A new brief from the Center for Digital Government and Hyland summarizes how technology can help economic assistance agencies be more nimble and minimize churn, especially during times of crisis when vulnerable citizens need benefits the most.

Full summary:

Studies have shown that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in some states have missed out on between $2 million and $108 million in benefits, despite remaining eligible for help.

This is just one of the stats presented in a new brief from the Center for Digital Government and Hyland, “Responsive Public Assistance in Times of Constituent Need: How Technology Can Solve HHS Case Management Challenges.”

The brief explores why economic assistance agencies must embrace technology to deliver more holistic, responsive service. It also highlights the key challenges of providing benefits with current tools, such as:

• Paper-based processes increase the odds of missing or inaccurate information
• Challenging regulatory environments make data sharing cumbersome and inefficient
• Technology systems aren’t always interoperable, which prevents meaningful collaboration
• Churn that results from inefficient processes is detrimental to program participants and agencies alike

To overcome these challenges, it’s critical that agencies adopt technology to simplify how caseworkers collect and manage documents and information, automate repetitive, high-volume processes, improve collaboration, and meet the client where they are.

Read the full brief from the Center for Digital Government and Hyland to learn more or see how Northwoods economic assistance solutions can help.