Use

This toolkit offers strategies and tools to help agencies build the culture and infrastructure needed to apply data analysis routinely, effectively, and accurately – referred to in this publication as “sustainable data use.” It covers a variety of subjects – from staffing and technology to collaboration and funding – that can impact the longevity of analytics work in the public sector.

MDRC, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Coleridge Initiative, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy
Toolkit

Rapidly Building Unemployment Services During the Pandemic

Nava partnered with the State of California’s Employment Development Department to build and deploy two digital services to assist Californians seeking unemployment benefits, in just three months.

Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Case Study

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

18F and TTS Office of Acquisition award first assisted acquisition

The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance (OFA) worked with 18F to replace its legacy data reporting system through product management training, user research, and an assisted acquisition.

18F
News

A state-by-state breakdown of failures in unemployment systems across the US during the pandemic

Business Insider rounded up 35 states that struggled with giving out unemployment benefits during the pandemic. Issues included backlogs, delayed payments, payments sent to fraudsters, and poor communication between the agency and laid-off workers. In alphabetical order by state, they provide a roundup of many states' struggles to give unemployment benefits to jobless Americans. 

Business Insider
News

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

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

People Lead the Way: How GetCalFresh has adapted qualitative research during a public health crisis

This article describes how Code for America conducted qualitative research within its GetCalFresh application by asking families to tell them about their familial, housing, and financial situations. From client messages, they gathered information regarding how to make changes to their product to keep their work people-centered.

Code for America
News

Improving Public Programs for Low-Income Tax Filers

To inform future efforts to bring more low-income tax filers into the tax system, this report focuses on the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and investigates the challenges and opportunities to better serve the American people and improve the experience of tax filing.

New America
Report

How APIs can help WIC better meet staff and participants’ needs

WIC programs across the country are already adapting and evolving to meet their participants’ needs. An API standard, which allows agencies to plug digital tools into existing technology systems, would remove some of the key barriers to innovating and sharing technology tools between agencies.

Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Non-Academic Article

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

Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 5: mRelief SNAP Eligibility Screener | Zareena Meyn and Dize Hacioglu

At Rules as Code Demo Day Executive Director Zareena Mayn and Chief Technology Officer Dize Hacioglu of mRelief demoed the code for their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility screener. mRelief is a women-led team that provides a web-based and text message-based SNAP eligibility screener to all 53 states and territories that participate in SNAP. They demonstrated how they have modularized their code to host federal program rules and state-specific rules.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Video

OECD Framework for the Classification of AI systems

To help policy makers, regulators, legislators and others characterize AI systems deployed in specific contexts, the OECD has developed a user-friendly tool to evaluate AI systems from a policy perspective.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Report

Key Practices to Reduce Improper Payments through Identity Verification

This report from the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program outlines efforts to use identity verification to reduce improper payments in government programs, while mitigating bias and disparate impacts.

Report

States Can Use Text Messaging to Communicate Effectively With Medicaid and SNAP Enrollees

In the vast majority of states where Medicaid, SNAP, and other economic security and health programs are administered at the state level, agencies can and should send text messages to their clients to help eligible people connect to and stay enrolled in these programs.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Non-Academic Article

How to build a participant advisory council

In 2022, Nava formed its first-ever PAC as part of their initiative to help Montana’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program design a new recertification portal. Leveraging what Nava learned from this experience, this toolkit outlines the necessary steps to form a PAC, including planning a structure for the council, recruiting participants, and other logistics.

Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Toolkit

Envisioning a Federal Rules as Code Approach to Public Benefits Eligibility

Digitizing public benefits policy will make the biggest impact for administrators and Americans, but only if it happens at the highest level of government.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

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

Response to RFI: Center for WIC Modernization and Delivery

In this RFI response, APHSA draws on its work with members to align programs and agencies in human services to inform WIC modernization and delivery.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Other

What’s in a name? A survey of strong regulatory definitions of automated decision-making systems

This post outlines different definitions of automated decision-making systems proposed by scholars and government entities.

Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Non-Academic Article

Maximizing the impact of direct cash transfers to young people: A policy toolkit

Chapin Hall collaborated with national policy experts, practitioners, and young adults with lived experience of homelessness to create a policy toolkit where tax, public benefits, and educational aid implications for young people participating in Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) programs are laid out in one place.

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
Toolkit

Responding to the COVID-19 Unemployment Crisis and Meeting the Future of Work Challenge

Due to technology’s disruptive force in society and on the labor force, it is necessary to revisit the relationship between employees, governments, and citizens. This report asserts that the next president should immediately sign two Executive Orders (EOs) to address the current work crisis and the urgent economic emergency that has left Americans evicted, unable to pay bills, make rent, or put food on the table.

