Bloom Works Public Benefit LLC

Bloom Works is pleased to announce two new partnerships to improve state-level unemployment insurance (UI) systems. This year, we’ve been working with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) to help modernize state UI systems for equity and accessibility. Both projects are funded through the U.S. Department of Labor UI Equity grants, which provide funding for states to reduce accessibility issues marginalized communities encounter and improve the user experience for all people interacting with UI systems. In Indiana, Bloom has partnered with Resultant to engage with Indiana DWD to ensure equitable access to UI benefits, with a focus on historically underserved populations. Key achievements in the Indiana project's first phase include: - Assessed and prioritized over 600 documents and 150 website pages - Revised 14 critical documents into plain language - Surveyed DWD staff and claimants - Developed detailed claimant and employer journey maps We look forward to continuing to support Indiana DWD by establishing a sustainable plain-language methodology and identifying areas for streamlining communication with stakeholders. Bloom was also awarded a two-year contract with the Vermont Department of Labor. This project encompasses: - Conducting an equity audit of the state's UI system - Analyzing resident interactions with the system - Providing recommendations for implementing necessary changes - Embedding with Vermont's portal modernization team to promote equity, accessibility, and usability Since May 2022, we’ve also been partnering with Nava and the New Jersey Department of Labor to modernize its unemployment insurance system. We're proud to be involved in improving such an important aspect of the social safety net in these states.

What principles do you follow when working with or thinking about working with LLMs? In this post we explore just that. https://lnkd.in/gu4S8jfn

Meet Vicki Kidd, Product Delivery Manager at Bloom, and learn about the talk she recently gave at Code for America's Summit! https://lnkd.in/g2B22_sp

🎉🌻🎉🌸 Will we see some you at the Code for America Summit May 29-30th in Oakland, CA? About 15 folks from Bloom Works will be there! 🪡 We are proud to share that Vicki Kidd, Product and Delivery Manager at Bloom, will co-present “Threading the needle: When well-intentioned legislation is at odds with user needs” on Wednesday, May 29th at 11:30am PT. She and Abigail Fisher from Colorado Digital Service will talk about the work they did last winter with the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration.

Government procurement is an extremely powerful tool for shaping representation in the way services are designed and delivered. Every member of the US public is affected by these consistently dismal stats. Bloom Works Public Benefit LLC is an economically disadvantaged woman owned small business (WOSB). It's an invasive and grueling process to get formally certified, but it's important to us that we wear this identity proudly. Just 4.9% of federal US contracts were awarded to WOSBs last year. And while WOSB representation is shockingly low, the numbers aren't good across any underrepresented groups. We all benefit from better representation in the vendors that design and deliver government services. If your business is also a WOSB (or 8a or SDVOSB), feel free to comment here so more folks learn about your amazing work. For others who care about this kind of representation, please share this post or get to know the folks who name themselves. Let's advocate for more representation in the orgs our government awards contracts to, together! #representationmatters #wosb #8a #sdvosb #sba #federalcontracting Digital WOSB Alliance https://lnkd.in/eMiVrEHD

Bloom is THRILLED to see the Century Foundation's guide for improving state unemployment insurance (UI) technology, with such actionable information. For more, take a look at one of Bloom's past collaborations with New America: improveunemployment.com. ✨ As you can see, we're in good company on this work, alongside Exygy, Truss, Ad Hoc LLC, CivicActions, Civilla, Nava, and Pluribus Digital. ✨

Bloom Works has been thinking about how ChatGPT and other technologies powered by large language models, or LLMs, affect our work and mission. Our views will evolve as LLMs (and we humans) do, but we hope sharing our current thinking will help others! Read more on the Bloom Works Blog: https://lnkd.in/d4yYw7hC

Celebrating the individuals that make Bloom Works what it is... https://lnkd.in/gwDGkHEs

We are beyond excited to announce the newest members of the Digital WOSB Alliance! Please join us in welcoming 15 amazing women-owned, women-led companies to our team: Agile5 Technologies, Inc. Alesig Consulting Antean Technology Arch Systems, LLC CommunicateHealth, Inc. Data Surge DesignOvation Strategies, LLC Humango Solutions LLC JR Software Solutions Lithe Solutions PIXEL CREATIVE SERVICES, LLC. Potomac Haven Inc. SoftDev Incorporated Sure Secure Solutions Type A Creative, LLC Thank you to all the incredible leaders who are making this group such an incredible resource for women-owned small businesses in the digital space! Lisa L. Fritsch, Gisela Ghani, Sia Floyd, Vini Oberoi (Ehsan), Sandy Williams Hilfiker, Anu J., Rangena Hotaki, Andrea Carroll Wallenhorst, Janaki Allu, Padma Gourineni, Christina Murphy Alchus, Tammy White, Robin Major, Narjis Ali & Audrey Pfund Price #WOSB #newmembers #govcon #digital #digitalservices #tech #community #leaders #technology #team

We're excited to be named an awardee on the HHS Office of Grants' Software Integration and Frontend Technology (SWIFT) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)! 🎉 Through this 5-year, $100M contract vehicle, we look forward to expanding our partnership with the HHS Office of Grants to increase the quality and equity of federal grantmaking resources, platforms, and oversight. Bloom Works is the smallest and the only women-owned of the 6 companies on this BPA, but we are mighty! Bloom combines expertise in plain language content strategy, UX research, UX design, and tech strategy to deliver accessible and equitable digital experiences. We're currently working with the Office of Grants to improve how funding opportunities are published and accessible to the general public. We’re excited to build on this foundation and apply our unique approach to a broader range of digital services under the SWIFT BPA! 💪🚀 #GovTech #DigitalServices #WOSB