The Digital Benefit Network's Digital Identity Community of Practice held a session to hear considerations from civil rights technologists and human-centered design practitioners on ways to ensure program security while simultaneously promoting equity, enabling accessibility, and minimizing bias.
Minnesota is a good example of an organization that started small in its drive to integrate benefits programs. For instance, its recent statewide rollout of its online integrated benefit application website, MNbenefits.mn.gov, started as a pilot in 2020 with Code for America. The pilot encompassed two counties including Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located. The pilot later expanded to four counties, then 16 and a tribal nation. The final roll out, which took 12 months to implement, included the state’s 87 counties and three tribal nations.
NYC Opportunity collaborated with the Administration for Child Services (ACS) to design a family-centered process for prevention services, addressing confusion and lack of choice in the current system. By creating tools like the Provider Profile and Family Voice booklet, the team empowered families to choose providers based on their needs while ensuring their feedback reaches ACS. The project aims to improve family experiences and communication with ACS, with plans to expand through testing and future innovations like a web portal.
Government leaders discuss how to ensure seamless access to public benefits through breaking down silos, user-friendly digital identities, and privacy-focused security measures.
The Digital Identity Community of Practice kick-off event featured key resources, a new research publication on account creation and identity proofing, and insights from multiple speakers.
This collection of research references is designed to support government agencies designing public-facing identity management processes that meet people’s needs.
Nava PBC developed a prototype API and digital screener in Montana to streamline eligibility and enhance program access, illustrating how API standards could improve interoperability and modernize WIC systems nationwide.
At Rules as Code Demo Day Executive Director Zareena Mayn and Chief Technology Officer Dize Hacioglu of mRelief demoed the code for their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility screener. mRelief is a women-led team that provides a web-based and text message-based SNAP eligibility screener to all 53 states and territories that participate in SNAP. They demonstrated how they have modularized their code to host federal program rules and state-specific rules.
