Policy & Practice | Fall 2026

of health connect to education and employment outcomes. The project centers on kynect resources, Kentucky’s statewide resource directory and closed-loop referral platform. Residents can find community resources, complete a social determinants of health (SDoH) assessment, and track referrals, while community partners can coordinate services and document outcomes. Kentucky also partners with United Way 2-1-1, whose referral special ists help ensure referrals do not go unanswered. Through quantitative analysis and qualitative user experience evalu ation, Kentucky is examining what is working, identifying gaps, and exploring how services can better respond to residents’ needs. The project is also strengthening collabo ration across health, human services, education, and workforce systems. Maryland: Improving Data Matching for SUN Bucks Maryland is developing an AI-driven “MatchBot” solution to improve data matching for the state’s Summer EBT, or SUN Bucks, program, which provides grocery benefits to eligible families with school-aged children during the summer. When records cannot be matched automatically, case managers may need to manually compare informa tion across systems. Incomplete or inconsistent customer information can make this process time-consuming and less accurate. Maryland’s MatchBot uses gen erative AI to rank potential matches and considers household and family information alongside individual demographic data. Case managers then review potential matches through an improved user interface. By strengthening data matching across SUN Bucks, the Supplemental

Participants of the Data SAIL kick-off meeting in Austin, TX, in February 2026.

Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Cash Assistance, Medicaid, Foster Care, and Free and Reduced Price Meals, Maryland aims to save caseworker time and reduce errors while supporting timely and accurate benefit delivery. Nebraska: Bridging Eligibility and Workforce Systems Nebraska is using Data SAIL to lay the groundwork for connecting NFOCUS, its eligibility system, with NEworks, its workforce case manage ment platform. Currently, the systems largely operate separately, requiring work force staff to duplicate participation information or exchange additional details through email. Nebraska is designing a pathway that would allow eligibility staff to access work force participation information more directly, reducing duplicative work

and improving coordination across programs. Rather than immediately beginning a technical build, Nebraska is focusing on discovery and planning. The state is mapping workflows, defining nec essary data elements, documenting requirements, and engaging staff and customers through focus groups and listening sessions. This work will also help prepare Nebraska for the planned integration of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Employment First (TANF EF) into NEworks. Kentucky, Maryland, and Nebraska are approaching integration from dif ferent starting points, but their projects demonstrate a shared goal: designing services around people rather than individual programs and systems. By documenting lessons and sharing what states learn along the way, Data SAIL will help inform broader efforts to build more integrated, responsive, and customer-centered health, human services, and workforce systems across the country. Building a More Connected Future

By documenting lessons and sharing what states learn along the way, Data SAIL will help inform broader efforts to build more integrated, responsive, and customer centered health, human services, and workforce systems across the country.

Nicole Acosta is the Process Innovation Coordinator at APHSA.

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Fall 2026 Policy & Practice