Organization: Code for America
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Think Big, Start Small: How Implementing Flexible Interviews Improves Benefit Delivery
LA County and GetCalFresh made access to food assistance more equitable by offering a more flexible interview process.
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Using Client-Centered Communications to Improve the Benefits Renewal Process
Understanding the impact of churn and how agencies can better use communication channels to help clients keep their benefits.
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Human-Centered Design Renewed Principles of Delivery-Driven Government: Evolving and expanding our vision for how government should serve the public
Code for America initially introduced the concept of Delivery-Driven Government in 2018. This article refreshes its original principles and expands on what the organization has learned to make its concepts clearer.
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Human-Centered Design Cell Phones as a Safety Net Lifeline
Eligible people struggle to maintain their case status for critical safety net services, often due to administrative hurdles and poor communication. Code for America piloted text message reminders to support Louisianans, which helped clients avoid costly churn. Text messages are an underrated, efficient solution for human service agencies to meet client expectations and improve case outcomes.
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Human-Centered Design Four Lessons from Our Journey to Deliver Human-Centered Integrated Benefits
Code for America partnered with the CBPP, Civilla, and Nava to launch the Integrated Benefits Initiative, testing and piloting human-centered approaches to improve outcomes and learn what an optimal safety net could look like. This article describes key takeaways from short-term pilots implemented as part of this project.
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Human-Centered Design Benefits Enrollment Field Guide
The Benefits Enrollment Field Guide looks at the landscape of America’s safety net benefits experience in 2023 and tracks the differences from our 2019 assessment based on expanded evaluation criteria. It also highlights successful paths to equitable, human-centered experiences. It examines online enrollment for Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and WIC.
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Human-Centered Design What Happens When People Feel Ownership Over Their Benefits
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.
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Direct File, Integrated State Filing, and FileYourStateTaxes 2024 Findings Report
This report summarizes Code for America's experience and results working with AZ and NY to build FileYourStateTaxes.
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Human-Centered Design Proof Points for Human-Centered Benefits Administration
Code for America’s Integrated Benefits Initiative has been working in partnership with the State of Colorado to demonstrate how user-centered approaches lead to measurably better delivery of safety net programs. This article describes their work with the state of Colorado in simplifying how clients report common life changes that can affect their eligibility.
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Building Human-Centered Benefits Renewal Processes with Client Equity in Mind
Lessons from piloting expanded ex parte renewals in Minnesota
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Human-Centered Design In Their Own Words: Parents Help Us Understand Barriers to Accessing WIC
Code for America explores the systems at play and the individuals experience of participants in WIC. By investigating overall quantitative trends in coverage, redemption, and retention rates, they use the data as a guide to build out a qualitative research plan that explains why such trends are occurring.
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Automation + AI Human-Centered, Machine-Assisted: Ethically Deploying AI to Improve the Client Experience
In this interview, Code for America staff members share how client success, data science, and qualitative research teams work together to consider the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in responding to clients who seek assistance with three products.