Organization: Digital Benefits Network
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 6: Policy Rules Database | Seth Hartig
At Rules as Code Demo Day Seth Hartig from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) and Bank Street College demoed the Policy Rules Database (PRD), a collaborative effort between the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the NCCP. The primary purpose of the PRD is to simplify the interpretation of all programs by creating a common structure and a common terminology. The repository allows for research on public assistance programs and tax policies, and helps users model benefits cliffs on career pathways. The PRD is supported by a technical manual with pseudocode that helps guide integration and usage in other platforms.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 1: 18F Eligibility APIs Initiative | Alex Soble and Mike Gintz
We kicked off Rules as Code Demo Day with Alex Soble of 18F and Mike Gintz of 10x presenting their Eligibility APIs Initiative that explores whether APIs and rules as code might improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which federal public benefits programs communicate their policy to states. They demonstrated their original prototype, and how the open source code has now been extended into several initiatives.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Potential and Progress for Benefits Eligibility: A Recap of Rules as Code Demo Day
Building on our February 2022 report Benefit Eligibility Rules as Code: Reducing the Gap Between Policy and Service Delivery for the Safety Net, the Beeck Center’s Digital Benefits Network (DBN) recently held a convening to share progress and potential in digitizing benefits eligibility and to begin addressing how a national approach could be started. At Rules as Code Demo Day, on June 28th, 2022, there were eight demonstrations of projects and code followed by a collaborative problem-solving session on how to continue advancing rules as code for the U.S. social safety net.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 4: Benefits Data Trust Benefits Launch | Daniel Singer & Preston Cabe
We continued Rules as Code Demo Day with Daniel Singer and Preston Cabe from Benefits Data Trust. Benefits Data Trust provides benefit outreach and application assistance services in seven states. Using Benefits Launch, their in-house interview and rules engine, they support two hundred contact center employees as they screen and apply thousands of clients each year. They also offer a self-service screener, Benefits Launch Express. Additionally, they offer an eligibility API to integrate with other services.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 5: mRelief SNAP Eligibility Screener | Zareena Meyn and Dize Hacioglu
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.
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Digitizing Policy + Rules as Code 
Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 7: MITRE Corporation (CCASH) | Joe Ditre and Frank Ruscil
MITRE’s Joe Ditre and Frank Ruscil demoed the code for the Comprehensive Careers and Supports for Households (C-CASH) at Rules as Code Demo Day. The MITRE team expanded the accessibility of the Policy Rules Database and the Cost-of-Living Database (the prior demo) by creating a web service API and a front-end Window’s application called C-CASH Analytic Tool (CAT). CAT provides a more scalable, flexible, and portable functionality which allows end-users to generate various households to run eligibility scenarios across different U.S. counties and states. They are currently working to create a national data hub and analytics tool, starting with utilizing U.S. Census data and populating the data warehouse by pushing large amounts of data through the PRD.
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Build and Fund Staff Capacity in Your Government Agency to Integrate Benefits
This resource guide outlines one approach to integrating benefits: building the in-house capacity to champion and supervise benefits integration.
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Designing for Multilingual Translation
Complex benefits information creates unnecessary barriers for residents and navigators who must understand what’s relevant to them so they can receive benefits. For non-native English speakers, these barriers are exacerbated. This resource guide outlines approaches for translating content to improve equitable access to benefits.
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Data 
Conducting Outreach for Benefits Cross Enrollment
This resource outlines strategies for cross-enrollment outreach, which can break down silos between programs and reach applicants who may be eligible for under-enrolled benefits programs.
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Communications 
Making Integrated Benefits Easy to Access Online and on Mobile Phones
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. These approaches enable residents to more effectively access benefits information, and can meet resident needs across a range of accessibility requirements.
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Cross Training Government Staff and Community Assisters on Multiple Benefits
While some approaches to benefits integration use technology to improve processes and user experience, other approaches rely less on technology or datasets and more on improving frontline staff’s knowledge and capacity. The examples in this guide describe how peer-to-peer training and updated interview scripts can help connect residents to the benefits they are eligible for.
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Procurement 
Building Modular, Reusable, and Flexible Components, Tools, and Formats
This resource contains specific examples that highlight the advantages of designing reusable code components, software tools, or design formats. This guide also illustrates the possibilities for connecting new components to existing system infrastructure.