June 14, 2024
1. Placement of FIRC Summit Resource Center Updated on Referrer Dropdown. We have moved FIRC Summit Resource Center to appear above Test / Prospective Partner on the referrer dropdown list.
2. Cobrand with Denver Human Services. As part of a partnership with MyFriendBen and Denver Human Services, a cobranded version of MFB will be available to users coming from DHS.
3. Benefits Category Type Updates. We have normalized the long-term and near-term benefits’ category types default language in our code in an effort to prevent errors whenever these are entered incorrectly or are out of date.
June 7, 2024
1. Updated Current Benefits Page for Colorado. We have updated the list of current benefits MyFriendBen screens for. The new page can be found here.
2. New Benefit: Denver Recycling & Trash Service Rebate. Recycling and trash services rebate (Denver County only)
3. CCCAP Eligibility Updates. We have made 2 changes to the CCCAP eligibility calculation. If a parent in the household lists child support payments as an expense, MyFriendBen now deducts the amount of the child support payment from the household income for purposes of determining eligibility. We have also added a resource limit of $1M (i.e. a household who has $1M in resources, is not eligible for CCCAP).
4. Bug fix. We have resolved an issue where partial snapshots were created on MyFriendBen’s backend if a screener had an error, resulting in users seeing the “New Benefit” flag for all benefits on the results page.
May 31, 2024
1. Copy Update: We have changed “Finding a job” on Step 9 (“Is anyone in your household in immediate need of help with any of the following?”) to “Job Resources”.
2. Household member cards update when changes are made. The MFB team has fixed a bug where the household member’s card at the top of the screen was not updating if edits were being made to the relation , age, and/or income for an individual HH member.
3. New Footer. We have updated the screener’s footer to match the footer on the new www.myfriendben.org.
4. “New Benefit” Flag fixed in other languages. The team has resolved a UI issue where the “New Benefit” Flag on the results page was wrapping the text if longer than the English copy instead of extending the flag width for another language’s copy width.
5. Visual update to the “Required Documents Checklist” box. The team has updated the UI on this box inside individual benefits’ pages so that the text is no longer all bold and in caps.
6. New near-term benefit: SNAP to Success Employment Program. Job resources for people receiving SNAP or eligible for SNAP (Denver only)
7. New near-term benefit: Denver’s Emergency Assistance. Emergency help for certain housing and utilities costs (Denver only)
8. Benefit Update: Early Intervention Colorado. We have updated the eligibility criteria for this program to show in results only if a child in the household is 0, 1, or 2. The program is available up to a child’s 3rd birthday.
9. Co-brand partnership with FIRC Summit Resource Center.
May 24, 2024
1. 5% income disregard added for CHP+. If a HH income exceeds the applicable FPL, the 5% disregard is applied to determine eligibility. If an individual’s MAGI-based countable income is above the income threshold for CHP+, the 5% disregard will be applied as the last step to determine eligibility.
2. Colorado Early Childhood Mental Health Support Line added to near-term benefits. The Early Childhood Mental Health Support Line offers behavioral and social-emotional support for families with children under 6.
3. Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) added to near-term benefits. Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) helps families prepare their children ages 2 through 5 for school.
4. Parents as Teachers (PAT) added to near-term benefits. Parents as Teachers (PAT) offers school readiness activities, developmental and health screenings, and connections to local resources for families with children from birth to kindergarten.
5. Bug Fix – Medicaid showing up in results when already selected as an insurance provider. Our team has fixed a bug where Medicaid was showing up in results for families who had already indicated they receive Medicaid.
6. Translated aria labels. MyFriendBen’s team has translated our aria labels so that users going through MFB with a screen reader and in a language other than English will be able to read those labels in the selected language.
7. New PolicyEngine API. We have migrated our PolicyEngine API to new endpoints for a more stable connection.
8. New field added to MyFriendBen’s backend for website description. This field will be used to for a website description of each benefit on the new current list of benefits MFB is screening for page.
9. Updated UI for Django backend. Not seen by users, but we have implemented an upgraded interface for our backend administrative portal so that our team can navigate a little easier as we continue to add new benefits/update translations.