Day One Project
Policy Brief

The Ad Hoc Product Field Guide

This field guide is written for digital services and technology leaders working in government agencies at the federal, state, or local level. It’s meant to highlight the power of product thinking to government digital services. With this guide, agencies can start moving from a project management mindset to a product-based approach to delivering services.

Ad Hoc
Toolkit

Mapping the Applicant Experience of Benefit Enrollment

Applicants to federal aid programs face numerous barriers in accessing benefits they are eligible for. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare conducted an extensive qualitative user research study to better understand applicant experience in enrolling in public assistance programs. Based on the results, the study emphasizes the need for simplified, streamlined and less burdensome application processes.

U.S. Digital Service, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Report

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

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

Collaborate with the TTS Public Benefits Studio

The Technology Transformation Service at GSA recently created a new Public Benefits Studio to focus on fostering a more cohesive, coordinated experience for the public, across programs. To do this, their team is seeking to collaborate with benefits agencies to develop shared technology tools and best practices that can be used by multiple benefits programs simultaneously. As a first initiative, the Studio exploring opportunities to close the gap in adoption of plain-language, multi-channel notifications, including using text messaging.

Technology Transformation Services (TTS), Public Benefits Studio, General Services Administration
News

Expanding TANF Program Insights: A Toolkit for State and Local Agencies on How to Access, Link, and Analyze Unemployment Insurance Wage Data

This toolkit is designed to assist state and local TANF agencies in accessing, linking, and analyzing employment data from unemployment insurance (UI) systems. The toolkit provides practical guidance on using UI wage data for program monitoring, reporting, and evaluation, and it may be valuable for other human services agencies and policymakers interested in improving workforce outcomes. The report highlights four key sections, covering the purpose of the toolkit, challenges in accessing UI wage data, methods for linking data sources, and instructions for preparing data for analysis. Additionally, an accompanying GitHub repository offers open-source code and resources for data processing and analysis. This toolkit serves as a starting point for TANF leaders who want to access and analyze UI wage data and offers the essential building blocks you will need to get started on your data analysis journey.

MDRC, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy
Toolkit

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

Government AI Readiness Index 2023

For 2023, Oxford Insights assesses the AI readiness of 193 governments across the world.

Oxford Insights
Other

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

Low Visibility Ahead: Mobile State IDs May Prevent Fraud in Digital Identity Verification, but Pose Threats to Privacy

This article explores trade-offs in the use of mobile state IDs.

Center for Democracy & Technology
Non-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

Moving Child Care Assistance Applications Online Means More Families Get the Help They Deserve

Hennepin County, Minnesota, partnered with Code for America to develop a six-month long experiment where participants were given the option to submit the normal paper-based application or opt into an online application.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

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

Digital Benefits Wishlist

The Digital Benefits Wishlist collects on tools, resources, or policy changes needed to improve benefits delivery. Originally created as part of BenCon2023, a conference hosted by the Digital Benefits Network, it continues to grow and accept new wishes.

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

Using Client-Centered Communications to Improve the Benefits Renewal Process

Understanding the impact of churn and how agencies can better use communication channels to help clients keep their benefits.

Code for America
Non-Academic Article

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

Build and Fund Staff Capacity in Your Government Agency to Integrate Benefits

This resource guide outlines one approach to integrating benefits: building the in-house capacity to champion and supervise benefits integration.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

National Collaborative for Integration of Health and Human Services: Promoting Greater Health and Well-Being

A growing body of evidence shows that improved care and service coordination across multiple sectors, including beyond traditional health care services, has the potential to enable the achievement of improved health and well-being outcomes for families and communities. Human service programs and providers already in place are uniquely positioned to provide essential contributions to improving overall health outcomes if they effectively coordinate with the traditional and evolving health system.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Report

Exploring Rules Communication: Moving Beyond Static Documents to Standardized Code for U.S. Public Benefits Programs

This brief analyzes the current state of federal and state government communication around benefits eligibility rules and policy and how these documents are being tracked and adapted into code by external organizations. This work includes comparisons between coded examples of policy and potential options for standardizing code based on established and emerging data standards, tools, and frameworks.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Massive Data Institute
Academic Article

Aligning Systems to Advance Family and Community Well-Being: A Partnership Playbook for Community Action and Human Services Agencies

This playbook outlines the ways Community Action and human services agencies worked together to meet the pandemic challenge—what worked well, obstacles and difficulties, and lessons learned to inform the path forward, partnering to achieve a more equitable recovery. It also explains how communities have leveraged opportunities to partner on approaches that hold the promise of deeper, longer lasting changes for families—work shaped by families’ wishes and strengths and designed to advance both family-level and systems-level change.

National Community Action Partnership, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
No items found.

