The IRS Direct File Pilot Program After Action Report evaluates the 2024 pilot of a free, government-run tax filing system, assessing taxpayer participation, user experience, and potential for future expansion.
Hennepin County, Minnesota, implemented an online application system for child care assistance, resulting in increased applications, faster benefit distribution, and reduced administrative burdens.
PolicyEngine is a nonprofit that provides a free, open-source web app enabling users in the US and UK to estimate taxes and benefits at the household level, while also simulating the effects of policy changes. By combining tax and benefits data, PolicyEngine helps individuals and policymakers better understand the impacts of existing policies and proposed reforms, using microsimulation models built from legislation and enhanced survey data.
This brief describes the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC), an innovative approach to increasing data analytics capacity at state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Collaborative Pilot Initiative is a component of the TANF Data Innovation project. The 30-month pilot offered technical assistance and training to support cross-disciplinary teams of staff at eight state and county TANF programs in the routine use of TANF and other administrative data to inform policy and practice.
A recent study challenges the common belief that income support programs like SNAP reduce employment, finding that for individuals with a work history, receiving SNAP benefits can actually increase long-term employment.
This study explores the causal impacts of income on a rich array of employment outcomes, leveraging an experiment in which 1,000 low-income individuals were randomized into receiving $1,000 per month unconditionally for three years, with a control group of 2,000 participants receiving $50/month.
Post-Medicaid continuous enrollment's end in March 2023, states faced renewal challenges through August 2024, seeing improved auto-renewals but persistent procedural disenrollments despite outreach and intervention.
This paper concludes that the substantial COVID-19 unemployment insurance expansion had limited disincentive effects on job searches, particularly among lower-income individuals, despite high wage replacement rates.
Closing the Medicaid coverage gap could significantly reduce healthcare disparities as 65% of those affected are people of color, specifically impacting low-wage workers and caregivers who often experience economic and health vulnerabilities.
This report outlines state Medicaid program priorities, including expanding access to services, addressing health disparities, and implementing cost-containment measures amid post-pandemic uncertainties.