May 14, 2024
1. Message added to benefits if users input a household member who is not part of their tax household. For applicable benefits, if a user goes through MyFriendBen and adds additional household members who are not considered a part of their taxable household, they will now see a corresponding message on benefits where those individuals may need to fill out MyFriendBen on their own to see if they qualify for the benefit.
2. Results page categories re-ordered in descending order of value. Users will now see categories with the most value at the top of their results page.
3. New Benefit: Nurse Family Partnership. The Nurse-Family Partnership partners first-time parents with a free personal nurse.
May 3, 2024
1. Foreclosure Financial Assistance Program Added to Near-Term Resources. Program that offers financial support to Denver homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure
2. Child First Added to Near-Term Resources. In-home program that helps with a child’s development, social skills, and mental health
3. Income and Resource Limits Updated for Medicare Savings Program.
Updated income limits:
- Individual: $1715 / month
- Married Couple: $2320 / month
Updated resource limits:
- Individual: $10,930
- Married Couple: $17,130
4. Can’t find what you need button updated. We have changed the “More Help at 2-1-1” button at the bottom of the results page for individuals who need additional help/can’t find the resource they are looking for. This button now says “More Help” and takes users to a page where 2-1-1 is an option in addition to family resource centers.
5. My Spark Age Limits Update. My Spark Denver now accepts applications from 11 – 14.
6. CCCAP bug fixed. The MyFriendBen team found a bug where CCCAP was returning in the results for single-parent households, a child outside of the age range for CCCAP, and $0 income in the household. The CCCAP result showed a value of $0. Our team has fixed this issue so that CCCAP does not appear in the results as the household is not eligible.
7. Benefits Results Listed in Order of Dollar Value. Within each category of the results page, benefits that households may be eligible for are now listed in descending order with the highest estimated value benefit at the top of the list.
8. Help Text Added for Income Frequency. Help text has been added to the “How often are you paid this income?” question if a user indicates an individual in the household has income. The help bubble specifies that if a user chooses “every 2 weeks” this means they are paid every other week, and if a user chooses “twice a month” this means they are paid twice a month on the same dates each month.
9. Users who opt into follow-up from the MFB team will now also automatically receive a copy of their results when they submit the screener.
March 1, 2024
1. New Language – Arabic. MyFriendBen is now available in Arabic.
2. VA Health Insurance added as insurance option. Users can now indicate if a household member has VA Health Insurance. As part of this change, “I don’t know” and “I don’t have health insurance” have been combined into one selection/option.
3. Low Confidence Flag. On the results page, users may begin to see some benefits added in with a “Low Confidence” flag. This flag indicates that MyFriendBen does not have enough information to provide a benefit estimate which we are 90% confident about for the estimated value. For more information on a benefit and why we have marked a particular benefit as “low confidence” please click the “More Info” button to read more about the specific benefit.
4. New Benefit – Colorado Temporary Rental Assistance Grant. The Temporary Rental Assistance Grant may help Coloradans pay past due rent. This program helps households that have had financial hardship due to a major life event.
February 23, 2024
1. Removed pregnancy as an eligibility condition for Emergency Medicaid / Reproductive Healthcare. With input from a health care partner, we have removed the pregnancy eligibility factor to show this benefit to non-pregnant individuals who otherwise meet the eligibility criteria.
2. “Foster Child” update in relationship drop down. We have changed this dropdown menu line to read “Foster Child / Kinship Care.
3. TRUA (new benefit). The Temporary Rent and Utility Assistance Program has reopened applications in a new online portal. We have added this back in as a benefit that MyFriendBen screens for.
February 21, 2024
1. New Results Page. Users who complete MyFriendBen will now see an updated results page view. Note that there are still two tabs (but labels have changed) – one for long-term benefits and one for near-term benefits. For additional information on each program, users can now click on “More Info” for individual program pages.
2. Minimum age condition added to Family Planning Limited Health First Colorado. While no age limit applies to gthis benefit, it covers family planning only. We have added a minimum age condition of 12 years old to exclude very young children.
3. Condition update to Family Planning Limited Medicaid. A condition has been added to screen for individuals who are not pregnant in order to qualify for this benefit.
