This blog post discusses strategies that states can implement to make public assistance applications more accessible during the COVID-19 crisis, emphasizing the importance of flexibility in application processes to accommodate increased demand and social distancing measures.
Disparities in Economic Impact Payment (EIP) receipt during the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected low-income households, communities of color, and individuals without tax filing histories.
On May 19, 2023, the Digital Benefits Network published a new, open dataset documenting authentication and identity proofing requirements across online SNAP, WIC, TANF, Medicaid, child care (CCAP) applications, and unemployment insurance applications.
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.
In 2018 the Better Identity Coalition released a Policy Blueprint outlining five key initiatives that to solve the majority of America’s challenges in the digital identity space. This report from 2024 grades progress on each of the original Blueprint’s five key initiatives – as well as the 19 items that were contained in the “action plan” to support those initiatives.
A New America report examines the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, highlighting its role in aiding low-income tax filers and offering recommendations to enhance public benefit access through improved tax filing assistance.
The CARES Act Stimulus Payments Report by New America analyzes the implementation and impact of the Economic Impact Payments (stimulus checks) distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting accessibility challenges and policy recommendations for future direct payments.
The existing system for evaluating state safety net programs does not adequately capture the human experience of accessing services. This new National Safety Net Scorecard is a more meaningful set of metrics that can effectively asses the true state of the current program delivery landscape and measure progress over time, creating a more human-centered safety net.
This retrospective looks at the way the NYCOpportunity initiative worked across City government, partnering with agencies to initiate new approaches and enhance city practices. It also highlights key areas of focus for the NYC Opportunity team between 2014 and 2021.
This blog discusses the importance of phased rollouts for government software products, emphasizing the benefits of starting small, gathering real-world user feedback, and resolving issues before a full public release.
An event recap from one of FormFest 2024's breakout sessions featuring speakers from the Canadian Digital Service and the National Head Start Association.
