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We are dedicated to the American public. And we aren't done yet.

Projects interrupted

The projects listed below were all in progress when 18F was disbanded. No notice was given to the project teams or agency partners, and no time allowed for a handoff of key project information or materials.

Weather.gov

The National Weather Service provides vital weather forecasts and updates across the country. Unfortunately, lack of resources over the years have forced them to rely on outdated technology to do so. This multi-pronged project was working to provide the agency with a more stable public API, a modern content management system, and a website that anyone could use to quickly find and understand the weather in their area.

The project stood up new infrastructure, launched a pilot version of the website, and was in the process of expanding it when 18F was eliminated. This leaves the National Weather Service stuck with outdated technology that is less reliable and more time-consuming to use, at a time when the organization is also losing staff. A push to privatize weather data could also threaten public access to critical forecasts, potentially introducing paywalls and reducing transparency to the American people.

Federal Voting Assistance Program

The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) works to make sure military service members and Americans overseas are able to vote, and that their votes are counted. Some states require ballots to be submitted via fax, so FVAP offers a free email-to-fax service. However, during presidential elections, their system was getting overwhelmed by the number of people trying to use it.

FVAP reached out to 18F to see if we could help them process this higher volume securely and efficiently. Unfortunately, two project members were unexpectedly laid off while the team was beginning its research. Even if others are brought on to continue the work, we did not have enough time to complete user interviews or technical discovery to set the project up for success.

Department of Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

18F worked with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to modernize their applications for processing formula and label submissions from distillers. The goal was to reduce approval times and users with clearer guidance.

The project was expected to continue into the fall. However, after three months of stakeholder interviews, the work was halted before the team could finalize their recommendations. TTB now faces the choice of abandoning the project or hiring a vendor to restart the discovery process.

IRS Direct File

In its second year, Direct File is a free service for eligible American taxpayers to file taxes directly with the IRS. Building on last year’s successful pilot, this year’s Direct File is active in 25 states for the free filing of simple tax returns — more than doubling the number of states as the pilot, and with an expanded tax scope. 18F has been supporting the IRS to create and launch its Direct File project alongside the US Digital Service, vendor teams, and participating states.

Direct File is still active, and eligible taxpayers are encouraged to consider it as an option to file this tax season. However, the dismantling of 18F recklessly cuts off those team members of the Direct File project. This will directly affect the work planned for future tax years to add more tax forms and situations. The abrupt terminations and absence of any time for transition planning stretches an already lean team, and deprives them of critical project background and knowledge.

In Care Case Management System for Unaccompanied Children

Each year, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) takes into their care around 100,000 children who have entered the United States without a parent or guardian. Unaccompanied children spend an average of 36 days in ORR care, where a case manager is assigned to navigate their housing, education, medical, and legal needs. Eventually they will be vetted for long term placement with a relative or sponsor.

ORR case managers rely on a legacy software system called Portal to manage and track the needs of children in their care. Portal is outdated, challenging to use, and experiences frequent outages. These technological issues can put children in danger. Some have lost their medical records, or the documentation that could place them with safe sponsors, leading to realtime safety and security risks.

At the end of October 2024, 18F began the engagement with ORR to build a replacement for Portal, based on real user needs and modern technology best practices. This critical work was planned for two years before 18F was abruptly terminated on March 1st. Without the opportunity to transition work, and given the current hiring and contracts freeze, the trickledown impact is immeaurable but cascading. Without 18F to continue this already-funded work to ease unnecessary burdens, case managers are prevented from getting the tools they need to better serve the highly vulnerable population in their care.

Watch this space for more information on in-flight projects that have been interrupted by 18F's elimination.