Code for America Unveils Safety Net Benefits "Field Guide" Showcasing Major Progress on Digital Service Delivery Nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO, April 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Code for America – the leading civic tech nonprofit that works with community leaders and governments to build equitable, accessible digital tools and services – today released the 2023 Benefits Enrollment Field Guide, a digital visualization tool compiled from primary source data that seeks to increase online benefits application usability and accessibility across all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
- The Field Guide captures varying approaches to digitizing benefits applications and tracks how states compare across different criteria, including mobile responsiveness, time to completion, Spanish-language support, and more.
- "Over the last four years, we have seen dramatic progress as more states are using digital tools to improve the accessibility of critical safety net benefits," said Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America.
- In 2019, Code for America conducted a first-of-its-kind national assessment to evaluate the landscape of public benefits enrollment.
- The updated assessment uncovered key findings about the state of safety net benefits applications, including:
Online applications are significantly more widespread than four years ago.