Advancing Economic Mobility For Low-Income Families: Policy Options For Governors

As we look to post-pandemic recovery, it will be critical to ensure that individuals have access to resources and supports that not only help them meet basic needs but also provide them with tools to increase their economic security and resilience and build assets that can be passed on to future generations, setting them up for future success.

National Governors Association
Report

Basic Income and Local Government; A Guide to Municipal Pilots

This guide consolidates learning and spotlights principles, insights, and emerging practices to guide municipal leaders and public-private partnerships interested in designing basic income programs that are ethical, equitable, rigorous, informative, and consequential for local, state and national policymaking.

Stanford Basic Income Lab
Toolkit

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

Government By Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence In Federal Administrative Agencies

Little is known about how agencies are currently using AI systems, and little attention has been devoted to how agencies acquire such tools or oversee their use.

Stanford RegLab
Report

Sprint 3 Report | Michigan Unemployment | Improving communication and messaging for unemployment insurance in Michigan

This project documents the work of Civilla and New America to improve the delivery of unemployment benefits for claimants in Michigan. This project is one phase of a larger body of work led by New America to improve the claimant and staff experience with unemployment insurance across the country.

Civilla, New America
Report

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

Responsible Design for Digital Communities

Digital interfaces are the bridges to our communities. Technology can’t fix the systemic inequality revealed by COVID19, but it can help make connections with our communities better. This tool kit and website brings together emergent best practices, workflows, and tools that communities, educators, mutual aid groups, designers, artists and activists are using for community building, and how design needs to change to best suit people, right now.

Responsible Design for Digital Communities
Toolkit

The Government Is Helping People Pay Rent, But Something’s Gone Wrong

Rent relief distribution in 2020 was slow and inequitable, because local programs instituted strict eligibility criteria beyond what was required by the CARES Act. As a result of these hurdles, incomplete applications were a major barrier to distributing funds. This report describes the rent relief challenges during the pandemic, as well as a few possible fixes to help the next round of aid distribution.

New America
Non-Academic Article

Updates to the OECD’s definition of an AI system explained

In 2023, OECD member countries approved a revised version of the Organisation’s definition of an AI system. This post explains the reasoning behind the updated definition.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Non-Academic Article

Accessible Benefits Information: Reducing Administrative Burden and Improving Equitable Access through Clear Communication About Safety Net Benefits

Complex benefits information creates unnecessary barriers for people trying to understand what’s relevant to them so that they can take immediate action to receive the benefits they need. As part of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation’s series on documenting best practices in social safety net benefits access and delivery, this guide to Accessible Benefits Information offers case studies that show how groups in Michigan, New York City, and San José use plain language, multilingual translation, co-creation and testing with residents, and technology tools to provide better information about benefits. 

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Report

Eligibility APIs Initiative

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

18F
Apps and API

Digital Identities and Verifiable Credentials

This article discusses the challenges of today’s centralized identity management and investigates current developments regarding verifiable credentials and digital wallets.

Business & Information Systems Engineering
Academic Article

Facial Recognition Technology: Current Capabilities, Future Prospects, and Governance

This book explores the current capabilities, future possibilities, and necessary governance for facial recognition technology. The report discusses legal, societal, and ethical implications of the technology, and recommends ways that federal agencies and others developing and deploying the technology can mitigate potential harms and enact more comprehensive safeguards.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Book

What the Digital Benefits Network is Reading on Automation

In this piece, the Digital Benefits Network shares several sources—from journalistic pieces, to reports and academic articles—we’ve found useful and interesting in our reading on automation and artificial intelligence.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
No items found.

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

The State Hub Roadmap: CDSS CalFresh and CalWORKs Streamlining Verifications

As part of its ongoing commitment to streamline access to benefits by Californians in need of assistance, the California Department of Social Services is exploring electronic options to help simplify and modernize the processes for obtaining required verifications for CalFresh and CalWORKs eligibility. This report lays out a set of options and opportunities for consideration, as well as a list of key verification considerations that would benefit both clients and staff.

Alluma
Report

Hawai'i's Coordinating SNAP & Nutrition Supports Impact Report

As part of the Coordinating SNAP & Nutrition Supports program, Hawai’i's Department of Human Services, Department of Health, and the Children’s Healthy Living Center at the University of Hawai’i have advanced interagency collaboration to deliver nutrition benefits more effectively to families with young children. This project streamlined data sharing between SNAP and WIC, enhancing cross-enrollment processes. This report documents best practices and lessons learned from their project.

American Public Human Services Association
Report

OECD AI Principles Overview

The OECD AI Principles promote use of AI that is innovative and trustworthy and that respects human rights and democratic values. The principles were adopted in 2019; this webpage provides an overview of the principles and key terms.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Organization Website

Exiting Technology Projects

This booklet is designed to help procurement officers and other stakeholders ensure continuity of service, enable seamless future technology upgrades, and plan for contingencies. You can use it to evaluate a prospective vendor contract or bid, or to document how a project went.

