Helping schools keep students safe
By the Numbers
Action plans created in the first month after SchoolSafety.gov was released
The Challenge
Over the past decade, K–12 schools across the United States have experienced 464 shooting incidents. In 2018, after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, the Federal Commission on School Safety recommended that the federal government share best practices to advance school safety.
The Solution
Working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USDS employed a human‑centered design approach to understand the needs of schools and how best to share school safety information with them. With this research, USDS partnered with DHS to launch SchoolSafety.gov in February 2020, a website that empowers emergency managers and K–12 administrators with the information they need to improve school safety. “Because every school community has its own unique needs, SchoolSafety.gov equips decision makers with resources for developing, customizing, and implementing actionable school safety plans,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Press
More projects
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Social Security AdministrationContinuously improving SSA.gov
The Social Security Administration is building on the momentum from their partnership with the U.S. Digital Service by implementing iterative research, best practices, and a data-informed approach to ensure the website is usable and useful.
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Centers for Disease Control and PreventionPreparing for the next pandemic while building tech for COVID-19
We worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to quickly create and scale technology programs that digitize and share infectious disease test results in real-time.
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Health and Human ServicesModernizing the child care application process
USDS partnered with ACF’s policy and subject matter experts to create a Model Child Care Assistance Application and eligibility verification practices that met federal guidelines and demonstrated the “art of what’s possible.
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Cross-agencyOptimizing benefits for families
Working alongside The Department of Treasury and the White House, we built ChildTaxCredit.gov to educate families about the expanded Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit. The USDS team relied on in-depth research to create a site that is accessible, easy-to-read, and provides resources to find free tax services.
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Cross-agencyChanging how the government hires technical talent
We helped develop a process that allows HR to leverage subject matter experts to evaluate candidates for specialized roles. The result restores fair and open access for all applicants, shortens the hiring timeline, and ensures applicants are truly qualified.
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Veterans AffairsSimplifying Veteran‑facing services through VA.gov
Each month, over 10 million people attempt to access the digital tools and content at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and have historically struggled to find what they’re looking for. Digital modernization efforts needed to focus on improving the user experience.