Connecting leaders and accelerating peer learning for state, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders through the Digital Government Network’s active communities of practice and working groups
Training, technical assistance, and applied research to support state implementation on: digital identity and work/income verifications; state integrated eligibility + enrollment systems; data interoperability; impacts on inter-generational households; digital service teams
Analysis of SNAP error rate data to understand case characteristics, system and process factors, and policies associated with errors and to provide state-specific technical assistance on how to reduce error rates while protecting access for eligible individuals
Projections and data analysis on how Medicaid coverage, utilization, and costs will change in response to OBBBA
Rigorous evaluation of how changes made by states in response to OBBBA (either SNAP or Medicaid) impact program outcomes
Manage a Public Sector Advisory Board of State HHS Leaders that inform challenges and opportunities for emerging technologies, including AI
Conduct discovery sprints with States to assess program and AI readiness
Fund pilot projects through their Public Benefit Innovation Fund that test how emerging technologies can improve public benefit access, including programs impacted by OBBBA
Reduce SNAP and Medicaid payment errors and administrative burden by streamlining income verification workflows through service design, technical integration support, and data analysis.
Shared nonprofit infrastructure through Verify My Income, an open-source, consent-based income verification platform. States can pilot VMI at no cost, then continue at-cost, currently $3 per verification, with costs decreasing as national volume grows across participating states.
Data analysis of income data and case flow from payroll provider to benefit delivery, including applicant experience, caseworker processes, and backend integration. Actionable recommendations at each level to improve processes and reduce payment errors due to income.
Facilitating state-to-state learning on income verification interventions: what works, where it works, and why.
Implementation sprints (a no-cost, interdisciplinary team of engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, policy experts, and social scientists) to improve policy design and delivery in areas that support families with kids under 6
Examples include working on the design and implementation of a new state paid leave program, increasing access to early intervention services, reducing burden for childcare providers during the licensing process, piloting a new navigator program
Technical assistance for policy design, including legislation review for delivery bugbears, designing participatory and effective rulemaking efforts, job description and staffing needs for implementation departments and program offices
Conducting deep listening efforts (qualitative and quantitative) to understand family preferences, include families in co-design of service improvements and overall design
Examples include designing a representative survey of parents in New York City to inform the mayor’s new universal care promise
Providing evidence and operational solutions needed to respond to HR1/OBBBA implementation challenges
Legally defensible, community-tested delivery tools. PPL works with agency caseworkers, CBO staff, and the public to co-design practical tools and communications materials. Pilot-tested resources (intake protocols, outreach communications, referral pathways, data tools, etc.) balance compliance and access. We include support for scaled implementation across agency systems or grantee networks.
Evidence, intelligence, and foresight from affected communities. PPL gathers rigorous qualitative evidence that combines community narratives and expert analysis. Searchable multimedia data and tailored insights are designed for use by policymakers, foundations, officials, and advocates, supporting evidence-based responses to current and emergent barriers to benefits.
Service and operations optimization in response to budget constraints. PPL develops concrete, proactive strategies to help agencies and philanthropies maintain services and keep critical systems functioning when eligibility determination becomes chaotic and budgets are squeezed.
Offering project management and technical assistance to states on implementation of H.R. 1 policies and processes.
Providing hands-on support to create participant and eligibility staff-facing resources to communicate H.R. 1 policies.
Advising on implementation strategies, such as how to elevate feedback from participants, assess and manage performance of initiatives to reduce PERs, support staff to transition to new internal processes, procure and contract with vendors to create accountability for results, and test AI solutions that minimize administrative burden.
Outcomes-based sprints deliver rapid Medicaid improvements while building durable state capacity
Medicaid unwinding experts lead engagements to improve OBBBA foundations such as improving ex parte rates, reducing procedural denials, or decreasing caseworker burden
Uses sprint success to build stakeholder buy-in for permanent in-house tech talent
Leverages an 11,000+ technologist network, targeted recruiting, Tech-to-Gov events, and executive training to help states secure and retain permanent technical leadership
The Tobin Center’s primary OBBBA response work has been through our Yale for Connecticut initiative. Yale for CT is focused on supporting the state of Connecticut, and where opportunities and interests align for collaboration, we can connect other states and organizations with CT and share what we’ve learned.
The Tobin Center more broadly supports evidence-based policy across the nation. We can connect interested states with academic partners to support data analysis and evaluation of OBBBA implementation.
Sharing information on projected changes in Medicaid expansion enrollment and implementation challenges under OBBBA
Sharing information on the implications of SNAP work requirements and other federal policy changes.
Estimating the effect of federal and state SNAP, Medicaid, Marketplace, and other benefit program policy changes on eligibility, participation, and benefit costs.
Helping states analyze their SNAP, Medicaid, and Marketplace administrative data to inform implementation
Advising states on options for implementing OBBBA Marketplace provisions, including legal and operational considerations.
State SNAP error rate discovery sprints to identify root causes and provide realistic, high-impact actions states can take, with learnings shared across states
Medicaid procurement, vendor management, and tech tool evaluation assistance
Medicaid and SNAP qualitative and quantitative research, technical advising, and OBBBA implementation guidance to increase efficiency, reduce caseworker burden, and preserve access
Multilingual AI translation tools and implementation assistance to increase language access for benefit applications, portals, notices, forms, etc.