SmallScale, National Center for State Courts
Toolkit

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

Exploring a new way to make eligibility rules easier to implement

Programs like Medicaid and SNAP are managed at the federal level, administered at the state level, and often executed at the local level. Because there are so many in-betweens, there is significant duplicated effort, demonstrating the need to simplify eligibility rules to facilitate easier implementation.

18F
Non-Academic Article

Mobile Fact Sheet

Fact sheet with various statistics about the mobile habits of Americans.

Pew Research Center
Fact Sheet

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
Non-Academic Article

Application Modernization is an Imperative for State Governments

NASCIO and VMware conducted a study during 2022 on the topic of state government application modernization. This study included an online survey and detailed individual interviews of state and territorial CIOs. The report presents findings from this research, key recommendations and a playbook for moving forward with application modernization.

NASCIO, VMware
No items found.

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

Cross Enrollment WIC Case Study: A Joint Project of MDHHS and Benefits Data Trust

This presentation from Steph White, Cross Enrollment Coordinator at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services offers an in-depth example on implementing cross enrollment with WIC and general tools for cross enrollment.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Benefits Data Trust
Presentation

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

How Digital IDs Can Transform Government Services

Governments around the world are digitizing how they deliver services to citizens. And yet, without a secure and reliable way for people to prove their identity online, digital transformation efforts face a considerable barrier. This panel discussion, hosted by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF), focuses on the potential benefits and concerns surrounding digital ID and identity proofing technology as well as the legal and technical barriers for use.

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
Video

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

Leveraging Technology For Human-Centered One-Stop Workforce Service Delivery

A case study of the Hawai‘i Career Acceleration Navigator — an accessible, data-driven and full-service government platform for unemployed people and other jobseekers to search for jobs and access supportive service benefits.

National Governors Association
Case Study

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
News

A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide

This guide outlines the types of projects, partnerships, and people that civic technologists encounter, as well as the methods they can use to make lasting change.

Cyd Harrell
Book

Practica: Learn to Design Institutions That Put People First

Online courses from Civilla regarding human-centered design for public institutions.

Civilla
Workshop

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

Child Care and Development Fund Equity Assessment Toolkit

This toolkit provides resources for training and technical assistance (T/TA) providers in the Child Care Technical Assistance Network (CCTAN) to help State, Territory, and Tribal CCDF Lead Agencies be prepared to conduct equity assessments.

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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

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

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
Video

Federal Standards Needed to Provide Equitable Access to Unemployment Insurance

This report explains how revised federal performance standards can be a powerful tool for increasing equitable access to UI benefits.

National Employment Law Project (NELP)
Non-Academic Article

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

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

A Pivotal Moment

Technologists are crucial to help governments, social service providers, and advocacy groups use technology to confront and address the challenges and inequities that inevitably arise from technological change. However, there are not enough technologists working or interested in joining public interest fields to meet growing demand. This report identifies opportunities to build the field of public interest technology, and ways that philanthropy and other stakeholders can invest to best support such efforts.

NetGain Partnership
Report

Advocate’s Guide to MAGI

The National Health Law Program released an updated Guide to Modified Adjusted Gross Income, including sections on ACA tax filing and reporting, clarification on commonly asked questions about Social Security Income, and updated IRS tax filing thresholds.

National Health Law Program
Policy Brief

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

Challenging the Use of Algorithm-driven Decision-making in Benefits Determinations Affecting People with Disabilities

This report analyzes lawsuits that have been filed within the past 10 years arising from the use of algorithm-driven systems to assess people’s eligibility for, or the distribution of, public benefits. It identifies key insights from the various cases into what went wrong and analyzes the legal arguments that plaintiffs have used to challenge those systems in court.

Center for Democracy and Technology
Report

Summer EBT Outreach Toolkit

This toolkit helps implementing agencies (as well as other stakeholders and partners) promote the Summer EBT program, also known as SUN Bucks. These resources can help ensure families know about the new program and understand how to use their benefits.

USDA
Toolkit

Working Together - A Roadmap to Human Services System Alignment for Young Families

In April 2021 the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) established The System Alignment Working Group for Children & Families with a group of dedicated human services leaders and stakeholders across sectors, including parent representatives. The Working Group was tasked with identifying strengths and barriers in our current human services systems, opportunities for better system alignment, and to lay the foundations for a framework to effective human services alignment resulting in improved outcomes for young parents and their children. Members engaged in an iterative process with monthly development sessions, interactive workshops and convenings, and providing one-on-one feedback to APHSA staff. The results of these efforts lead to the production of this roadmap designed to support human services leaders at every level to facilitate meaningful systems-level changes to better serve the children and families in their communities.

American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Report
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