Code for America explores the systems at play and the individuals experience of participants in WIC. By investigating overall quantitative trends in coverage, redemption, and retention rates, they use the data as a guide to build out a qualitative research plan that explains why such trends are occurring.
This article discusses Code for America’s research into the user experience of applying or Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, WIC, and LIHEAP in the United States. They found that user experience applying for benefits programs varies greatly by (and often within) each state.
WIC programs across the country are already adapting and evolving to meet their participants’ needs. An API standard, which allows agencies to plug digital tools into existing technology systems, would remove some of the key barriers to innovating and sharing technology tools between agencies.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the federal government authorized a new emergency program, Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), to replace school meals with money for groceries while schools are closed. Code for America describes its efforts to launch an accessible, online P-EBT application under an accelerated timeline due to to immense demand caused by the pandemic.
Integrating eligibility and enrollment benefits is an increasingly important undertaking for state governments around the country. However, states already in the process of integrating benefits are encountering an issue: differing and contradictory submission requirements dictated by the federal agencies running these benefits programs. Aligning these fragmented requirements is necessary to build a truly human-centered process for state benefits programs.
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.
United Way Worldwide and New America’s New Practice Lab are currently partnering for a three month design sprint to identify how to make quality, free tax assistance more accessible to low income filers. This report explores how “Facilitated Self-Assistance,” where eligible filers file their own taxes online with assistance provided by IRS volunteers, can help increase accessibility to tax assistance and allow families to access benefits they are owed.
The CARES Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act failed to reach millions of non-tax-filing Americans with low incomes and deliberately excluded undocumented immigrants, leaving entire communities without recourse. Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants (DRAI) was a crucial program by the state of California for undocumented immigrants, and the California Department of Social Services partnered with Code for America to build a digital portal that would support community-based organizations in taking applications, tracking the various steps in the process, and activating clients’ $500 bank cards.
Given that the effects of the COVID-19 crisis will likely last for a while, it is crucial that states continue to prioritize coverage continuity to further improve the overall health outcomes of their enrollees and reduce administrative burden.
This article describes the necessary factors for a public interest technology project to succeed, including leadership support, organizational and team support, proper scoping, time and resources, and a sustainability plan.
User research requires working as a team, since it necessitates running sessions with participants, observing and moderating research sessions, analyzing and synthesizing results, as well as communicating results effectively.
Building modular, open-source, human-centered software is necessary to create equitable government services fit for the digital age. Nava emphasizes addressing large scale digital service challenges by building and releasing small, modular software components that are loosely-coupled by well-defined APIs. This enables agencies to quickly and conistently deliver services that help people immediately, whilst also building a flexible foundation for long-term technical evolution.
