This session from FormFest 2024 featured the work in Austin, Texas on criminal justice forms, and the South Bend, Indiana Animal Resource Center’s efforts to redevelop their animal adoption forms.
This report calculates the cumulative impact of major benefit programs on two types of families and how their benefits change as they move into the labor market and climb the ladder of upward mobility.
Through the interviews, ULP sought to capture details of claimant experience, see how and why system failures occurred, and make recommendations for reform now—before another financial or public health crisis suddenly causes state unemployment rates to spike.
Through the Coordinating SNAP & Nutrition Supports program, Mecklenburg County, NC leveraged a Food Security Navigator model and data analysis to increase access to nutrition supports. This report documents best practices and lessons learned from their project.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
The Digital Service Network is publishing two essays to kick-start new (or super-charge existing) theories of change for government Digital Service teams.
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.
California’s SNAP program faced record application volume due to the COVID-19 crisis, and other states must anticipate similar demand. This post summarizes key takeaways from GetCalFresh’s real-time data and client communications, and offers recommendations for how other states can implement effective responses.
The report examines pilot projects in multiple states that utilized data matching and targeted outreach to enroll eligible families with young children in the WIC program, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in increasing participation rates.
The report highlights a project to improve the Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services' (OHS) prevention and intake processes by implementing trauma-informed practices. In collaboration with staff, participants, and trauma experts, the project aimed to reduce distress for those accessing services while equipping staff with tools and training to better manage trauma-related interactions, creating a more supportive and empathetic service environment.
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.
