Reddit's unemployment forums have become vital support networks during the pandemic, offering advice, emotional support, and a sense of community to those navigating job loss and financial hardship.
LA’MESSAGE is a one-way text messaging service developed by Code for America in partnership with Louisiana to broadcast reminders and guidance to residents enrolled in and eligible for SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and WIC at key points throughout the benefits enrollment and renewal process.
PolicyEngine US is a Python-based microsimulation model of the US tax and benefit system. It models federal individual income taxes (including credits), major benefit programs, and state income taxes (currently in six states). The PolicyEngine US package can be used as a Python package, via the PolicyEngine API, or via the policyengine.org web app.
This paper introduces the problem of semi-automatically building decision models from eligibility policies for social services, and presents an initial emerging approach to shorten the route from policy documents to executable, interpretable and standardised decision models using AI, NLP and Knowledge Graphs. There is enormous potential of AI to assist government agencies and policy experts in scaling the production of both human-readable and machine executable policy rules, while improving transparency, interpretability, traceability and accountability of the decision making.
GetYourRefund.org is an online portal by Code for America that helps low-income individuals claim thousands of dollars in tax credits, even after the traditional tax deadline has passed.
The Benefit Cliffs Calculator helps case managers and public benefit recipients to prepare for benefit cliffs (i.e., declines in benefits due to an increase in earnings). It compares the net resources and benefits available to families under different employment scenarios.
In this panel conversation from Better Identity Coalition’s 2022 policy forum “Identity, Authentication, and the Road Ahead” presenters from the General Services Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, the Consumer First Coalition, and the congressional branch, discuss government’s role in digital identity.
Companies have been developing and using artificial intelligence (AI) for decades. But we've seen exponential growth since OpenAI released their version of a large language model (LLM), ChatGPT, in 2022. Open-source versions of these tools can help agencies optimize their processes and surpass current levels of data analysis, all in a secure environment that won’t risk exposing sensitive information.
The pandemic has shown how difficult it can be for the US to succeed with major technology projects. Various leading design thinkers discuss strategies for building more efficient and effective government technology.
This article explores ongoing efforts to modernize state unemployment insurance (UI) systems, addressing long-standing inefficiencies and challenges exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.