Marlena Medford

If you’re with a state agency or legislature who needs help figuring out how you’re going to modify your benefits systems to deal with federally mandated changes (e.g. employment verification), contact us at @usdigitalresponse.org. We can help for free, thanks to grant funding. There’s no catch.

Join our Civilla Chats on Friday, June 20, with our CEO @thejuliadale.bsky.social and Tina J. Walha, CEO of @usdigitalresponse.org, as they discuss leading through change and fresh perspectives on driving innovation when public service needs to evolve fast.

Register here ➡️ lnkd.in/gxPcyApA

File your taxes using IRS Direct File, a free, secure, accurate and accessible product from the IRS. It is available in 25 states and allows you to import your tax information, like your W-2, directly from the IRS.

Visit DirectFile.irs.gov to check eligibility and learn more.

🙋We do! In 2023, 2.8% of veterans — around 241,000 people — were unemployed, according to the BLS.

The veteran population had a lower unemployment rate than non-veterans (3.6%).

In 2023, nearly 1 in 5 full-time federal employees worked for the VA — 433,700 out of 2.3 million.

How is the standard of living changing for veterans? | USAFacts American veterans earn a higher median income and have lower rates of unemployment and poverty than the general population.

USA Facts probably has the data: usafacts.org/articles/who...

Steve Spiker on LinkedIn: Impact Officer I'm really excited about this new position- we're hiring for an Impact Officer aka Digital Services Officer. This role will be working closely with me as a…

Do you know your way around modern tech development, data system design and modelling, love working with folks in government to make technology really work for the communities we serve?

We're hiring an Impact Officer aka Digital Services Officer!
www.linkedin.com/posts/steves...

Hawaii's emergency decision support system was funded by FEMA | StateScoop Staff at the Hawaii State Energy Office said that a critical decision-making tool that helps the state respond to and plan for emergencies may not have happened without federal support.

The project leader of Hawaii’s emergency decision support system was nice enough to talk to me last month. It's one of many useful projects funded by FEMA, led by a state or local government, that helps mitigate threats to communities: statescoop.com/hawaii-fema-...

State governments are largely responding to the uncertainty and chaos in Washington by entering "wait and see" mode. Two former government officials had some advice as states prepare for what may come next: statescoop.com/state-local-...

YouTube video by StateScoop How Trump and DOGE will affect state and local services

How Trump and DOGE will affect state and local services youtu.be/bnmqyXr6yWQ?...

Hello week 2 of tax filing season! 💥

Direct File is live and you can now import your tax information directly from the IRS.

Visit DirectFile.irs.gov to check eligibility and learn more. 👏

With the announcement that federal financial assistance will pause as of 5pm ET today, we confirm our commitment to supporting government partners. Read CEO Amanda Renteria’s post about how our organization remains committed to making government work well for everyone.

Calling data/policy geeks in the early child care and education space- we're hiring for a Kindergarten Readiness Officer to spearhead the deployment of the EDI instrument for the whole county! This is a pivotal role to help us collect data to inform policy making to support children in Alameda Co.

InnovateUS is hosting two workshops this week! Join us today at 2:00 PM for "Scaling AI: Utah’s Journey from Pilot to Implementation," and Jan 16 at 2:00 PM ET for "Better Government for All: Introduction to Entity Resolution with AI." Register: innovate-us.org/workshops
@innovateus.bsky.social

IRS’s Direct File to let users import W-2 forms, other data The tax agency will start accepting 2024 tax returns on Jan. 27 and expand the Direct File system for free tax filing to more states.

Surprised there’s not more buzz about this: we’re finally getting prepopulated tax returns! Such a win 🏆 www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Who Qualifies for IRS Payments of Up to $1,400 in Unclaimed Stimulus Credit? Some Americans who qualified for a pandemic-era tax credit but did not claim it will get up to $1,400 in their account within the next month.

About $2.4 billion in unclaimed tax credits are *proactively* being sent to their rightful owners www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/b...

Today VA released our 2024 inventory of the 227 Artificial Intelligence use cases VA is using or implementing to improve outcomes for Veterans, staff experience, and operational efficiency. Some highlights in this 🧵

Using AI to build a personal government technology podcast I created podcast-like overviews of FedRAMP, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, TechFAR and Zero Trust with Google NotebookLM's deep dive feature.

TechFAR, but make it Fresh Air 😂 As an audio learner, I’m loving these podcast-style deep dives into FedRAMP, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, TechFAR, and Zero Trust—all made using Google NotebookLM’s deep dive feature. govfresh.com/thoughts/usi... #civictech

Just discovered CPSAI does a nice weekly round-up of #civictech news: www.cpsai.org/pages/media/...

A periodic reminder that you can check your state's unclaimed funds pages to get access to $$ that is owed to you.

unclaimed.org

So much nostalgia!

Mesmerizing 😍

Such a great life hack—especially during the retail frenzy of the holiday season

Underbites are the best. What a cutie.

A cozy bookstore cafe featuring a red counter with shelves filled with colorful books underneath and bottles of liquor displayed above. The space has a warm and inviting atmosphere, with wooden beams, soft lighting, and a mix of furniture, including a green armchair and a blue sofa. In the background, bookshelves and more seating add to the charm of the space, making it a perfect spot for reading and relaxing.

Normalize bars in bookstores.

Instacart Becomes the First Online Grocery Platform to Launch a SNAP Eligibility Screener to Educate Consumers and Streamline Access to Benefits Nationwide New tool designed to help reduce barriers to access, expands the SNAP resources available on Instacart SAN FRANCISCO – November 21, 2024 – Instacart

Excited to dive into this more, but #Instacart providing a #SNAP screener could help drive eligible people to apply for SNAP. #FoodSecurity www.instacart.com/company/pres...

I've been experimenting w/@anthropic.com.web.brid.gy's Computer Use. An agent can move/click a mouse around a browser. The agent often has trouble using a website (#Geoguessr) & I wanted agent instructions for websites & wondered if there is an overlap w/ADA accessibility www.ada.gov/resources/we...

I had a Twitter list that I pointed people towards in my "breaking into civic tech guide" for a long time—finally updating and replacing with a link to Cyd's civic tech starter pack!

www.chriskuang.com/civictech

The Model for Responsible Innovation

The Model for Responsible Innovation - “… a practical tool created by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Responsible Technology Adoption Unit to help teams across the #PublicSector and beyond to innovate responsibly with #Data and ✨ #AI.”

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Love @lynnovermann.bsky.social, and her boots! 😍

This must be the place. Here to connect with folks who remind me why I love #civictech. Memes, pet pics, and hot takes welcome, too.