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Text Messaging

Text messaging can help agencies share information, communicate with beneficiaries, and enable programs to meet residents where they are.

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Concise, plain language communications help people enroll and stay enrolled.

Effectively communicating with individuals is a challenge for many agencies. Text messaging can be an impactful way to support applicants, stay in touch and support beneficiaries in maintaining uninterrupted benefits, and conduct outreach to potentially eligible individuals.

Approaches range from one-way systems that provide recertification reminders to two-way systems that allow residents to ask questions immediately. Unlocking the benefits of text messaging requires planning and understanding of legal and technical requirements. Clear communications with text messaging recipients are also important for building trust. On this page, you can explore guidance for every element and stage of implementing a text message outreach program.

Featured Content

Targeted Text Message Outreach Can Increase WIC Enrollment, Pilots Show

Targeted Text Message Outreach Can Increase WIC Enrollment, Pilots Show

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

Benefits Data Trust, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Resource
FCC Training on Public Benefits Texting

FCC Training on Public Benefits Texting

Federal Communications Commission present on how state and local agencies can legally use SMS messaging to engage with public benefits applicants and recipients, including compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Performance.gov and Federal Communications Commission
Resource
Text to Connect: Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn (Full Guide)

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

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

Case Studies

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New York City Benefits and Programs: Designing, Translating and Scaling Accessible Content

New York City Benefits and Programs: Designing, Translating and Scaling Accessible Content

New York City's platform for accessing and learning about benefit programs, ACCESS NYC, increasingly struggled to adapt to new use cases, technological innovation, and more efficient methods of website maintenance and content sharing. These challenges impeded NYC’s ability to deliver up-to-date accessible benefits information and eligibility screening to residents when they needed it.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
2016
City of San José: Machine Learning for Translation

City of San José: Machine Learning for Translation

The majority of San José residents speak languages other than English, particularly Spanish and Vietnamese. The City of San José sought to expand access to their 311 service to be more responsive to the needs of these residents.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
2020
Louisiana: Expanding a Successful Texting Pilot During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Louisiana: Expanding a Successful Texting Pilot During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic placed incredible pressure on public assistance programs at a time when states like Louisiana were already trying to conduct more effective outreach to benefits applicants and recipients. These efforts were complicated by a surge in applications and the need to close government offices.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
2019

All Text Messaging Content

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LA’MESSAGE Demo and Scripts

LA’MESSAGE is a one-way text messaging service developed by Code for America in partnership with Louisiana to broadcast reminders and guidance to residents enrolled in and eligible for SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and WIC at key points throughout the benefits enrollment and renewal process.

Code for America
Artifact

Louisiana: Expanding a Successful Texting Pilot During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic placed incredible pressure on public assistance programs at a time when states like Louisiana were already trying to conduct more effective outreach to benefits applicants and recipients. These efforts were complicated by a surge in applications and the need to close government offices.

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Case Study
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Text to Connect: Legal + Policy Considerations for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

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
Resource

DA 23-62: FCC Declaratory Ruling on Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 for Medicaid

Ruling from the FCC granting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to confirm that federal and state governmental agencies working in conjunction with local governments, governmental contractors, and managed care entities acting under contract with state governments may, under certain circumstances, make autodialed and prerecorded or artificial voice calls or send autodialed text messages to raise awareness of the eligibility and enrollment requirements for these governmental health care programs without violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Federal Communications Commission
Resource

FCC Training on Public Benefits Texting

Federal Communications Commission present on how state and local agencies can legally use SMS messaging to engage with public benefits applicants and recipients, including compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Performance.gov and Federal Communications Commission
Resource

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
Resource

Texting Playbook: Recommendations and Tips for Texting Clients of Safety Net Services

The Texting Playbook provides guidance and well-researched strategies to help state agencies implement texting in support of Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and other benefits programs. It provides an overview of how to start texting clients; the types of messages to send, including real examples; Federal Communications Commision (FCC) policy guidance; how to encourage opt-ins and collect consent; how to avoid coming across as spam; and a cost analysis of texting.

Code for America
Resource

Mobile Fact Sheet

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

Pew Research Center
Resource

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

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

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

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

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
Resource

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
Resource

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
Resource

How Louisiana Rapidly Scaled Pilot Solutions to Combat COVID-19

In response to exploding demand for social services during COVID-19, the Louisiana Department of children and Family services implemented text-message alerts and reminders for the state’s entire SNAP caseload, launched a text-based public campaign to help people understand and apply for SNAP benefits, and hired SNAP recipients to provide client feedback on communications and policy decisions.

Code for America
Resource

Nudging Benefits Access in the Right Direction

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

Benefits Data Trust
Resource

Integrated Benefits Initiative: Best Practices in Texting

Code for America offers government agencies a general overview of getting started with implementing text messaging services for clear, responsive communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Code for America
Resource

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

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

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

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

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

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

Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, Benefits Data Trust
Resource

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
Resource

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
Resource
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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