CIVIC TECH / ACCESSIBILITY

IDD Waiver Assistant

IDD Waiver Assistant (idd_waiver_assistant) is a Flutter web app that uses a conversational UI and optional OpenAI to help people understand Georgia developmental disability waiver eligibility (NOW/COMP) and navigate a complex public-benefits process. I coordinated with Rita Young (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritayoung1/) to keep it grounded in real usefulness for families and advocates.

THE PROBLEM

Government and waiver paperwork is hard to parse under stress. Users need a guided, mobile-friendly experience with validation, progress, and structured data — not a wall of PDFs and jargon — while still respecting that this is not official state advice.

THE SOLUTION

Shipped a portfolio-grade flow: a polished landing experience, then an eligibility quiz delivered as a chat rather than a static form. Architecture uses Provider for app state with models, providers, services, and widgets separated for maintainability. Integrations include dart_openai with env handling (flutter_dotenv, --dart-define) so keys are not baked into assets, plus http, shared_preferences, url_launcher, and markdown in chat (flutter_markdown_plus). Chat UX builds on flutter_gen_ai_chat_ui with custom pieces (e.g. markdown chat widget, intent/OpenAI wiring in services). Georgia-specific eligibility content and waiver-oriented data models reflect real policy-shaped requirements. README describes a multi-stage waiver application assistant; main.dart currently routes / → landing and /quiz → eligibility quiz — the full staged waiver chat flow is implemented in-repo and can be wired as the primary story if needed. Phase 2 is moving toward an assistant that helps complete filings and export them for submission to the state.

THE OUTCOME

Civic-tech / accessibility angle: lowers the barrier to understanding waiver eligibility. README explicitly disclaims non-official use — compliance and user trust are part of the product story, not an afterthought. The shipped path today centers the eligibility quiz; the waiver wizard remains available in the codebase for the next routing or product iteration.

STACK