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.
The US General Services Administration announces that it is seeking a limited number of state and local government partners to take advantage of login.gov to administer their federally funded programs.
The Benefits Enrollment Field Guide looks at the landscape of America’s safety net benefits experience in 2023 and tracks the differences from our 2019 assessment based on expanded evaluation criteria. It also highlights successful paths to equitable, human-centered experiences. It examines online enrollment for Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and WIC.
This page includes data and observations about authentication and identity proofing steps specifically for online applications that include child care applications.
The Digital Benefit Network's Digital Identity Community of Practice held a session to hear considerations from civil rights technologists and human-centered design practitioners on ways to ensure program security while simultaneously promoting equity, enabling accessibility, and minimizing bias.
This report analyzes the current state of digital identity in the United States, outlines challenges such as privacy concerns, fragmented systems, and lack of standards, and proposes policy and technology solutions to build a secure, interoperable, and user-friendly national digital identity framework.
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
In February 2023, the Digital Benefits Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation released a dataset documenting authentication and identity verification requirements that unemployment insurance (UI) applicants encounter across the United States. This resource outlines high-level observations from the data and more information about the research process.
Created for use in the Digital Doorways research project, this design stimuli shows the steps of submitting an application, sharing personal information, and verifying identity for Massachusetts' online application for SNAP benefits.
Led by the Digital Benefits Network in partnership with Public Policy Lab, the Digital Doorways research project amplifies the lived experiences of beneficiaries to provide new insights into people’s experiences with digital identity processes and technology in public benefits. This report details the project’s findings, directly highlighting the voices of beneficiaries through videos and photos.
