Benefits Program: Housing
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Digital Identity 
My File NYC — PATH Pilot Case Study
My File NYC is a document storage and sharing website that provides New York City residents a safe place to store and share vital documents when applying for City services.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Benefits Cliffs Coaching with the Atlanta Fed’s CLIFF Tools: Implementation Evaluation of the National Pilot
The Atlanta Fed’s CLIFF tools provide greater transparency to workers about potential public assistance losses when their earnings increase. We find three broad themes in organization-level implementation of the CLIFF tools: identifying the tar- get population of users; integrating the tool into existing operations; and integrating the tool into coaching sessions.
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Policy 
Moving Because of Unaffordable Housing and Disrupted Social Safety Net Access Among Children
This article shows how moves because of unaffordable housing can disrupt social safety net access for children.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Helping People with Low Incomes Navigate Benefit Cliffs: Lessons Learned Deploying a Marginal Tax Rate Calculator
This report details findings and lessons from a project to develop a calculator to help people anticipate how a change in earnings from employment would affect their net income and information on their estimated effective marginal tax rate.
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Automation + AI 
Access Denied: Faulty Automated Background Checks Freeze Out Renters
This reporting explores how algorithms used to screen prospective tenants, including those waiting for public housing, can block renters from housing based on faulty information.
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Policy 
A Safety Net with 100 Percent Participation: How Much Would Benefits Increase and Poverty Decline?
Research examining how much poverty would decrease—overall, by age, and by race and ethnicity—and how much benefits would increase if all people eligible for safety net programs received the full benefits they qualify for in each of the 50 states and DC.
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Automation + AI 
Screened & Scored in the District of Columbia
This report explores how automated decision-making systems are being used in one jurisdiction: Washington, D.C.
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Policy 
Tackling the Time Tax: How the Federal Government Is Reducing Burdens to Accessing Critical Benefits and Services
This report summarizes progress made with agencies and members of the public to identify and reduce burdens that individuals, families, and small businesses face every day when interacting with government programs.
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Policy 
Modernizing Public Benefits Delivery: How Innovation Can Deliver Results for Eligible Households and Taxpayers
A modernized public benefits system would better serve program participants, administrators, policy makers, and taxpayers. This paper proposes a set of principles both define the desired future state and outline the values that shape decision making along the way. Practices describe the processes needed to achieve modernization.
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Digital Identity 
Project Snapshot: MyFile NYC: Establishing Eligibility for Public Benefits Through Document Management Services
MyFile NYC is a digital platform that allows New York City residents experiencing homelessness to securely store, share, and manage vital documents with the Department of Homeless Services, streamlining the process of establishing eligibility for public benefits. This pilot, launched in 2022, aims to improve service access by reducing barriers like communication and documentation challenges, while allowing users control over their information.
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Human-Centered Design 
Making Public Benefits More Accessible in Minnesota
This report highlights work with Minnesota and includes nine suggestions for states seeking to launch their own integrated benefits applications
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Strategies for Improving Public Benefits Access and Retention
This report presents a menu of strategies that have the potential to increase access to individual public benefit programs or a package of benefits. It focuses on Illinois, but the strategies identified are relevant throughout the country.