During the call, we heard from two speakers: April Dunlap, Policy Administrator for Arizona’s Department of Economic Security and Professor Michele Gilman, Venable Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development at the University of Baltimore School of Law.
In this updated primer, the DBN describes how identity proofing and authentication show up in public benefits applications and outlines equity and security concerns raised by common identity proofing and authentication methods.
BenCon 2024 explored state and federal AI governance, highlighting the rapid increase in AI-related legislation and executive orders. Panelists emphasized the importance of experimentation, learning, and collaboration between government levels, teams, agencies, and external partners.
This video documents the Digital Benefits Network's Digital Identity Community of Practice launch, covering mission review, 2025 goals, California authentication innovations, and peer networking for equitable and effective digital identity in public benefits.
This resource describes how different agencies have updated their systems to increase online and mobile access to benefits information and applications, including using text messages to share benefits information with residents.
This resource highlights strategies for integrating benefits renewals and correspondence, potentially reducing administrative burdens for both clients and caseworkers.
The team conducted experiments to determine whether clients would be responsive to proactive support offered by a chatbot, and identify the ideal timing of the intervention.
The team developed an AI solution to assist benefit navigators with in-the-moment program information, finding that while LLMs are useful for summarizing and interpreting text, they are not ideal for implementing strict formulas like benefit calculations, but can accelerate the eligibility process by leveraging their strengths in general tasks.
Benefits Data Trust (BDT) is a nonprofit that connects people to public benefits through a streamlined, phone-based application system called Benefits Launch, which reduces redundant questions and speeds up the process for multiple programs. BDT's approach, supported by a custom-built rules engine, has facilitated over 800,000 benefit enrollments, helping secure over $9 billion for eligible households across seven states.
18F, a consultancy within the U.S. General Services Administration, developed a prototype API and pre-screener to model federal SNAP eligibility rules, aiming to simplify benefits access through open-source technology.
The California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP) simplifies transit benefits eligibility by developing the Benefits App, which uses Login.gov to securely verify age-based discounts for public transit riders. The project aims to create a standardized, interoperable system for verifying transit benefits, improving accessibility for low-income and special groups while reducing administrative burdens for transit agencies.
