BridgeCare’s HUB (“Helping Understand Benefits”) product is the latest innovation in social impact technology—a one-stop shop to help government agencies and nonprofit organizations connect families with programs, benefits, and services to help families and children thrive. What does that mean? Let’s take a step back.

Nearly one in three Americans is enrolled in at least one government assistance program for food security, housing, healthcare, child care, and/or other needs. Despite a relatively robust framework of social safety nets combining federally funded programs with those at the state and local level, millions of eligible families do not participate or are not receiving all the benefits they may be entitled to. For example, the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (or TANF) program has seen participation rates plummet from 69% in 1997 to 20% in 2020. Only 16% of children eligible for federal child care subsidies received them as recently as 2019.

In some cases, that can be the result of underfunding—many states have waitlists for subsidized child care, for example, because the amount allocated by the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) “isn’t close to the level necessary to serve all eligible families.” In others, the issue might be more psychological—the result of societal pressures not to “accept handouts.” These misperceptions and stereotypes can be powerful detractors for those who these programs are meant to serve.

The third barrier to participation is also the biggest: awareness and accessibility. So many of these services are administered by multiple different agencies across various levels of government and non-government agencies. They’re not always marketed well and can be very difficult to track down if you don’t know exactly what they’re looking for. Lengthy applications and documentation requirements can feel overwhelming, leading to significant attrition in the steps between when someone realizes they’re eligible and when they actually enroll in the program. To make matters worse, limited staffing and budget cuts have made it harder for even the most well-intentioned organizations to serve their communities effectively.

This is where HUB can help.

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A First-of-Its-Kind Innovation

HUB enables agencies, organizations, or even groups of organizations to bring eligibility determination for all relevant programs together into one unified family experience. No more trying to chase down a dozen different sources, no more confusion about requirements, and no more frustration with cumbersome manual processes.

Here’s how it works:

The Landing Page

Families visiting HUB will start on a customized landing page configured to match the branding of the organization offering the service, including logos, color palette, and messaging. This ensures a seamless experience for visitors and eliminates any confusion about where the service is coming from. This page showcases a number of HUB’s important accessibility features, including:

• Support for multiple languages, including English and Spanish by default. Optional, context-sensitive human translations available for 180+ additional languages.
• Compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to support users with visual, cognitive, and/or hearing impairments.
• Mobile-first design principles to ensure a consistent and equitable experience regardless of device.

Following the theme of removing barriers to entry, users do not have to create an account to utilize HUB—they can complete it anonymously. They have the option to do so later for the purpose of saving results and tracking application statuses, but the first step is as simple as clicking (or tapping on) the button. This launches a step-by-step wizard to guide families through the eligibility process.

The Wizard

HUB utilizes a series of questions written in clear, conversational language to help families pinpoint the services available to them. The program’s smart workflow logic enables adaptive experiences based on where families are located and how they respond to each question, bringing state and local services together when applicable and supporting dynamic eligibility requirements.

A progress bar along the top of the screen keeps users aware of how far along they are in the process. Because HUB is doing a high-level eligibility check, supporting documents do not need to be uploaded at this point; it’s worth reiterating that families can get information anonymously without having to identify themselves. The example we’re using here for screenshots is from Raising Colorado Kids, the award-winning first implementation of the HUB product. These questions can be fully tailored to any organization or set of services.

The Results

When all questions have been answered, users will see a results screen detailing which services their family is likely to qualify for. In most cases, HUB will be used specifically for early childhood services, but organizations can use the customizable text fields to direct families to additional resources outside the scope of HUB as well.

Key information is provided for each service, including:

• The name of the service.
• A high-level summary of what it is and why it might be valuable for the family.
• A link to additional information on the service and/or the application to apply for the service.
• A summary of the criteria used to determine eligibility, with clear ✅ or ❌ indicators to bring full transparency to the process.
• A full list of all programs families are eligible and not eligible for, so families can self-identify if a program might fit their needs if or when their circumstances change based on residency, age of child, income, or other variables.

Users are prompted to create an account at the top of the screen. By doing so, they can come back to this results page any time without having to go through the wizard again. Depending on what else the offering organization is using BridgeCare for, that same account can be used to search for child care or preschool programs, communicate with agency staff, complete and submit applications for supported programs and subsidies, upload supporting documentation, and monitor application and enrollment status.

Reporting and Analytics

One of the most exciting outcomes of a HUB implementation is the increased visibility and insight agencies have into eligibility rates, interest levels, and participation in various programs and services. The data generated by HUB can be used to inform community outreach and policy decisions, including:

• Where is additional marketing and outreach needed to raise awareness of the program?
• Which services are generating the most clicks for more information?
• How many applications are launched directly from HUB, and how often do those applications result in program enrollment?
• What impact does HUB have on participation rates in various services over time?
• Where should funding be diverted to accommodate demand?

BridgeCare’s secure, SOC 2-compliant platform ensures this comprehensive level of insight without any risk to individual data privacy or security. HUB meets all state and federal compliance requirements.

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The Next Generation of Consumer Education

BridgeCare’s HUB represents the next significant step toward a modernized, technology-enhanced early care and education ecosystem. Let’s work together to move away from stressful, disconnected processes in favor of centralized, streamlined, and user-friendly experiences. Everybody wins when more families are informed of and connected with the services they need.