Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 18

FEATURE
ALGORITHMIC
ACCOUNTABILITY
When Systems
Get Things Wrong
By John Murph
I
n 2016, when the Arkansas Department of
Human Services (DHS) started using an algorithm-driven
tool to calculate home health
care hours for recipients of its Medicaid waiver
program, 90-year-old Ethel Jacobs saw her caretaker
visit hours drastically reduced from 46 to 35
hours per week. The change meant potentially
severe health consequences for Jacobs - she
was bedridden with advanced dementia.
Arkansas is not an outlier in the seeming trend among states to deploy
algorithms to calculate benefits in the name of efficiency. " Governments
are increasingly turning to algorithms to determine whether and to what
extent people should receive crucial benefits for programs like Medicaid,
Medicare, unemployment, and Social Security Disability, " according to
the Center for Democracy & Technology in a 2020 report. " Reports from
people on the ground confirm that the tools are frequently reducing and
denying benefits, often with unfair and inhumane results. "
Washington, D.C., for example, was using nearly 30 automated decisionmaking
systems to surveil, screen, and score District residents in areas
such as public benefits, health care, policing, and housing, according to
an investigation by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in
2022. " Automated decision-making is threaded throughout a wide variety
of public services in D.C., " EPIC points out in its report " Screened and
Scored in the District of Columbia. "
" They assign children to schools, inform medical decisions about patients,
and impact policing decisions about where to patrol and whom
to target, " the report states. For example, to assist case workers in determining
who gets housing assistance first, the city was using the Vulnerability
Index-Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT), resulting
in unintended racial disparities, EPIC's investigation showed.
EPIC sent a copy of the report to D.C. Councilmembers, urging them to
pass the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act, which seeks to prohibit
discriminatory use of algorithms to determine an individual's eligibility
for or access to education, housing, or employment.
18 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* MAY/JUNE 2024
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Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024

Digital Extras
Your Voice
From Our President
Calendar of Events
Toward Well-Being
Real Time Crime Surveillance feature
Genetic Resources Access feature
Algorithmic Accountability feature
Eli Rosenbaum feature
Going International feature
NextGen Bar Exam feature
Sponsored content
Revised Rules Special Section
Member Spotlight - Stephen Pershing
Attorney Briefs
Upon Further Review
Practice Management
Speaking of Ethics
The Learning Curve
Disciplinary Summaries
Pro Bono Effect
A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 1
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 2
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 3
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Digital Extras
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Your Voice
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 7
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Calendar of Events
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Toward Well-Being
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Real Time Crime Surveillance feature
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 11
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 12
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 13
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Genetic Resources Access feature
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 15
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 16
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 17
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Algorithmic Accountability feature
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 19
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 20
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 21
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Eli Rosenbaum feature
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 23
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 24
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 25
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Going International feature
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 27
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Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 29
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - NextGen Bar Exam feature
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 31
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 32
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Sponsored content
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Revised Rules Special Section
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 35
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Member Spotlight - Stephen Pershing
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 37
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 39
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Upon Further Review
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Speaking of Ethics
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 43
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - The Learning Curve
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 47
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - A Slice of Wry
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