Demand for public benefits is rising in response to continued economic pressure on vulnerable people, in addition to changes in eligibility rules for some safety net programs. This report summarizes existing benefits access efforts, studies the successes and challenges of benefits expansion efforts through a subset of in-depth case studies, and analyzes the potential for sustaining, expanding, and replicating successful efforts.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
The Medicaid Renewals Playbook offers strategies for technologists assisting states in streamlining Medicaid renewal processes during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency unwinding.
This report explores how public benefit systems can better support young adults by addressing the barriers they face in accessing and maintaining vital services like SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC.
This report contributes to the quantitative measurement of psychological burdens by examining a case study of a single social program: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by considering new quantitative measures of the psychological burdens faced by SNAP applicants.
A case study on how North Carolina leveraged human-centered design, interagency collaboration, and data-sharing strategies to improve cross-enrollment in SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid, aiming to reduce administrative burden and better serve families.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
This guide highlights best practices in benefits access, showcasing how Michigan, New York City, and San José improve accessibility through plain language, multilingual translation, resident co-creation, and technology tools.
Well-designed, user-focused tools that allow for simple application are key to ensuring that families most in need receive the Child Tax Credit. Reaching these households will require a robust effort from the IRS to create user-friendly tools in partnership with organizations with a direct connection to eligible recipients.
Propel describes how its mobile app outreach campaign helped millions of Medicaid enrollees navigate renewal during the post-pandemic “unwinding” by driving action through notifications, messaging, and in-app tools.
Code for America describes its work building the P-EBT online application and the consulting it provided to 10 states regarding implementing the program in a quick, effective, and human-centered way. Despite herculean efforts among human services and education agencies to get P-EBT off the ground, there were a few key technological, operational, and logistical barriers that consistently got in the way and hampered a smooth rollout of the program across the country.
An interview with Wendy De La Rosa, assistant professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. De La Rosa discusses how the concept of “psychological ownership” can encourage people to take up benefits they are eligible for.
Code for America helped expand GetCalFresh (a service that guides Californians through the SNAP application process and helps government deliver food assistance to people in need) from a small pilot into a statewide service. They also recently concluded a similar pilot in Michigan along with Civilla and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
