Giving Compass' Take:

· Kevin O'Neil and Durva Trivedi explain how Benefits Data Trust is helping improve the social safety net by breaking down barriers during the application and eligibility process.

· How is data science being used to help and improve our society? How can it be used to improve other social programs?

· Read and learn more about the work of Benefits Data Trust and high impact philanthropy.

Data science has transformed the ways we make, invest and spend our money, consume information, and conduct our lives in the modern economy. But now it’s time for data science to improve the ways we take care of one another, starting with our social safety net. We’re excited to be supporting the Benefit Data Trust in doing exactly that.

Evidence shows that the social safety net provides a high return on investment bolstering our future shared prosperity. When a struggling family accesses government assistance, their health improves and healthcare costs drop. Cash benefits like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax credit boost employment for adults and raise the incomes of their children even decades later.

Despite this, some 40 million Americans live in poverty today and 13 million of them are completely disconnected from the safety net. Millions more may be getting one benefit but desperately in need of others that they are often eligible for but not receiving.

They are often unaware of the help they qualify to receive. Applying for benefits is usually an obstacle-ridden and slow process that can reinforce the pernicious stigma associated with asking for help. Most Americans are focused on putting food on their dinner tables and paying their bills, two urgent demands which leave little time for waiting in line and filling out forms.

Read the full article about using data science to improve the social safety net by Kevin O'Neil and Durva Trivedi at The Rockefeller Foundation.