• Overview
• Earned Benefit Tools and Resources
• Eligibility Screening and Enrollment Center Info
• Bridging the Gap Partners

Leave the hard work to the experts.

Connecting your employees with benefits doesn’t mean that you need to be an expert on them or that you have to add more work to your plate and more dollars to your budgets.

There are local and national resources already out there that can do the work for you – from online eligibility screening tools to enrollment centers that provide free one-on-one assistance with benefit applications. All you need to do is help your staff to take advantage of them. Below you’ll find links and information on some of these important resources.

Benefits QuickLINK is an eligibility screening tool that enables people to find helpful state, federal, and private benefits programs available where they live. By answering a few questions, they get fact sheets, applications, and websites for programs that can help them to save money and cover costs of everyday expenses. Benefits QuickLINK is powered by BenefitsCheckUp, a service of the National Council on Aging.

The Benefit Bank is a web-based, counselor-assisted program that simplifies and centralizes the process of applying for many state and federal benefits for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. Developed for use by a wide range of community based agencies, TBB is free for use by host organizations and their clients. The Benefit Bank, has resulted in tens of millions of dollars being returned each year to low and moderate income individuals and families.

Developed and maintained by The National Council on Aging (NCOA), BenefitsCheckUp is the nation's most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited income and resources. BenefitsCheckUp includes more than 1,800 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since 2001, millions of people have used BenefitsCheckUp to find benefits programs that help them pay for prescription drugs, health care, rent, utilities, and other needs.

In 2004 Seedco – a national nonprofit organization that helps low-income people and communities achieve economic prosperity – launched EarnBenefits, an innovative technology tool, to ensure that qualifying individuals and families receive the support they need to help them achieve financial independence. EarnBenefits clients work with a trained counselor who guides them through the online application system to apply for multiple benefits at once as well as providing long-term support. The service is available at a host of different providers across the country, including community-based organizations, employers, community colleges and government agencies.

SingleStop USA is the nationwide expansion of SingleStop NY, a remarkably successful program launched by the Robin Hood Foundation to connect the working poor in New York with government funds and services intended for them. Using a computerized benefits calculator akin to Turbo Tax, counselors help determine a family's eligibility for a wide spectrum of benefits and tax credits. In its first five years, SingleStop USA will deliver $2 billion in benefits to up to a million households. Expert legal counseling and financial planning advice are also available at SingleStop sites.

2-1-1 provides free and confidential information and referral. For the millions of Americans needing help every day – from locating financial assistance during a family crisis, to finding adequate care for an aging parent, to searching for the highest-quality child care – 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember number connecting them quickly to essential community resources. In 2008, 2-1-1 services in the United States answered more than 14 million calls.

Additional Screening Tools and Enrollment Centers – coming soon!

There are numerous additional local and national tools and organizations dedicated to connecting working families with benefits. So, don’t forget to check back to learn more . . .

The Family Strengthening Policy Center was developed with support
from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.