The Urban Institute's report outlines actionable approaches for state governments and organizations to enhance the accessibility and retention of public benefit programs, focusing on service delivery, policy reforms, and technological advancements.
CiviForm is a free, open source software solution for governments that was built to simplify how residents find and apply for public assistance programs.
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.
Nava built flexible and reusable software and design components to make it easier for Vermonters to access their benefits. These components support Vermont’s long-term vision of integrating eligibility and enrollment processes for all of the state’s healthcare and financial benefit programs.
This Urban Institute report identifies strategies to improve young people’s access to public benefits through targeted outreach, benefit navigation, cross-organizational partnerships, and streamlined eligibility processes.
The Policy2Code Prototyping Challenge explored utilizing generative AI technology to translate U.S. government policies for public benefits into plain language and code, culminating in a Demo Day where twelve teams showcased their projects for feedback and evaluation.
The Better Government Lab at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University has developed a new scale for measuring the experience of burden when accessing public benefits. They offer both a three-item scale and a single-item scale, which can be utilized for any public benefit program. The shorter scales provide a less burdensome way to measure by requiring less information from users.
This playbook is designed to help government and other key sectors use data sharing to illuminate who is not accessing benefits, connect under-enrolled populations to vital assistance, and make the benefits system more efficient for agencies and participants alike.
Professor Don Moynihan discusses how administrative burden is an effective tool to make it difficult for people to access certain types of benefits, noting that this is particularly harmful to communities of color.
The article discusses how state agencies can effectively use text messaging to communicate with Medicaid and SNAP enrollees, especially following a 2021 FCC ruling that permits automated texts for informational purposes.
The Increasing Stimulus Payment Take-up in California report by the California Policy Lab examines barriers to accessing federal stimulus payments and provides strategies to increase take-up among eligible Californians, particularly low-income and non-filers.
