This academic article develops a framework for evaluating whether and how automated decision-making welfare systems introduce new harms and burdens for claimants, focusing on an example case from Germany.
A tool for CDOs advocating for funding, authority, and expansion—and a primer for government leaders unfamiliar with the role. The report establishes shared vocabulary, identifies six CDO office archetypes, and offers cross-state insights on structures, priorities, and challenges.
This article examines the historic structural changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enacted through H.R. 1 and their potential consequences for public health and food security.
This research paper examines how stigma shapes participation in U.S. social safety net programs and influences public support for benefit design and access.
This article examines how administrative burdens in U.S. social safety net programs have changed over the past 30 years, showing that while average burdens have declined, inequality in who faces these burdens has grown.
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
This academic paper examines predictive optimization, a category of decision-making algorithms that use machine learning (ML) to predict future outcomes of interest about individuals. Through this examination, the authors explore how predictive optimization can raise concerns that make its use illegitimate and challenge claims about predictive optimization's accuracy, efficiency, and fairness.
The article examines the impact of digital interfaces on welfare state administration, focusing on the UK's Universal Credit system and the design elements that shape user interactions and behavior in an "interface first" bureaucracy.
The article analyzes the impacts of Arkansas's Medicaid work requirements, finding that while coverage losses were reversed after the policy was halted, it did not improve employment and led to negative consequences such as increased medical debt and delayed care.
This introductory guide explains the core concepts of digital identity and how they apply to public benefits programs. This guide is the first part of a suite of voluntary resources from the BalanceID Project: Enabling Secure Access and Managing Risk in SNAP and Medicaid.
