Benefits Discovery¶
GiveCare publishes a 161-program federal/state benefits bundle into the public wiki, web, and runtime surfaces, with machine-readable eligibility rules and zone-targeted screening. When a zone is flagged, relevant benefit programs for that zone surface automatically through Mira.
The problem¶
Over $60 billion in benefits goes unclaimed annually1. Participation in safety net programs ranges 40-60%, with eligible non-participation rates of 16-72% depending on the program.
The gap is not a lack of programs. It is a lack of discovery, navigation, and follow-through. Most caregivers do not know they qualify. The application processes are fragmented, documentation requirements are unclear, and deadlines are easy to miss. See Benefits Landscape for the full landscape analysis.
How it works¶
flowchart TD
A["Zone flagged (score < 40)"] --> B["Filter programs by zone"]
B --> C["Check eligibility rules"]
C --> D["Surface matched programs via Mira"]
D --> E["Guide application steps"]
E --> F["Follow up on status"]- Zone flagging: When a caregiver's assessment flags a zone (score below threshold), the benefits engine activates for that zone.
- Program matching: Eligibility rules are evaluated against the caregiver's known profile (state, income bracket, care recipient condition, employment status).
- Proactive surfacing: Mira presents matched programs conversationally over SMS — not as a list dump, but one relevant program at a time with a clear next step.
- Application guidance: Step-by-step support through application processes, document requirements, and deadlines.
- Follow-up: Mira tracks application status and follows up proactively.
Program coverage¶
Federal programs¶
| Program | Zone(s) | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| NFCSP (National Family Caregiver Support Program) | P1, P4 | Respite, counseling, training, supplemental services |
| VA PCAFC (Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers) | P4, P2 | Stipend, health insurance, respite for veteran caregivers |
| VA PGCSS (Program of General Caregiver Support Services) | P1, P5 | Peer support, education, navigation for veteran caregivers |
| FMLA Military | P4, P5 | 26 weeks unpaid leave for military caregiver employees |
| Medicaid HCBS (Home and Community-Based Services) | P3, P4 | Home modifications, personal care, adult day services |
| SSI/SSDI | P4 | Income support for disabled care recipients |
| Lifespan Respite | P1, P2 | Respite care coordination and funding |
| Medicare GUIDE | P5, P1 | Dementia care navigation and support |
| SNAP | P4 | Nutrition assistance |
| LIHEAP | P4, P3 | Energy bill assistance |
| Medicaid | P4, P2 | Health coverage for low-income caregivers |
State-level programs¶
| Category | States/Jurisdictions | Zone(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory paid family leave | 14 jurisdictions | P4 |
| Structured Family Caregiving | 11 states | P4, P1 |
| Caregiver tax credits | 8 states | P4 |
| 7 state-specific implementations | Varies | Multiple |
Technical architecture¶
Eligibility rules¶
All eligibility rules are defined as machine-readable Pydantic schemas:
class EligibilityRule(BaseModel):
program_id: str
state: Optional[str]
income_threshold: Optional[IncomeRange]
care_recipient_condition: Optional[list[str]]
employment_status: Optional[list[str]]
zones: list[str] # P1-P6 zone codes
ETL pipeline¶
flowchart LR
A["Source programs"] -->|Firecrawl| B["Ingest"]
B -->|Transform| C["Normalize rules"]
C -->|Generate| D["Wiki markdown"]
D -->|Extract| E["Static web/runtime bundle"]
E --> F["Live platform"]- Ingest: Firecrawl scrapes program pages from federal and state agency sites
- Transform: Raw data normalized into Pydantic eligibility schemas
- Generate: Validated corpus records refresh wiki-owned benefit pages
- Extract: Static JSON bundles feed the web benefits browser, SMS prescreen adapter, and public data mirrors
Impact evidence¶
- 74% of caregivers report that services enabled them to provide care longer2
- 62% indicated that without services, the care recipient would be in a nursing home2
- Average caregiver out-of-pocket cost: $7,242/year3 — benefits discovery directly reduces this burden
Code reference¶
Current v2 SMS screening logic lives in ../gc-sms/src/benefits.ts as a cautious adapter over ../gc-sms/data/benefits.json, which is synced from ../gc-benefits/data/benefits.json. Web benefits browsing reads the same canonical JSON emitted by gc-benefits. ETL pipeline in gc-benefits. See also the Benefits Landscape for the broader policy context and Market Gap for the unclaimed benefits analysis.