New York City Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration
The New York City Department of Social Services (DSS), comprised of the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), serves more than three million New Yorkers annually through a broad range of services that aim to address poverty, income inequality, and prevent homelessness. One of the largest social services organizations in the world, the NYC DSS administers many public assistance programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPs), Medicaid, Child Support Services and Fair Fares NYC.
“Working with Diona’s solutions has opened up a new, cost-effective, and powerful way for us to engage with the people we serve.”
— Lauren Aaronson, Deputy Commissioner for Business Process Innovation NYC Department of Social Services
To improve client engagement and streamline benefit management, DSS has utilized Diona’s mobile solutions since 2015 to modernize the delivery of social services by digitizing traditional paper-based processes and providing convenient mobile access to critical services.
Diona Uploads, implemented in 2015 as NYC HRA Document Upload, addressed inefficiencies in handling more than 40,000 monthly SNAP applications and required documentation. It quickly became the primary channel for document submissions at DSS.
Building on this success, in 2017 DSS expanded with ACCESS HRA, based on Diona Self Service, allowing clients to manage benefits directly from their mobile devices. Clients can view appointments, benefit information, payments, required notices, report household changes, complete recertifications, and upload documents securely via their phone.
The success of the ACCESS HRA and NYC HRA Document Upload solutions prompted DSS to introduce a third Diona mobile solution, NYC Child Support – ACCESS HRA, implemented on Diona Child Support. The native mobile app streamlines access to child support services by enabling parents to complete enrollments, upload required documentation and make payments securely via credit/debit card, PayPal or Venmo.
Key Outcomes
Improved efficiency and reduced processing times by digitizing manual tasks.
Over 55 million documents uploaded via the three mobile solutions.
Improved document and data quality with high quality document images and well validated data.
More than 24 million push notifications delivered to clients via the ACCESS HRA mobile app, keeping them informed in real time.
Over 21,000 enrollments submitted and over $10 million USD collected via the NYC Child Support – ACCESS HRA mobile app.
Accessibility compliance validated by NYC’s Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.
Security accreditation by NYC Cyber Command and independent third-party vendors.
To learn more about Diona Uploads, Diona Self Service and Diona Child Support, and how Diona is working with the New York City Department of Social Services please click the link below to request a demo.
