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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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Communications Encouraging Uptake of Benefits with Psychological Ownership Messaging
A brief report on our quantitative research about messages that increase people's take-up of government benefits by making them feel like those benefits belong to them.
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Human-Centered Design NYC HOME-STAT Client Journey Map
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.
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Human-Centered Design NYC HOME-STAT Research Insights Report
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.
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Human-Centered Design Applicant Experience Journey Map
Applicants to federal aid programs face numerous barriers in accessing benefits they are eligible for. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare conducted an extensive qualitative user research study to better understand applicant experience in enrolling in public assistance programs. Based on the results, the study emphasizes the need for simplified, streamlined and less burdensome application processes.
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Data CSNS Michigan: Data-Driven Strategies to Help End Hunger in Michigan
This report outlines how the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), in partnership with the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM) and Michigan Department of Education (MDE), is deploying a three-pronged strategy to leverage data insights to systematically identify and eliminate gaps in access to nutrition supports among priority populations using food security map and closed-loop referrals.
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Why Framing Matters: Ways to Move Forward
Prior issues of Policy & Practice have introduced framing and what effective framing can do to make our shared narrative more productive and impactful. In this column, APHSA's President and CEO shares two framing strategies that can help us avoid the most common mistakes and produce more effective frames: Widening the lens and using numbers more effectively.
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Data CSNS Kansas: Forming Connections Between SNAP and WIC to Tackle Food Insecurity
Together, the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) are working to design and build a sustainable process to improve cross-enrollment for families eligible for both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This report outlines how Kansas will integrate data matches between SNAP and WIC—as well as targeted outreach— within the ongoing business processes of the agencies to help streamline the experience of accessing nutrition supports for clients. These functions will contribute to the agencies’ shared goal of reducing rates of food insecurity in Kansas.
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CSNS New Mexico: Improving Online Infrastructure to Expand WIC’s Reach
This report outlines how the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) and Department of Health (NMDOH) are working to maximize WIC participation among SNAP families through automated referrals and streamlined application and enrollment across agencies.
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Policy Aligning Systems to Advance Family and Community Well-Being: A Partnership Playbook for Community Action and Human Services Agencies
This playbook outlines the ways Community Action and human services agencies worked together to meet the pandemic challenge—what worked well, obstacles and difficulties, and lessons learned to inform the path forward, partnering to achieve a more equitable recovery. It also explains how communities have leveraged opportunities to partner on approaches that hold the promise of deeper, longer lasting changes for families—work shaped by families’ wishes and strengths and designed to advance both family-level and systems-level change.
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CSNS Mecklenburg: Strengthening Community Relationship to End Child Hunger
This report outlines how the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (DSS) is leading an initiative to coordinate nutrition supports across government and community partners to streamline access to resources that improve food security for families in Mecklenburg County. Through this project, households experiencing food insecurity will not only have a better understanding of the resources and services available to them, but also will find it easier to apply for public benefit programs.
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Data CSNS Hawaii: Building a Data-Driven Foundation to Help Hunger in Hawai’i
The Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS), in partnership with the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) and the Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence (CHL Center) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is building foundational capacity to share and analyze administrative data across the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). This groundwork will enable Hawai‘i to increase access to nutrition support programs, in alignment with Hawai‘i’s ‘Ohana Nui framework, which aims to dismantle intergenerational poverty.