History of The Benefit Bank
| The Benefit Bank is developed and maintained by Solutions for Progress (SfP), Inc., a Philadelphia-based public policy technology company, whose mission is to deliver technology that directly assists low and middle income families to obtain public benefits, and enhances the ability of states to use electronic government systems to enable recipients to get what they need easily and with dignity.
In 1999 in response to an increase in the number of seniors without prescription drug insurance, SfP designed a call center that tracked more than 1,900 options for securing prescription drug coverage. The internet-driven data service provided assistance to 30,000 consumers in identifying affordable drug programs and helped in filing applications.
In the course of this research, SfP determined that a similar combination of advanced systems engineering and social service advocacy could produce successful results in maximizing income and helping people move away from poverty.
In January 2002, SfP launched the pilot program of The Benefit Bank in Philadelphia, with the goal of shifting the benefit application process from people receiving benefit-by-benefit assistance to looking at the whole family; identifying what that family needs and connecting them to what is available.
Today, The Benefit Bank is available in 8 states with more in development. In 2007, TBB helped over 6,000 people file their tax returns generating $7.5 million in tax refunds and credits and assisted over 2,000 people receive more than $2.2 million in food stamp allocations. |
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