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Presidential Initiatives

GovBenefits.gov

Program Manager(s)

Curtis Turner

Managing Partner

Department of Labor (DOL)

Description

Provides a single point of access for citizens to locate and determine potential eligibility for government benefits and services.

Progress to Date
  • Launched eligibility screening tool to identify social services for which citizens may qualify
  • Established an interagency Federal governance structure to ensure funding partners are involved in project decisions, including a Governance Board that provides strategic direction and oversight and a Change Control Board that helps direct program activities
  • Acquired more than 1,000 Federally-funded benefit programs for citizens which are administered at the Federal and State levels
  • Launched GovLoans.gov and GovBenefits.gov En Español (in Spanish)
  • Launched an External Content Management System to allow Federal and State partners to manage their benefit program content on GovBenefits.gov
  • Integrated USA Services into the citizen feedback process
  • Established cross-governmental working group to develop data standards for benefit information that can ultimately be used to exchange data across the benefits community
  • Migrated the GovBenefits.gov site to a portal architecture, allowing updates to most website content through the Content Management System
  • Celebrated the 5th Anniversary of GovBenefits with a webcast on April 26, 2007
  • Launched a redesigned GovBenefits.gov website in April of 2007 that introduced a host of citizen-centric usability enhancements
  • Integrated ForeSee Customer Satisfaction Index survey tool to GovBenefits.gov to measure customer satisfaction and gain greater insight into visitor’s information needs for GovBenefits.gov
  • Launched customized connection for the Social Security Administration’s Benefits Eligibility Screen Tool (BEST), providing detailed eligibility screening for 17 different SSA related benefit programs

Next Steps
  • Work with Federal partners to migrate redundant eligibility screening systems to GovBenefits.gov Customized Connections.
  • Conduct usability testing and gather feedback from citizens on ways to improve the site’s overall functionality and validate site enhancements.
  • Update the Content Management System to provide better user experience for Federal and State partners in updating agency program content.

Web Site

Performance

 GovBenefits.gov Performance Measurements

Exhibit 300

Managing Partner Agency Exhibit 300

 

GovBenefits.gov empowers people to make decisions for themselves and their families by providing a single website – www.GovBenefits.gov – for access to information on more than 1,000 government benefit and assistance programs. Launched in April 2002, GovBenefits.gov features an easy-to-use on-line screening tool to help individuals or caseworkers quickly determine potential eligibility for benefit programs. By answering a few confidential questions, such as income, marital or employment status, and family size, users are guided to a list of benefits they may be eligible to receive. Program descriptions and contact information are provided for each benefit program.

GovBenefits.gov significantly reduces the amount of time individuals spend trying to identify and access relevant information about government benefit programs that match their specific needs. GovBenefits.gov improves the ability of government agencies to assess program performance and pinpoint duplicative or redundant services, which creates opportunities for more efficient resource allocation. GovBenefits.gov allows local government or social service caseworkers to quickly identify and match alternative programs with an individual’s specific needs.

In spring 2004, GovBenefits.gov made it possible to launch a new E-Government initiative, called GovLoans.gov, by re-using the GovBenefits.gov architecture. GovLoans.gov is now an integrated companion site of GovBenefits.gov and features information about Federal loan programs, including business, agricultural, housing, veterans and disaster assistance. In addition, the project unveiled GovBenefits.gov En Español, offering Spanish-speaking communities greater access to benefit information.

To date, more than 26 million people have visited the GovBenefits.gov site, and, as a result, 6.5 million citizen-referrals were made to government programs.

In March 2008, GovBenefits.gov launched a customized connection for the Social Security Administration’s Benefits Eligibility Screen Tool (BEST). The customized connection replaced the existing BEST tool, leveraging GovBenefits.gov’s powerful screening technology while preserving BEST’s detailed eligibility screening for 17 different SSA related benefit programs. It also provides citizens with a list of the Social Security benefits they may be eligible to receive.

FAST FACT:
More than 80 million people receive government benefits through hundreds of Federal domestic assistance programs and Federally funded programs managed by state and local governments. Previously, information about these programs was spread across 31 million Federal government web pages.