APBD is the professional association for the people who make that happen: the eligibility workers, supervisors, systems leads, and state directors who decide applications for SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, WIC, and child care. We set the standards, publish the data, train the workforce, and speak for the field in Washington.
Standards your office is measured against, training for every level, and the people doing your job in other states.
Membership for agenciesPlain-language briefs on what a rule change does to a caseload, and the only state-by-state data set on timeliness and accuracy.
Policy and dataProcurement guidance agencies use to evaluate you, the journal that publishes the evidence, and partner programs.
Work with APBD
2026 Timeliness Study
The eligibility offices that decide applications well inside the federal standard share four habits, and none of them is a bigger budget. Phone interviews by default, verification pulled before it is asked for, one worker per case through to decision, and a supervisor who reads the backlog every morning.
Read the studyA six-state comparison of renewal outcomes before and after phone interviews became the default.
The proposed 2027 standard adds a measure for the time between approval and first payment. Comments close November 14.
A plain-language rewrite of denial notices, tested with applicants, in the fall issue of Benefits Administration Review.
Two county directors on the seasonal surge nobody plans for, and the staffing model that finally absorbed it.
The timeliness and accuracy standards that 38 states write into their own performance targets, revised every three years with members.
The State Data Dashboard, the annual Timeliness Study, and the salary survey. If it is measured in eligibility, we measure it first.
Webinars for new caseworkers, the Certified Benefits Administrator credential for supervisors, and the State Directors Forum.
Testimony, comment letters, and a standing seat at the table when federal agencies write the rules our members carry out.
The credential for eligibility supervisors and program managers. Four modules, one exam, recognized by agencies in 38 states. The fall cohort opens October 27.
Live webinar · Free for members
Two days, virtual · Before the contract is signed
Virtual training · Four sessions
Live webinar
Washington, DC · Invitation only
Washington, DC and online
“The dashboard ended an argument we had been having for three years. Once we could see we were slower than every neighboring state, the money for phone interviews appeared.”
Dana Okafor, Eligibility Director, Oregon · APBD president-elect
“I took the CBA as a supervisor. I am a deputy director now. Half of what I learned I use every week.”
Marcus Tran, Deputy Director, Bexar County, Texas
Membership includes the journal, the dashboard at agency level, member rates on every event, and a community of people who have already solved the problem on your desk.
Fourth edition. The reference on every supervisor's desk.
The peer-reviewed journal, quarterly, included with membership.
Timeliness, accuracy, and churn for every state, updated monthly.
The member magazine. Practice, people, and policy in plain language.