We are thrilled to announce the updated launch of the Benefits Explorer Tool (BET), a benefits eligibility screener designed to connect families with critical anti-poverty programs quickly and efficiently. This milestone is the result of a successful collaboration between One Degree and UCLA’s Medical Financial Partnership (MFP), leveraging insights from our pilot work to enhance user experience and expand access. Thanks to funding from the W.M. Keck Foundation Southern California Program, we are now positioned to scale this service to tens of thousands of families in Los Angeles, ensuring that more parents and children receive critical supports that promote health and economic stability.

Building on the Success of the Benefits Explorer Tool Pilot

Since 2018, the MFP has integrated economic supports and social services into clinical care in LA County’s Department of Health Services (DHS) — the state’s largest public healthcare system and medical home to 1-in-4 on Medicaid in LA’s medical safety net. During our pilot phase of the BET, we confirmed that families and clinicians see tremendous value in an easy-to-use benefits screening tool that complements touchpoints with MFP Social Workers. Key findings included:

• 84% of users reported they were highly likely to recommend the BET to other clinic families
• Most users were able to access benefit enrollment applications in under three minutes
• Both clinicians and patients strongly supported scaling the service model as well as individualizing users’ experiences based on the life stage of the parent and child

With these insights, we have refined the BET to improve accessibility and effectiveness for even more families.

Major Enhancements in This Initial Launch

We’ve made significant improvements to ensure that families can access benefits with greater ease and confidence through the BET, including:

• Refreshed look and feel for a more user-friendly experience.
• Clearer, more accessible information around public charge and public benefits access for immigrant families.
• More accurate results tailored to the age of children in the household.
• A shareable link so users can return to their results at any time.
  

These enhancements are particularly important in a time of increasing confusion, uncertainty, and threats around public benefits access for immigrants. “[Give families] the information to make an informed decision on whether they actually want to pursue the application. Being as transparent as possible is really important because [families] are already living in fear,” says an MFP Parent Leader.

A Model for Cross-Sector Collaboration

This project is a prime example of effective collaboration between healthcare and a nonprofit technology partner. The MFP team provided clinical expertise to ensure the platform meets the needs of families in LA and the clinical workflow, while One Degree leveraged its existing infrastructure and expertise in social service in LA. The MFP Parent Leaders also played a vital role in guiding the direction of this project, ensuring it reflects the lived experiences and needs of families.

“By building a user-friendly digital tool that supports families within the context of their clinic experience, we are making benefits more accessible to families who need them most,” says Rey Faustino from One Degree. “This partnership demonstrates what’s possible when we combine expertise across disciplines to serve our communities better.”

What’s Next? Expanding and Enhancing Support

We are committed to building on this progress. The next phase of our work through 2025 will focus on developing additional features to improve users’ experience with the BET:

• Leveraging One Degree’s extensive community resource network to connect families to housing, legal help, and other supports they prioritize.
• Designing content that reflects families’ life stages – to enable the BET to support families’ changing goals and priorities over time. 
• Making it easier for families to stay engaged with the BET through improved follow-up texting – so they can return to explore resources at their own pace.

With continued support and collaboration, we’re working towards a more connected safety net that better supports families’ health and economic well-being. If you share our vision, we invite you to join us in expanding access to these critical resources—we are striving to build the infrastructure that allows for this innovation. We envision a Los Angeles where cross-sector partners work together with a shared purpose: making it easier for families to get the support they need–so they can focus on building the future they want. 

_________

Learn more about our innovative collaboration with the UCLA Medical Financial Partnership team here.