Caseworker Empowerment Toolkit
Helping staff who help families access public benefits
With support from our philanthropic funders, we’re creating a suite of tools that help caseworkers connect families with assistance programs and resources more quickly and effectively.
These tools integrate responsible uses of AI — backed up by research and testing with end users as well as rigorous evaluation with our academic partners.
Tools we’re building
Toolkits
Press
The Baltimore Sun: “Maryland wins more than $2.6M in AI grants to modernize SNAP, Medicaid, unemployment”: “The Center for Civic Futures said the project will be developed in partnership with Nava PBC, a company that helps governments design and improve digital services.”
Route Fifty: “How an AI agent can help caseworkers maintain the ‘human relationship’ with clients”: “In California, Riverside County is experimenting with an AI agent that aims to help caseworkers focus more on supporting public benefit recipients and less on administrative tasks.”
GovTech Industry Insider: “Newsom Establishes Innovation Council, AI Accelerator”: Genevieve Gaudet (Director of Nava Labs) named to the council’s Modernizing Government Service Delivery working group.
Route Fifty: “Los Angeles turns to AI to give public benefits enrollment a boost”: “A chatbot tool launched in Los Angeles County looks to help case workers more quickly and efficiently get vulnerable residents linked to social services.”
Technical.ly: “This company is trying to lessen caseworkers’ workload through a new AI research project”: Nava partnered with Benefits Data Trust, the Gates Foundation and Google to explore generative and predictive artificial intelligence’s potential for public benefits navigation.
Tech Policy Press: “Four Ways to Ensure Ethical Experimentation with AI in the Public Sector”: Following human-centered design principles can help avoid potential harms of AI systems.
Technical.ly: “Developing tech for government agencies? Participant advisory councils can help get it right.” Here’s why they work — and how to get started.
Civic Tech Chat: “Pioneering Progress: Advocating for Experimentation in Government with Nava Labs”: Genevieve Gaudet and Martelle Esposito discuss their approach to experimentation, leveraging data, and how they advocate for adoption.
The Human Centered Design Network: “Designing Tomorrow: Genevieve Gaudet for Nava”: Genevieve contrasts the allure of big tech in Silicon Valley against the meaningful work undertaken daily at Nava.
