To kick off the Digital Service Network’s (DSN) summer event series, Let’s Get Digital, the DSN heard from the State of Arizona on their efforts to transform government services through a strong collaboration between information technology (IT) and digital service functions.
This presentation explores the balance between security and user experience in digital benefit account creation and authentication, highlighting insights from a forthcoming playbook focused on SNAP and Medicaid portals.
This report recommends updating the methodology used by the Census Bureau to calculate the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to reflect household basic needs and replace the current Official Poverty Measure as the primary statistical measure of poverty. The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the SPM and provides recommendations for updating its methodology and expanding its use in recognition of the needs of most American families such as medical care, childcare, and housing costs.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
In this piece, the Digital Benefits Network shares several sources—from journalistic pieces, to reports and academic articles—we’ve found useful and interesting in our reading on automation and artificial intelligence.
This study examines how individuals assess administrative burdens and how these views change over time within the context of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Algorithmic impact assessments (AIAs) are an emergent form of accountability for organizations that build and deploy automated decision-support systems. This academic paper explores how to co-construct impacts that closely reflects harms, and emphasizes the need for input of various types of expertise and affected communities.
ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (ACM FAccT)
The article discusses key takeaways from BenCon 2023, highlighting the importance of creating equitable and ethical public benefits technology. It emphasizes the need for tech solutions that address systemic inequalities, ensure accessibility, and promote inclusivity for underserved communities in accessing public services.
This blog analyzes how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will dramatically shift SNAP costs onto state governments, projecting massive budget increases and fiscal strain.
