The website that's supposed to make it
easy to apply for, and
purchase the insurance,
is not working.
There's no sugar-coating it.
I worked in technology media
back in the earlier part of the century.
It was an amazing time
and it was an amazing wave of innovation
and creativity.
But it became clear to me that
it didn't seem like anyone
else was paying attention
to how much we were leaving our government
back in the 60's, 70s and 80's.
While the rest of our
society was just hurdling
towards this new frontier,
I wanted to do something about that.
So, I decided to start something called,
Code for America.
We talked a lot in the
beginning of Code for America
about bringing some of the
principles and practices
of the web era to making government work.
Starting with the user.
Understanding what's going
on for the person that's
going to use your service.
Iterating quickly, following the data
about what's working and what's not.
We focused on health, on
the criminal justice system,
and on workforce training.
There's a lot of ability
to really help people
in our society at the same
time that we're changing
how government operates.
For instance, if you go
to apply for food stamps
in California now, it's
a really long online form
that doesn't work on a mobile phone
and only some of the
people who are eligible
for that program actually
take advantage of it.
And that's not good for them
but it's also not good for the community,
because when we don't feed those kids,
we will pay for more
expensive intervention later.
Why can't we just send
them a text that says,
"We noticed you're not
receiving food benefits,
but we believe that you're eligible.
May we apply on your behalf?"
And if they text back a "Y," then...
Why do they have to come fill out a form?
We have that information.
Maybe that sounds like fancy technology,
but that technology isn't
expensive these days.
What's expensive is lots and lots of forms
and lots of data entry.
That's expensive.
In Michigan, it used to be that you had
several long complicated applications
for food stamps, Medicaid,
and other social safety net programs,
each of which took a long time.
So we're in the process of
simplifying into one easy,
short application,
so they can actually get those benefits.
If I didn't have this program,
I don't know what I would do.
I'd be worried and stressed and wonder
what I'm gonna do for food,
or what I'm gonna do for insurance
and how am I gonna take
care of myself and my son.
It's quick, it's easy, it's
not hard to understand.
I'm so happy it's available
to people to have.
Voters passed a law several years ago,
that said if you have a low level felony,
that you should be able
to get rid of that felony
off of your record.
But so few people, again,
have been able to go through
the bureaucratic process
to actually get that off.
We didn't think about
the implementation of it.
I'm in awe at the fact
that it went so fast,
by just putting a little
bit of information
and everything was done for me.
Clear my Record has given me a chance
to have a second chance.
It was very easy and it's
gonna change my life.
I know that our partners
at the federal level
are very eager for our success
because they want to
replicate what we have done
in other states.
It revolutionized how we
do business in California.
We have about 70 Code
for America chapters.
We call them Brigades,
and they're led by tech people,
but also non-tech people,
and they're decided that the best way
to make their community better
is to improve local government,
make it work better for people,
on issues from pre-trial incarceration
to responding to disasters.
This incredibly dynamic,
citizen-led movement,
and we help connect them and support them
all around the country.
As hard as it is, we are actually winning.
We're starting to see
interfaces to government
that truly are simple and beautiful
and easy to use.
What we need to do is just
give more and more energy
to that momentum and just
push it into the stratosphere
and up the ambition level,
because we have all the evidence we need
that government can work for the people
and by the people in a digital age.
