Benefits Playbook for Designing Human-Centered Applications
By implementing these best practices, states can improve the experience of accessing essential public benefits programs.
For most people, access to benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and child care assistance starts with visiting a government website. But too often, the website stands in the way of people getting the help they need. From complex, overwhelming language to applications that don’t resize properly on mobile devices, many aspects of a benefits enrollment website can be frustrating—and the real-world effects of that are devastating.
The Benefits Playbook for Designing Human-Centered Applications is a one-stop resource for leaders within state human services agencies who want their websites to be more accessible to the people who need them most. Code for America’s expertise is derived from more than a decade of working with safety net clients and government employees, and is now condensed in this essential guide. Readers of the playbook will learn:
- How to build trust with clients when asking sensitive questions
- What to do to ensure compliance with recent updates to the Americans with Disabilities Act
- How to best serve clients who don’t speak English as their primary language
- How to offer clients the option to submit an application without creating an account…and more!
When a benefits website is simple and accessible, it’s one less thing for a person who’s applying to worry about at a time when they may already have a lot to worry about. By sharing these best practices, Code for America aims to help agencies alleviate stress on clients, staff, and systems alike.
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