Produced By: Non-profit
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Combatting Identity Fraud in Government Benefits Programs
This post argues that for the types of large-scale, organized fraud attacks that many state benefits systems saw during the pandemic, solutions grounded in cybersecurity methods may be far more effective than creating or adopting automated systems.
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Unpacking Data Use in State TANF Agencies: Insights from the TANF Data Innovation Needs Assessment
Policymakers, program administrators, federal leaders, researchers, and advocates are increasingly focused on using administrative data to build evidence for improving government programs. Achieving this goal requires accessible data sources and the capacity to use them, yet stakeholders have little information about the baseline level of state capacity in these areas. How does one measure concepts such as “effective data use” and “analytic capacity?” This brief reports findings from a pioneering and comprehensive needs assessment that examined the capacity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs in 54 U.S. states and territories to analyze data used for program improvement, monitoring, and evidence-building. The needs assessment provides a foundation for technical assistance and continued improvement for the TANF program and may also provide valuable insights and frameworks for other state-administered human services programs.
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Disability: INclusive Workplaces Accessible Technology Procurement Toolkit
Guidebook on procuring accessible technology
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Encouraging Uptake of Benefits with Psychological Ownership Messaging
A brief report on our quantitative research about messages that increase people's take-up of government benefits by making them feel like those benefits belong to them.
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SNAP Waivers and Adaptations During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Survey of State Agency Perspectives in 2020
SNAP Waivers and Adaptations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of State Agency Perspectives in 2020 is a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Health and Social Policy (IHSP) based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). This research seeks to understand perspectives from state SNAP administrators on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from waivers and flexibilities used to preserve equitable access to SNAP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on state agency survey responses, this report summarizes key findings from the first calendar year of pandemic response and provides policy considerations for the future of SNAP. This research was supported by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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CSNS Hawaii: Building a Data-Driven Foundation to Help Hunger in Hawai’i
The Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS), in partnership with the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) and the Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence (CHL Center) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is building foundational capacity to share and analyze administrative data across the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). This groundwork will enable Hawai‘i to increase access to nutrition support programs, in alignment with Hawai‘i’s ‘Ohana Nui framework, which aims to dismantle intergenerational poverty.
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Text to Connect: Engineering + Technology Requirements for Using Text Message Outreach to Reduce SNAP Churn
This guide addresses technical and engineering requirements for a text messaging program, including texting platform options, and procurement and vendor management, among other technical implementation topics.
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Centering Workers—How to Modernize Unemployment Insurance Technology
This report outlines how modernizing unemployment insurance (UI) technology with a worker-centered approach can improve access, efficiency, and equity in the UI system.
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Improving service delivery in EITC for New Yorkers
The Improving Service Delivery in EITC for New Yorkers initiative explores ways to enhance access to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) through improved outreach, application processes, and service delivery.
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Filing Taxes for Economic Justice
This Code for America article discusses how tax filing can be a powerful tool for economic justice, highlighting efforts to make the tax system more accessible and equitable for low-income individuals.
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Keeping Students Fed in an Uncertain Back to School Season: What We Learned from P-EBT, and What Comes Next
Code for America describes its work building the P-EBT online application and the consulting it provided to 10 states regarding implementing the program in a quick, effective, and human-centered way. Despite herculean efforts among human services and education agencies to get P-EBT off the ground, there were a few key technological, operational, and logistical barriers that consistently got in the way and hampered a smooth rollout of the program across the country.
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A Modernized System of Benefits is the Foundation for an Inclusive Economy
Report by the Aspen Institute discussing Benefits21, a multi-stakeholder, multi-faceted initiative to integrate and modernize benefits systems. This paper provides an overview of Benefits21, along with a discussion of the shortcomings of current public and private benefit systems.