Policy & Practice | Fall 2025

rom staffing shortages and rising caseloads to heightened federal scrutiny and stagnant funding; the pressure to deliver efficient and timely services has never been greater for public services agencies. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, is forcing agencies to stretch limited resources even further. Amid these constraints, the promise of one-touch eligibility processing continues to serve as a strategic imperative for modernizing human services delivery. Yet, a new wave of technological innovation offers a glimmer of hope. Step changes in artificial intelligence (AI) are not only transforming the way we think about service delivery but are also bringing us closer to realizing the vision of one-touch processing. Among these advance ments, Agentic AI stands out as a particularly promising development, offering the ability to handle complex cases with minimal human intervention. For state leaders, under standing and strategically leveraging these technologies is no longer optional, it is essential. A Strategic Imperative for Public Services Agency Reinvention Harnessing Agentic AI for One-Touch Eligibility Processing F By Lauren Aaronson, Eyal Darmon, and Heidi Reed