Service Delivery Area: Benefits
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Federal Standards Needed to Provide Equitable Access to Unemployment Insurance
This report explains how revised federal performance standards can be a powerful tool for increasing equitable access to UI benefits.
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How to Use the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS)
USWDS provides principles, guidance, and code to help you design and build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites and digital services.
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Plain Language: Foundations 101 Webcast
This is a video recording of a NASWA Feb 2024 webinar on plain language presented for UI state leaders. Slides are also available.
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An Examination of Medicaid Renewal Outcomes and Enrollment Changes at the End of the Unwinding
There were over 25 million Medicaid disenrollments in 2023, but national enrollment remained significantly above pre-pandemic levels at over 56 million, with notable state-level variations and near-recovery of child enrollment.
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Access Denied: Faulty Automated Background Checks Freeze Out Renters
This reporting explores how algorithms used to screen prospective tenants, including those waiting for public housing, can block renters from housing based on faulty information.
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Building Resilience Action Area 1: Adequately Funding UI Administration
This report outlines the U.S. Department of Labor’s comprehensive action plan to strengthen the unemployment insurance (UI) system by addressing chronic underfunding and proposing legislative reforms to support long-term modernization and resilience.
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The Social Life of Algorithmic Harms
This series of essays seeks to expand our vocabulary of algorithmic harms to help protect against them.
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States Are Using Much-Needed Temporary Flexibility in SNAP to Respond to COVID-19 Challenges
During the COVID-19 pandemic, states utilized temporary Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) flexibilities to provide emergency benefits and maintain support for households with children missing school meals.
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Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, and Renewal Policies as States Resume Routine Operations
This report provides an early 2025 snapshot of state Medicaid and CHIP policies as they return to normal operations post‑pandemic, focusing on eligibility, enrollment, and renewal processes.
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FormFest 2024 Recap: Scaling Government Assistance
An event recap from one of FormFest 2024's breakout sessions featuring speakers from the state of Maryland's Department of Social Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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The Employment Effects of a Guaranteed Income: Experimental Evidence from Two U.S. States
This study explores the causal impacts of income on a rich array of employment outcomes, leveraging an experiment in which 1,000 low-income individuals were randomized into receiving $1,000 per month unconditionally for three years, with a control group of 2,000 participants receiving $50/month.
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Using TANF Funds to Provide Cash to Families
This guide outlines how states can use TANF funds to provide direct cash assistance to families, particularly through flexible mechanisms like nonrecurrent short-term benefits (NRSTs).