The US Digital response partnered with dozens of states, counties, and cities to support them in using and tracking CARES Act grants. This article presents six lessons learned from their work to help governments better assist residents, particularly small businesses and low-income communities.
This blog post discusses the importance of prototyping in the public sector, focusing on how it helps test assumptions, gather user feedback, and refine ideas before making significant investments in building or launching a product or service.
The Texting Playbook provides guidance and well-researched strategies to help state agencies implement texting in support of Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and other benefits programs. It provides an overview of how to start texting clients; the types of messages to send, including real examples; Federal Communications Commision (FCC) policy guidance; how to encourage opt-ins and collect consent; how to avoid coming across as spam; and a cost analysis of texting.
This report examines how implementing Asset Verification Systems (AVS) can streamline Medicaid eligibility determinations for seniors and individuals with disabilities by automating the verification of applicants' financial assets.
This issue brief examines how H.R. 1’s enactment delays implementation of two key Medicaid eligibility rules—one for Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) and one for general Medicaid/CHIP enrollment and renewal—and the effects of that delay.
The report highlights that many eligible low-income children are not receiving WIC benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, with participation rates varying significantly by state and lagging behind programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
The Playbook’s purpose is to guide researchers while supporting and lending authority to community organizations as they advocate for partnerships that will benefit their constituencies. The Playbook aims to provide some answers to such questions as: How can technologists and scientists engage communities in a spirit of partnership, without such extractive practices? How can community organizations work with researchers in ways that benefit their communities and expand their capacity, rather than burdening their staff?
The article presents the True Cost of Economic Security (TCES) measure, showing that over half of U.S. families struggle to meet the comprehensive costs required to thrive, highlighting significant disparities based on family type, location, and race.
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.
The report examines how current remote identity proofing methods can create barriers to Medicaid enrollment and suggests improvements to ensure equitable access for all applicants.
