In February 2023, the Digital Benefits Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation released a dataset documenting authentication and identity verification requirements that unemployment insurance (UI) applicants encounter across the United States. This resource outlines high-level observations from the data and more information about the research process.
The NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) developed the NYC Benefits Platform, including ACCESS NYC, to help residents easily discover and check eligibility for over 80 social programs. This mobile-first, open-source tool uses a simple eligibility screener, reducing access barriers while allowing integration with other city services like MyCity, ensuring efficient access to benefits.
Identity proofing, authentication, and online access to benefits applications have been increasingly important issues for benefits agencies since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 recent years, the federal government has taken notice of cybersecurity, identity management, authentication, and identity proofing issues. This short resource guide highlights some key actions at the federal level around digital identity topics in 2022.
Alluma is a nonprofit that provides digital solutions to simplify eligibility screening and enrollment for social benefit programs, supporting cross-benefit access in 45 counties and two states. Their One-x-Connection product suite streamlines Medicaid and SNAP applications using a business rules engine, with a focus on human-centered design and anonymous, simplified eligibility checks, having helped screen over 10 million individuals and submitted over 67 million applications.
PolicyEngine is a nonprofit that provides a free, open-source web app enabling users in the US and UK to estimate taxes and benefits at the household level, while also simulating the effects of policy changes. By combining tax and benefits data, PolicyEngine helps individuals and policymakers better understand the impacts of existing policies and proposed reforms, using microsimulation models built from legislation and enhanced survey data.
In response to COVID-19, the Workers Lab and Steady developed the "Income Passport" to streamline gig workers' unemployment benefit applications by pulling income data directly from gig platforms and financial accounts. This tool reduced manual verification time, helped prevent fraud, and improved workers' access to full benefits, with successful tests in Alabama and Louisiana demonstrating significant time savings and improved service delivery.
mRelief is a nonprofit that helps individuals in all 53 U.S. states and territories determine SNAP eligibility and apply using easy-to-use web and text tools. Their simplified, inclusive approach has supported over 2.7 million people and unlocked over $1 billion in benefits, focusing on minimizing barriers and adapting eligibility rules across states.
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.
The Policy Rules Database (PRD), developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the National Center for Children in Poverty, consolidates complex rules for major U.S. federal and state benefit programs and tax policies into a standardized, easy-to-use format. This database allows researchers to model public assistance impacts, simulate policy changes, and analyze benefits cliffs across various household scenarios using common rules and language across different programming platforms.
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. Initially funded by GSA’s 10x initiative, the project allows federal and state agencies to adapt and deploy the system, with its core rules validated by the USDA and SNAP policy experts.
