Getcalfresh

Feed The People

GetCalFresh assists millions of Californians in applying for food stamps. An official partner of the state, the mobile friendly website assisted with 65% of statewide application in 2020, delivering 2.2 billion in benefits. As the Design Lead for the team, I continually experimented and iterated, all while keeping the product up to date in response to legislative and societal changes.

Responding to the pandemic

Variations on a screen asking if applicants have a job. The first is too complicated, the second is too much effort, and the final is simple and flexible.

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by a huge surge in CalFresh applications. Many of applicants were in financial limbo, technically employed but furloughed or not able to work. This caused friction with program rules that required the last 30 days income to be reported as a projection for future income. A seemingly simple question, “Do you have a job?” became a source of confusion and anxiety. I tackled updating our income reporting screens to deal with the new reality. My goals were clarity, accuracy, and most importantly, letting clients know we had their backs.

Rapid response to new laws

When asking questions about sensitive topics: Give an option to skip the question, Help users make informed decisions by providing context, Explain why you’re asking the question

I designed a form to help people apply for exemptions to a CalFresh work requirement. It was important that people submit the form so that they could keep their benefits, but it required asking a number of very sensitive questions. I designed the form to maximize client’s chances of being granted an exemption, while also empowering them to decide what information to share.

Fortunately, the anticipated expansion of the work requirement did not happen, so this tool was never launched.

An outreach text message that has been annotated with tips for writing a good message.

A tool is only effective if people use it. Counties would be responsible for outreach, so I drafted this sample text message, and annotated it to help them understand best practices as they made their own.

Registering more than 7,000 voters

I designed a voter registration flow ahead of the 2020 election. The experience I designed complies with standards set by the Secretary of State, without distracting from our user’s main goal of applying for CalFresh.

Read more about the variations I usability tested on the Code for America blog:

Getcalfresh

Responding to the pandemic

Rapid response to new laws

Registering more than 7,000 voters

Removing Barriers: Public Benefits and Voter Registration