Programs like Medicaid and SNAP are managed at the federal level, administered at the state level, and often executed at the local level. Because there are so many in-betweens, there is significant duplicated effort, demonstrating the need to simplify eligibility rules to facilitate easier implementation.
Digitizing public benefits policy will make the biggest impact for administrators and Americans, but only if it happens at the highest level of government.
It is frequently assumed that when rules are implemented as code, a rules engine is necessary. However, it is possible for policy people and engineers to effectively work together to code logic that drives technological system without needing a mediating rules engine at all.
APHSA explains how certain tools and recommendations about when people apply for help, engage in services, and maintain benefits can have a powerful effect to either counter or exacerbate structural barriers to accessing assistance.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
This primer introduces two foundational software types that can support organizations that are committed to accessible benefits information: content management systems (CMS) and application program interfaces (APIs).
This academic paper examines how federal privacy laws restrict data collection needed for assessing racial disparities, creating a tradeoff between protecting individual privacy and enabling algorithmic fairness in government programs.
ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (ACM FAccT)
This field guide is written for digital services and technology leaders working in government agencies at the federal, state, or local level. It’s meant to highlight the power of product thinking to government digital services. With this guide, agencies can start moving from a project management mindset to a product-based approach to delivering services.
This section of the Building Resilience plan outlines comprehensive strategies to help states prevent, detect, and recover unemployment insurance (UI) fraud while protecting legitimate claimants.
This report details the use of the historic investment of $1 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the Department of Labor and state unemployment (UI) agencies to modernize state UI programs.
This brief outlines the U.S. federal government’s framework to identify, reduce, and address administrative burdens through a series of executive orders, legislative actions, and updated policies focused on improving customer experience and increasing access to government benefits.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of administrative burdens, offering strategies to reduce unnecessary obstacles in public service delivery, with a focus on improving access to government services for underserved and marginalized populations.
These guidelines provide UK government organizations with best practices for responsibly and effectively procuring artificial intelligence (AI) systems.