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Catching up with the TANF Data Portal project
on September 7, 2023
Around 800,000 low-income American families receive cash assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) each month. 18F and the Administration for Children & Families’ Office of Family Assistance partnered on building a new data portal for TANF. We caught up with Office of Family Assistance leaders to see how their agency is continuing with the work.
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The 18F Public Benefits Portfolio reflects on the last year
on March 31, 2021
Pairing our deepening domain knowledge of the unique nuances of benefits administration and delivery across programs and levels of government with our core expertise in modern technology and digital service delivery, 18F’s Public Benefits Portfolio team helped empower our partners to take some important leaps forward to rise to the critical challenges of the current moment, and we’re thrilled to highlight some of their achievements from this past year.
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18F and TTS Office of Acquisition award first assisted acquisition
on December 17, 2020
The Administration for Children & Families’ Office of Family Assistance, TTS, and the vendor community worked together to improve the TANF Data Reporting System (TDRS) to make it easier and faster for States, Tribes, and Territories to support low income families
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Rapid implementation of policy as code
on May 12, 2020
No policy or rule stays the same forever. In response to a crisis, policy changes often come much faster, and stakes can be higher.
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Modular contracting and working in the open
on October 25, 2018
Working in the open is a key component of building trust between governments and vendor partners. Read about how the State of Alaska is using openness and code sharing to foster greater trust between government project teams and vendor teams as part of a large legacy system overhaul.
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Exploring a new way to make eligibility rules easier to implement
on October 16, 2018
When federal agencies issue a policy change, say income eligibility guidelines, that policy gets communicated down to the states as text on the Federal Register or via PDF. This translation of federal policy into many state systems creates opportunities for implementation errors.
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Implementing rules without a rules engine
on October 9, 2018
If you’re building a rules-based system, don’t assume that you need a separate business rules engine product. Rules can be implemented more easily and with less overhead by cross-functional teams working to describe the rules and policy directly in code using a general purpose programming language like Python, Ruby, etc.
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Using agile methods to improve the RFP process
on May 22, 2018
The process of developing and issuing RFPs is often viewed as a one off - a special activity that occurs infrequently and in isolation. What if we applied the principles of iteration and continuous improvement to the way that RFPs are developed?
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How Alaska is using transparency to attract modern software vendors
on September 12, 2017
Alaska’s Department of Health & Social Services is working with the Technology Transformation Services’ Office of Acquisition on a new approach to product and acquisition management to develop a modern, integrated eligibility system for their Division of Public Assistance. We’re experimenting with a transparent approach so that anyone can see, and provide public feedback on, our progress.
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Leadership and innovation at California's Child Welfare Services
on November 17, 2016
This is the story of how the State of California changed direction on a $500 million IT project for Child Welfare Services. To a large degree it’s about technology. But it‘s also about leadership, changing frames for assessing risk, and relationships based on trust.
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Modular procurement resources for state and local government
on November 15, 2016
Our recent work with state government agencies in California and Mississippi provides some powerful examples of how 18F’s commitment to working and learning in the open can provide enormous benefits — even to states that are not yet working directly with 18F.
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California takes a new approach to procurement
on October 28, 2016
The Technology Transformation Service recently held an industry day to talk to the private sector community about our vision, our projects, and how GSA and vendors can work together to bring modern digital services to the federal government. For that event, California’s Stuart Drown recorded a short video talking about 18F’s work with California on their Child Welfare System.
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Mississippi brings agile and modular techniques to child welfare system contract
on September 20, 2016
The State of Mississippi is about to upgrade its child welfare management system, a system used by about 1,800 state employees in 82 counties, supporting the wellbeing of about 5,000 children across the state. The system was built in the early 2000s, and the employees who use it are stymied by an inefficient interface and aging infrastructure.
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From 1,500 pages to 10: Helping California buy a new Child Welfare System
on March 22, 2016
Through a partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, 18F was able to work with California’s Department of Social Services and Office of Systems Integration on the replacement of California's Child Welfare System. We helped them simplify the contracting documents and incorporate modular contracting, agile development, user-centered design, and open source practices into their project.
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