Office of InnovationMaternity Coverage Timeline Tool
The Maternity Coverage Timeline Tool helps expecting parents plan when and how to take their maternity leave by providing a personalized calendar of how much leave time they have with State benefits. This work is part of the Resident Experience Initiative.
Challenge
Most people who work in New Jersey qualify for paid leave benefits under Temporary Disability Insurance and Family Leave Insurance. However, to use these benefits, parents must navigate a complex application process, tracking multiple details and making calculations on their own, increasing the likelihood of making a mistake during the application process or delaying access to the benefit.
Innovation In Action
Working closely with community partners and expecting parents to understand their needs, OOI saw an opportunity to use technology to simplify a confusing aspect of family leave and reduce stress. After asking parents a series of questions, the tool automatically provides start and end dates for leave based on their specific circumstances and preferences, giving parents clarity about the benefits they can access and when.
Residents using this resource have the option to leave feedback to improve it, which our team analyzes to make updates, ensuring the tool is continuously improving. The feedback is anonymized and analyzed by a generative artificial intelligence model, which identifies common trends in even large volumes of feedback that point toward areas for improvement.
Impact + Metrics
- As of May 2023, 62,300 New Jerseyans have used the Maternity Coverage Timeline Tool to understand their benefits; and 54,690 timelines have been created (since launch of the tool in May 2022).
Status
- The tool officially launched in July 2022, and is undergoing iterative improvements based on user feedback and data.
Resources and Additional Information
Partners
- NJ State Department of Labor
- Office of the First Lady
Last updated on 10/26/23
