Benefits Journey: Applying + Enrolling
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Human-Centered Design ‘They’re Stealing Food From My Kids’: SNAP recipients and the struggle against EBT Theft
EBT theft has deeply damaged the lives of the lowest-income Americans. The following insights reveal a system that leaves people in the dark and fails to protect a crucial lifeline.
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Ensuring Timely and Accurate Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Determinations at Application
CMS urges states to review and improve their Medicaid and CHIP application processing timeframes to ensure compliance, timely coverage, and care, providing immediate and longer-term strategies for addressing application backlogs.
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Policy Measuring psychological burdens in access to U.S. social programs
This report contributes to the quantitative measurement of psychological burdens by examining a case study of a single social program: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by considering new quantitative measures of the psychological burdens faced by SNAP applicants.
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Procurement Improving State Unemployment Insurance Technology: A Guide for Advocates
This guide is intended to provide everything else, with a focus on the basics of UI technology projects, guidance on standards for equitable uses of technology, and strategies for how to have a positive impact on these projects.
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Automation + AI HHS Plan for Promoting Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Automated and Algorithmic Systems by State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments in the Administration of Public Benefits
This plan promotes responsible AI use in public benefits administration by state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, aiming to enhance program effectiveness and efficiency while meeting recipient needs.
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Human-Centered Design Improving Access to Public Benefits and Customer Experience: Key Actions and Best Practices
Comprehensive and sustained improvement in benefits access and customer experience requires changes across policy, operations, technology, staffing, procurement, and more. This guide offers a collection of actions and best practices for states to apply.
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Policy Building Resilience: A Plan for Transforming Unemployment Insurance
The GAO placed the UI system on its High Risk List in June 2022, leading the DOL to develop a transformation plan detailing activities and strategies for building a resilient UI system capable of responding effectively to future economic challenges.
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Digital Identity Project Snapshot: California Employment Development Department, User Personas for Government Technology Procurement
The California Employment Development Department (CA EDD) launched the EDDNext initiative to modernize benefit delivery, focusing on user-centric procurement for a new identity verification system. By using user personas to assess vendor solutions, CA EDD accelerated the procurement process and selected Socure to implement the digital identity proofing system, set to launch in 2024.
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Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Voices of Washington’s Unemployed: Highlights and Analysis From 100 Interviews with Recent Unemployment Benefits Claimants in Washington State
Through the interviews, ULP sought to capture details of claimant experience, see how and why system failures occurred, and make recommendations for reform now—before another financial or public health crisis suddenly causes state unemployment rates to spike.
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Automation + AI Helping Families Access Public Benefits with AI and Automation
Webinar that shares Nava’s partnership with the Gates Foundation and the Benefits Data Trust that seeks to answer if generative and predictive AI can be used ethically to help reduce administrative burdens for benefits navigators.
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Digital Identity 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.
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Digital Identity Decoded: Digital Identity in Public Benefits
In 2024, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Digital Benefits Network led a workshop to explore key terms related to digital identity, and provide ecosystem-level context on how authentication and identity proofing may show up in the online benefits experience and impact clients. This resource links to the presentation slides.