A bold plan for transforming access to the US social safety net | Amanda Renteria

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2022

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Digital public servant Amanda Renteria has seen that the millions of people who rely on government welfare services are often discouraged from seeking them out, frustrated and discouraged by long lines and unnecessarily complicated processes. At Code for America, Renteria is helping develop human-centered technology that "respects you from the start, meets you where you are and provides an easy, positive experience." She details the four factors that hinder effective delivery of government benefits and explains Code for America's plan to bring user-centric, digital-first social services to more than 13 million Americans and unlock $30 billion in benefits for low-income families. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, I'm Elise Hugh. You're listening to TED Talks Daily. You probably have plenty of examples in your own life of how technology has helped you and automated parts of your life that used to be cumbersome.
0:15.5	But digital public servant Amanda Renteria points out that automation hasn't reached people who really need it. She shares in her
0:23.0	TED 2020 talk how Code for America is trying to change that. Her work is part of the latest cohort in
0:29.2	the Audacious Project, a collaborative funding platform that supports change makers by connecting
0:34.1	them with funding to actually put their ideas into action.
0:43.4	This year, over $900 million was catalyzed, and we've been sharing those ideas here on TED Talks daily all week, so stick around to hear them all.
0:48.3	So my dad's first lesson to me was, look people in the eye, Mika.
0:57.4	Make sure people see you and you see them.
1:03.7	He has been a proud janitor, farm worker, shoestiner, home builder and small business owner.
1:08.8	He has seen the world from so many different lenses and has lots of stories to tell.
1:12.8	But there's one I've never been able to get out of my head.
1:15.9	A story of when my dad was a young kid.
1:20.7	He and my Tio Mayo knew exactly when the trucks would come in.
1:23.8	Under the freeway, just as the sunset,
1:26.3	they jumped the fence to get into the dump.
1:30.6	And as they waited for the trucks, they'd make bets on who would find the best food.
1:34.1	An un-eaten apple, they could clean, a perfect banana,
1:36.0	sometimes a candy bar or a wrap sandwich.
1:40.1	And then they'd grab whatever they could find and save the very best to bring home to their even younger brothers and sisters.
1:49.3	I hate that story, but I share it because we can't solve what we can't see.
1:59.0	In 1936, the image of the migrant mother captured the living conditions in the West,
2:05.8	showing lawmakers what people were going through.
	...

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