Resource Human-Centered Design Forms

Scaling Out Government Assistance

This session from FormFest 2024 focused on how to help people get the assistance they need from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ work on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Maryland Social Services Administration’s work to improve welfare support for kinship caregivers.

Organizations: Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Digital Service Network, Code for America, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Bloom Works, Baltimore City Department of Social Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Maryland Department of Human Services

Authors: Becky Rice, Katrina Lanahan, Marci Littman, Katherine (Kate) Saul, Megan Meadows, Louisa Sholar, Emilia Ndely-Ogundipe, Katie Green

Published Year: 2024

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This video features two presentations from FormFest 2024.

The first presentation, titled “Driving toward equity for kinship caregivers: Assessment forms as a vehicle for cultural change,” explores how Maryland’s child welfare division is piloting a revised kinship caregiver assessment form, developed with caregivers and tailored to the state’s needs, focusing on equitable improvements, cultural shifts, and feedback from caregivers and staff.

The second presentation, titled “Money in the [question] bank: Designing and testing edits for LIHEAP applications,” explores the creation of a plain-language LIHEAP Application question bank, along with research insights, modular content strategies, and resources to improve accessibility for benefits applications.