In the midst of economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, state and federal governments must deliver critical benefits to the American people at enormous scale and with great speed, including public services such as unemployment insurance, food assistance, housing vouchers, small business loans, and more. Despite existing programs and new ones quickly being authorized by Congress, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE STILL NOT GETTING THE SUPPORT THEY DESPERATELY NEED. 

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) allocates billions in funding to address high-priority needs in our communities (unemployment insurance, food security, broadband access, rental assistance), and governments are currently challenged with making strategic decisions to put the ARP's many mandates and directives into practice, including investing in the technology infrastructure and capacity building required to deliver services effectively for the long term.

U.S. DIGITAL RESPONSE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP GOVERNMENTS MAKE CRITICAL TECHNICAL DECISIONS AND IMPLEMENT MODERN TOOLS TO DELIVER BENEFITS QUICKLY TO THOSE IN NEED. To this end, we are launching an Economic Stability program to help state and local governments implement new programs and initiatives from the ARP and other benefits programs. With a focused team in place, we aim to:

• Deliver end-to-end technical and user experience improvements to solve problems now (vs. waiting for lengthy system integrations or complete rebuilds)
• Serve as a go-to technical implementation advisor or partner for governments
• Continue to provide a rapid response and support hotline to solve immediate needs for local and state governments

We've already supported partners on several projects related to ARP and benefits and believe a dedicated Economic Stability Team will help us scale our work even further.

• HOUSING: Processed 1,100+ claims to help Memphis residents access $1M+ in Emergency Rental Assistance.
• UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (UI): Partnered with 10 jurisdictions to modernize UI systems.
• FOOD SECURITY: Powered the delivery of 40,000+ food boxes to people without easy access to fresh produce in 5+ cities through our Storefront tool.
• BENEFITS ACCESS: Enabled LA County to launch a first-of-its-kind website to serve 3M+ immigrants, helping them locate critical services like COVID-19 vaccinations, health care, food assistance, housing support, legal representation, and small business services.
• BROADBAND ACCESS: Helped NYC make strategic procurement decisions to expand broadband access by creating a data aggregation and visualization tool that would help optimize coverage and dollars.

DO YOU WANT TO STAY IN TOUCH WHEN MORE ROLES OPEN UP?

We are currently hiring for an Engineering Lead and a UX Lead, but will be hiring more Technologists-in-Residence in the future. If you'd like to apply now for future roles, you may do so. 

We recently hosted an info session about the Economic Stability Program. You can view the recording here (Access Passcode: ^7V6Eh&!).