colift

For caseworkers, a one-page methodology

Written for county welfare caseworkers and benefits-program staff reviewing a work-hours certification signed by colift.

See the full caseworker resource page → Includes cited primary sources, detailed verification formula, public data access, and a contact form.

Who we are

colift is a 501(c)(3) public charity. We run an online civic-volunteer program. Volunteers contribute to public-benefit work, including food-access mapping, translation review, archive transcription, and accessibility audits. For volunteers subject to the ABAWD work requirement, colift verifies their hours on the standard state form as the authorized representative of the organization where the volunteering occurred.

Authority

  • Federal: 7 CFR §273.24(a)(2)(iii). Unpaid work verified under the state's standard satisfies the ABAWD work requirement.
  • California: ACL 25-34 (May 14, 2025) and the CalFresh ABAWD Volunteer Work Hours Verification Form (rev. 5/25). colift signs the organization section as the qualifying nonprofit.
  • New York: OTDA Monthly ABAWD Volunteer Participation Record, signed by the host nonprofit. NYC documentation goes through ACCESS HRA.
  • colift's status: 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an IRS determination letter. There is no state pre-approval list for qualifying nonprofits. The IRS determination is the qualifying credential.

How we verify hours

The platform records active engagement during each task session, using a timer with idle detection, minimum-engagement floors, anti-duplication, and PII screening. Credited hours equal min(measured engagement, calibrated cap), only when the deliverable passes per-submission validation. The cap is calibrated to the observed median of real, quality-passing sessions and recalibrated quarterly. The authorized representative certifies based on those records.

Remote and online volunteering

Remote volunteer service is federally recognized. The Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act of 2016 (15 U.S.C. §3724) directs federal agencies to use remote volunteer contribution and defines it as a recognized form of public participation. EPA, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, NASA, the Smithsonian, and the Library of Congress all operate large-scale remote volunteer programs under this framework.

7 CFR §273.24(a)(2)(iii) 7 CFR §273.24(a)(2)(iii) counts "unpaid work, verified under standards established by the State agency." The regulation does not distinguish in-person from remote work; the operative requirement is a verification standard. California (ACL 25-34, CF 888) and New York both have one. The CF 888 describes "the organization where the person volunteers", location-neutral on its face.

Verifying a form

We welcome direct contact from caseworkers and county staff. If a form you received seems questionable, please contact us before rejecting it. We can confirm the records that support the certification.

Contact: [contact email] / [phone].

Audit access

colift publishes an open methodology ledger covering the verification methodology, current per-task caps, the calibration changelog, and the validation criteria applied to each submission. Direct access: [Audit & methodology ledger].

What we don't do

We don't certify hours that exceed measured engagement. We don't credit passive time. We don't pad hours. We don't certify work the volunteer did not perform. We don't test for AI use, and we don't believe doing so is appropriate.