Policy Attorney

Benefits Data Trust (BDT) seeks a Policy Attorney and Privacy Officer to help develop innovative strategies to streamline benefits enrollment for low-income individuals and families. S/he will conduct legal research, negotiate data-sharing agreements, and maintain and build BDT’s legal, privacy, and data security infrastructure. As a member of the Policy Department, s/he will oversee policy and regulatory compliance for BDT’s benefits enrollment assistance programs, as well as support program design and process improvement efforts. As BDT’s privacy officer, s/he will serve as the point of contact for data sharing, privacy policies, and HIPAA requirements. She/he will also provide legal support for BDT’s SOC2 compliance as it relates to security and confidentiality trust principles.

The position requires sound legal judgment accompanied by creative thinking to address evolving requirements in public benefits, healthcare, and data privacy and security. This is a new position in the Policy Department, which is part of the Office of Strategy, and will involve significant collaboration with BDT’s Programs, IT, and Contracts Management teams. The Policy Attorney and Privacy Officer reports to the Director of Policy.

Main Responsibilities:
• Develop substantive expertise in the intersection of public benefits, healthcare access, and technology.
• Translate complex federal and state regulations and statutes for diverse audiences including staff and state agencies.
• Draft legal memoranda to help advance policy options and practices to streamline benefits access and, in coordination with the Policy Manager, draft comments on proposed regulations.
• Think strategically about opportunities for data use and data sharing by and between health and human services agencies.
• Build and maintain expertise in federal and state data-sharing permissions.
• Draft and negotiate data-sharing agreements with government agencies and other entities to support targeted outreach strategies.
• Serve as BDT’s Privacy Officer, ensuring compliance with HIPAA and federal and state data privacy rules and reporting requirements, and monitoring legislative changes to ensure continued compliance.
• Revise and maintain BDT’s policies on data access, protection, and privacy.
• Work with all staff members to support BDT’s SOC 2 compliance.
• Revise data privacy and data security training materials for staff.

Benefits Data Trust (BDT) is a national not-for-profit organization committed to transforming how individuals in need access essential benefits and services. BDT envisions an efficient, cost-effective health and human services system that proactively connects individuals and families to the supports they need so that people are healthier and more economically secure, and communities are stronger. Through direct service delivery and systems change, BDT works to improve health, social, and economic outcomes and streamline the benefits enrollment process.

BDT employs 160 employees in Philadelphia, and provides enrollment assistance in Colorado, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Since its inception in 2005, BDT has submitted over 750,000 benefits applications for low-income households across the country, securing over $7 billion in benefits for food, healthcare, housing and other services that help move individuals and families toward financial stability. BDT now submits more benefit applications each year than any other entity in the nation. Research and evaluations have found BDT’s targeted outreach and enrollment assistance to be highly cost-effective. BDT also works with government agencies to assist them in adopting policies and practices proven to streamline benefits enrollment, and BDT partners with leading researchers to document the impact of benefits access and cost-effective outreach and enrollment strategies.