Library
Discover the latest innovations, learn about promising practices, and find out what’s coming next with best-in-class resources from trusted sources.
Is there something missing from our library?

Search for the topic or resource you're looking for, or use the filters to narrow down results below.
-
8 Tips for Governments to Mitigate Call Center Volume
This article describes tangible steps state governments can take to manage call volume.
-
3 Ways to Get Benefits to the Families that Need Them
In a time of crisis, behavioral science offers insights into how to reduce the paperwork and other administrative burdens that prevent people from taking advantage of crucial support services.
-
2021 Poverty Projections: Assessing Four American Rescue Plan Policies
This report describes key elements of the American Rescue Plan Act and how it would reduce the projected poverty rate for 2021. Various projections regarding the effects of the policy are described in this report.
-
18F and TTS Office of Acquisition award first assisted acquisition
The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance (OFA) worked with 18F to replace its legacy data reporting system through product management training, user research, and an assisted acquisition.
-
Why Californians need food assistance: The stories behind the numbers
Californians who receive food assistance come from all backgrounds, but many share a similar story: they were barely getting by financially when they were tipped into crisis by an unexpected expense or loss of income. This site shares their stories.
-
What Works Cities Assessment Guide
What Works Cities helps local governments improve residents’ lives by using data and evidence effectively to tackle pressing challenges. The Certification Assessment helps cities benchmark their progress and develop a roadmap for improvement.
-
What More States Allowing SNAP Recipients to Buy Food Online Means for Food Security
This article from Civil Eats explores how expanding online purchasing options for SNAP recipients can improve food security, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
What is Better Rules?
Better Rules utilizes multidisciplinary teams that include people skilled in policy, legal, business rules, programming, and service design working together in an iterative fashion to develop rules. Several outputs are produced using this approach, each offering an opportunity that can be fed back into that iterative process and re-used to solve other issues.
-
UX research during crisis: understanding rapidly evolving user needs to inform responsive design
Important considerations for understanding user needs to inform responsive design in rapidly changing contexts are discussed, including how context, threat perception, decision-making, and crisis affects disaster management and UX research.
-
Unpacking Inequities in Unemployment Insurance
This report examines racial and economic inequities in unemployment insurance (UI) access and outcomes.
-
The Unfinished Business of the ACA
“Interoperability” refers to systems’ ability to interact with each other to share data so that a customer is connected with as many benefits as possible in an efficient way. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was originally intended to be interoperable, but this has not occurred yet. Promoting interoperability in the ACA is imperative, as it would help alleviate food insecurity through automatic benefits enrollment.
-
The Time Tax: Why is so much American bureaucracy left to average citizens?
Article describing the “time tax,” the costs to people applying or benefits in terms of spending substantial amounts of time navigating user-unfriendly interfaces. The article describes the necessity of simplifying safety-net programs and cross-coordinating across various social service programs.