Benefits Program: TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
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Improvements in Public Programs’ Customer Service Experiences Could Better Meet Enrollees’ Needs and Help Build Trust in Government
To better understand the experiences of people applying for public benefit programs and their perceptions of good and bad customer service within those programs, in 2022, the Urban Institute interviewed 27 adults who had applied for or received TANF cash assistance or Medicaid/CHIP in 2021 and reported at least one of four specified enrollment challenges.
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Data Improving Outcomes for Families through Better Use of Data: The TANF Data Collaborative
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Innovation project and the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC) Pilot were established to expand the routine use, integration, and analysis of TANF and employment data by agency staff to improve program services and outcomes for families with low incomes. This nine-minute video, produced after the completion of the TDC Pilot, features staff members from the California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Virginia TANF agencies reflecting on their challenges, accomplishments, and general experiences during the pilot.
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Policy What Are Human Services, and How Do State Governments Structure Them?
This report describes the human services landscape within state governments and uses case studies to show the range of approaches state governments take in structuring their human services systems. It also explores some implications of these structures for alignment and coordination within human services and with the health care sector.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code Project Snapshot: ACCESS NYC & Benefits Screening API
The NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) developed the NYC Benefits Platform, including ACCESS NYC, to help residents easily discover and check eligibility for over 80 social programs. This mobile-first, open-source tool uses a simple eligibility screener, reducing access barriers while allowing integration with other city services like MyCity, ensuring efficient access to benefits.
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Digital Identity Digital Identity and Public Benefits: Announcing a New Research Agenda
An announcement about the Digital Benefits Network's new research agenda on digital identity in public benefits.
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Communications Texting Playbook: Recommendations and Tips for Texting Clients of Safety Net Services
The Texting Playbook provides guidance and well-researched strategies to help state agencies implement texting in support of Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and other benefits programs. It provides an overview of how to start texting clients; the types of messages to send, including real examples; Federal Communications Commision (FCC) policy guidance; how to encourage opt-ins and collect consent; how to avoid coming across as spam; and a cost analysis of texting.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code Project Snapshot: PolicyEngine
PolicyEngine is a nonprofit that provides a free, open-source web app enabling users in the US and UK to estimate taxes and benefits at the household level, while also simulating the effects of policy changes. By combining tax and benefits data, PolicyEngine helps individuals and policymakers better understand the impacts of existing policies and proposed reforms, using microsimulation models built from legislation and enhanced survey data.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code Policy Rules Database Github
Github repository for Policy Rules Database, which encodes up-to-date rules and provisions for all major federal and state public assistance programs, taxes, and tax credits.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code PolicyEngine US GitHub repository
PolicyEngine US is a Python-based microsimulation model of the US tax and benefit system. It models federal individual income taxes (including credits), major benefit programs, and state income taxes (currently in six states). The PolicyEngine US package can be used as a Python package, via the PolicyEngine API, or via the policyengine.org web app.
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Policy Re-Envisioning TANF: Toward an Anti-Racist Program That Meaningfully Serves Families
An America where no one experiences poverty is possible. Already, the U.S. has programs with the potential to make this vision a reality, including programs that provide cash assistance, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The current TANF program provides very little cash assistance and is marked by stark racial disparities, but it has the potential to reduce child poverty, increase economic security, and advance racial equity. This report offers a vision for an anti-racist approach to the TANF program, with new statutory goals and policy recommendations to advance racial justice.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code Project Snapshot: Benefits Launch
Benefits Data Trust (BDT) is a nonprofit that connects people to public benefits through a streamlined, phone-based application system called Benefits Launch, which reduces redundant questions and speeds up the process for multiple programs. BDT's approach, supported by a custom-built rules engine, has facilitated over 800,000 benefit enrollments, helping secure over $9 billion for eligible households across seven states.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code Project Snapshot: Policy Rules Database
The Policy Rules Database (PRD), developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the National Center for Children in Poverty, consolidates complex rules for major U.S. federal and state benefit programs and tax policies into a standardized, easy-to-use format. This database allows researchers to model public assistance impacts, simulate policy changes, and analyze benefits cliffs across various household scenarios using common rules and language across different programming platforms.