A New America report examines the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, highlighting its role in aiding low-income tax filers and offering recommendations to enhance public benefit access through improved tax filing assistance.
mRelief recently completed a research study to investigate whether there are specific parts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; also known as food stamps) benefits application process that make it difficult to complete. We conducted interviews with mRelief users and SNAP outreach workers (individuals whose job responsibilities include providing SNAP application assistance in person or over the phone) in Illinois. We also conducted group interviews with SNAP outreach workers to collaborate with them to uncover findings and develop recommendations.
This report details the development and deployment of My File, an open-source digital document management tool designed to help individuals securely store and share documents needed to access public services.
This case study describes Nava's with the state of Montana’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) agency to build an eligibility screener tool.
This resource examines how improvements in customer service experiences in public benefit programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and TANF can help better meet enrollees’ needs and build trust in government.
Innovators inside and outside of government are working to improve access to the social safety net using data, technology, and design. This report highlights innovations carried out by The Rockefeller Foundation’s Data and Technology grantees from 2018 to 2021, including extraordinary efforts to meet the challenges of the pandemic. Those grantees are: Benefits Data Trust, Code for America, Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, U.S. Digital Response, and the Digital Innovation and Governance Initiative at New America. In 2020, these projects secured more than $200 million in benefits for close to 100,000 people across at least 36 states, and helped millions more through policy change, training, and guidance.
This case study highlights how states used data sharing and targeted outreach to boost WIC enrollment among Medicaid and SNAP participants, improving program reach and reducing disparities.
This brief highlights the complex journey that older adults experience when applying for and enrolling in SNAP, including the major barriers and solutions that improve access along the way.
This overview journey map of street homeless outreach reflects the business process, and worker and client experience during the period January–April 2016 from initial observation, contact, case management, and placement in permanent housing. The map is displayed in eleven high-level sections, each with individual sub-level sections. Summaries and details for all the sections are presented in the subsequent pages. Each dot represents an individual or agency. Each cluster of dots represents a service interaction.
This overview journey map of street homeless outreach reflects the complexity of the service journey from first contact on street to placement in permanent housing.
