In response to exploding demand for social services during COVID-19, the Louisiana Department of children and Family services implemented text-message alerts and reminders for the state’s entire SNAP caseload, launched a text-based public campaign to help people understand and apply for SNAP benefits, and hired SNAP recipients to provide client feedback on communications and policy decisions.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is rescinding prior blanket waivers that allowed discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity in taxpayer-funded programs.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
This playbook offers a comprehensive guide for designing, implementing, and evaluating a guaranteed income program specifically for individuals experiencing homelessness.
This article analyses ‘digital distortions’ in Rules as Code, which refer to disconnects between regulation and code that arise from interpretive choices in the encoding process.
The FileYourStateTaxes pilot successfully integrated state tax filing with the IRS Direct File program, improving taxpayer experience and ease of filing.
This analysis explores the potential reduction in poverty rates across all U.S. states if every eligible individual received full benefits from seven key safety net programs, highlighting significant decreases in overall and child poverty.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Collaborative Pilot Initiative is a component of the TANF Data Innovation project. The 30-month pilot offered technical assistance and training to support cross-disciplinary teams of staff at eight state and county TANF programs in the routine use of TANF and other administrative data to inform policy and practice.
At Rules as Code Demo Day Seth Hartig from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) and Bank Street College demoed the Policy Rules Database (PRD), a collaborative effort between the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the NCCP. The primary purpose of the PRD is to simplify the interpretation of all programs by creating a common structure and a common terminology. The repository allows for research on public assistance programs and tax policies, and helps users model benefits cliffs on career pathways. The PRD is supported by a technical manual with pseudocode that helps guide integration and usage in other platforms.
Implementing flexible interview scheduling in Los Angeles County's CalFresh program significantly increased benefit approval rates and reduced processing times, particularly aiding working families, students, and individuals experiencing homelessness.
