GetYourRefund.org is an online portal by Code for America that helps low-income individuals claim thousands of dollars in tax credits, even after the traditional tax deadline has passed.
This Code for America article discusses how tax filing can be a powerful tool for economic justice, highlighting efforts to make the tax system more accessible and equitable for low-income individuals.
A guide by New America to help cities and states set up cash assistance programs for their residents, based on the Alia Cares platform that the National Domestic Workers Alliance built to run their Coronavirus Cares Fund that provides emergency assistance for home care workers to support them in staying safe and at home to slow the spread of COVID.
The CARES Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act failed to reach millions of non-tax-filing Americans with low incomes and deliberately excluded undocumented immigrants, leaving entire communities without recourse. Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants (DRAI) was a crucial program by the state of California for undocumented immigrants, and the California Department of Social Services partnered with Code for America to build a digital portal that would support community-based organizations in taking applications, tracking the various steps in the process, and activating clients’ $500 bank cards.
Code for America’s simplified tax filing tool that allows users to claim their Child Tax Credit and any missing amount of their third stimulus payment.
A playbook by New America describing lessons learned from past recessions, recent pandemic-inspired innovations, and complementary benefit spaces like SNAP and WIC.
The CUTGroup book explains how civic user testing (paying residents to test civic apps) can allow for more community engagement in civic tech. This book covers how to do UX testing, community engagement, and digital skills in one civic tech system.
User research requires working as a team, since it necessitates running sessions with participants, observing and moderating research sessions, analyzing and synthesizing results, as well as communicating results effectively.
Dana Chisnell describes work leading a team of researchers to interview people from across the US on their experiences applying for unemployment and other benefits during the pandemic.
County workers typically spend most of their time trying to get income information right during eligibility interviews. This article provides several recommendations for asking about income, accounting for cognitive biases, under-reporting, and complexities in reporting income.
