Service Delivery Area: Benefits
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Benefits Playbook for Designing Human-Centered Applications
By implementing these best practices, states can improve the experience of accessing essential public benefits programs.
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Democratizing AI: Principles for Meaningful Public Participation
In this policy brief and video, Michele Gilman summarizes evidence-based recommendations for better structuring public participation processes for AI, and underscores the urgency of enacting them.
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Promising Practices for Digital Identity in Public Benefits
This piece highlights promising design patterns for account creation and identity proofing in public benefits applications. The publication also identifies areas where additional evidence, resources, and coordinated federal guidance may help support equitable implementations of authentication and identity proofing, enabling agencies to balance access and security.
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Medicaid And SNAP Advance Equity But Sometimes Have Hidden Racial And Ethnic Barriers
Medicaid and SNAP have reduced racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare access and food security, but some administrative and eligibility policies continue to create inequitable barriers.
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The Wait List as Redistributive Policy: Access and Burdens in the Subsidized Childcare System
In the article, researchers examines how administrative burdens in waitlist management for subsidized childcare in Massachusetts have led to significant reductions in the number of families awaiting assistance, potentially obscuring the true extent of unmet need.
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Defining and Demystifying Automated Decision Systems
Automated decision systems (ADS) are increasingly used in government decision-making but lack clear definitions, oversight, and accountability mechanisms.
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WIC Policy Memorandum #2023-5: Data Sharing to Improve Outreach and Streamline Certification in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
This policy memorandum from the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provides guidance on data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participation and retention.
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Why All Guaranteed Income is Narrative Work: Best Practices for Centering Dignity, Race, and Gender in Cash-Based Programs
This guide and set of best practices was created to help leaders of new and existing guaranteed income projects to thoughtfully narrate their work.
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Rules as Code Demo Day | Demo 1: 18F Eligibility APIs Initiative | Alex Soble and Mike Gintz
We kicked off Rules as Code Demo Day with Alex Soble of 18F and Mike Gintz of 10x presenting their Eligibility APIs Initiative that explores whether APIs and rules as code might improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which federal public benefits programs communicate their policy to states. They demonstrated their original prototype, and how the open source code has now been extended into several initiatives.
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National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
This strategy identifies ambitious and achievable actions the Biden-Harris Administration will pursue across five pillars: 1. Improving food access and affordability 2. Integrating nutrition and health 3. Empowering all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices 4. Supporting physical activity for all 5. Enhancing nutrition and food security research
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A Bold Policy Agenda for Work-Family Justice and Gender Equity During COVID-19 and Beyond
New America spoke to to the people at the frontlines of the pandemic—professional caregivers, family caregivers, parents, and essential workers—to understand the policy interventions people need most. This report discusses ideas for policymakers, private sector leaders, and community innovators to use in pursuit of work-family justice and equity across race, gender, and class.
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States Can Make Applications More Accessible During COVID-19 Crisis
This blog post discusses strategies that states can implement to make public assistance applications more accessible during the COVID-19 crisis, emphasizing the importance of flexibility in application processes to accommodate increased demand and social distancing measures.