February 2, 2024
1. White Label with Get Ahead Colorado. In a partnership with Get Ahead Colorado, MyFriendBen now has a white labeled version with our cobranded logos.
2. Income limits for Property Tax Credit rebate updated. Income limits have been updated – $18,026 for single filers and $23,234 for married filers.
3. Updated mobile visuals for cards. Questions that involve a tile with an icon in the response selection have been updated for mobile view. The cards now take up the full width of the screen on a mobile device.
4. Language Requests. MyFriendBen will now only request the selected language in order to reduce page load time in the application. If a user changes their language selection, they may see the loading icon for 1-2 seconds while the application fetches the new language translations.
5. Help Bubble Feature. MyFriendBen will begin adding in help bubbles throughout the application for additional helpful/clarifying information on various questions. The first help bubble can be seen on the user income question. If a user clicks on the question mark icon, the help text will appear.
January 26, 2024
1. Updated Referral Dropdown List. We have removed “TV” and “Jeffco Prosperity Partners” from the referral dropdown. We have added “Tax Assistance Site (VITA/Tax Help Colorado)”. This option was previously available in the dropdown last year during tax season.
2. Income question copy edit. We have changed the wording of the question “How much do you receive each pay period for:” to “How much do you receive before taxes each pay period for:”
3. New benefits. MyFriendBen now screens for:
- Colorado TABOR Refund: Colorado taxpayers who lived in the state for all of 2023 qualify for a $800 TABOR refund. You must meet state tax filing deadlines to get this refund. If you do not owe state income taxes for 2023 or you are not claiming a refund of wages withheld in 2023, you must file a state tax return on or before April 15, 2024. If you owe state income taxes for 2023 or claim a refund of withheld wages, you must file your tax return on or before October 15, 2024.
- Colorado Utility Bill Pay Program: The Colorado Utility Bill Help Program is a pilot program run by the state to help households pay utility bills. To qualify, a household must have been denied LEAP and must be receiving certain other public benefits. Only customers of specific energy providers can participate.
4. Colorado Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program has been added to immediate needs. Eligibility is based on county-specific area median income. The Colorado Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program may help homeowners with past due bills. To qualify, you must have experienced financial hardship as a result of COVID-19. This program may help pay housing or mobile home payments, property taxes, insurance, and utilities. In some cases, you may need to work with your lender to create a plan to avoid foreclosure.
5. RTD LiVE Value Update 2024: The RTD LiVE benefit value in estimated savings has updated from $750/year to $732/year. This change in value is due to the new monthly pass that covers local and regional travel. This pass costs $88/month without RTD LiVE, and $27/month with RTD LiVE. Estimated savings is calculated to be $61/month or $732/year.
6. Ability to assign assisters based on county. Our team will now be able to offer more curated navigation options based on county.
7. Bug Fix: SSI. The team has fixed a bug where some users were seeing SSI in the benefits result even if their income did not qualify.
January 19, 2024
1. Added Standard Footer: We have added a footer to the bottom of MyFriendBen. Updated content for the footer to come.
2. New Benefit/Benefit Update: We have replaced Energy Resource Center with the Weatherization Assistance Program. The Weatherization Assistance Program is a statewide program that helps make a person’s home more energy-efficient. This can help lower a household’s energy bills. This program is replacing the Energy Resource Center in MyFriendBen, as Energy Resource Center falls within Weatherization Assistance.
3. Bug Fix – Snap: We have updated expense details that are sent to our partners at Policy Engine for more accurately calculated SNAP benefit values.
January 5, 2024
1. Updated income limits and values. SSI, SSDI, Aid to the Needy Disabled – Colorado Supplement income limits have been updated for 2024. Colorado EITC and Expanded EITC values have been updated for tax year 2023 (filed 2024). LEAP values have been updated for the current season.
2. Update to the 2-1-1 Colorado Cobrand. The language selector has been updated to match MyFriendBen’s updated default.
3. Resolved bug for editing household members. Previously, if a user clicked to edit a household member they had already entered information for, the current household member they were on was not saving. The information for the latest household member will now save if a user clicks the edit button on a previous household member.
