Supporting Medi-Cal Recipients by Screening for Employment Eligibility in San Francisco

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An image of the pastel colored "Painted Ladies" Victorian building in San Francisco.

Supporting Medi-Cal Recipients by Screening for Employment Eligibility in San Francisco

By I-Chiang Chen, Melinda Bernardo Cuerda, Kate Fisher, Carolyn Rojsutivat, and Emanuel Schorsch

This project recommends that the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Innovation, in partnership with the San Francisco Human Services Agency, pilot a digital screening tool for its JobsNOW! employment program, which matches low-income residents with job and volunteer opportunities. Under new federal work requirements, thousands of additional Medi-Cal clients are expected to seek JobsNOW! support, straining the program’s intake process. The new screener would route clients into different support tiers to reduce time-consuming intake meetings and better serve clients across the full range of support needs.

This project was completed as part of the 2026 Tech Executive Leadership Initiative, a partnership between the Aspen Institute’s Policy Academy and the Tech Talent Project.

See the Project