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Welcome to Pathfinder

Pathfinder helps people discover government benefits they qualify for by transforming complex eligibility rules into simple, guided screening experiences.
In the United States, billions of dollars in public benefits go unclaimed each year—not because people don’t need them, but because they don’t know they exist or assume they won’t qualify. Pathfinder bridges this gap by providing an intelligent benefits discovery platform that meets people where they are.

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What Pathfinder Does

At its core, Pathfinder is a benefits discovery platform with five integrated components:

Benefits Browser

Searchable catalog of federal, state, and local benefit programs with full-text search and geographic filtering

Eligibility Screener

Multi-step questionnaire that matches users to programs based on their household situation

User Dashboard

Personal hub for tracking applications, documents, and upcoming deadlines

Case Manager Portal

Tools for social workers and navigators to help clients discover and apply for benefits

Success Stories

Community testimonials that inspire action and reduce stigma around benefit programs
Underneath these user-facing features, Pathfinder handles:
  • Eligibility Matching: Rule-based engine that evaluates household data against program requirements
  • Document Management: Secure upload, preview, and expiration tracking for supporting documents
  • Notifications: Email and SMS alerts for deadlines, status changes, and new opportunities
  • Calendar Integration: One-click export of renewal dates and deadlines to Google Calendar
  • Offline Support: PWA with cached data for users with unreliable internet access

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The Problem We’re Solving

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Architecture Overview

Pathfinder is built on the same foundation as Terra but optimized for the benefits discovery use case:

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Who This Is For

This documentation is for engineers building and maintaining Pathfinder. It covers:
1

Foundation

Core concepts, system architecture, and the benefits matching mental model
2

Core Systems

Programs database, eligibility engine, and matching algorithms
3

Features

Screener, dashboard, notifications, calendar, documents, case manager, and success stories
4

Components

Reusable UI components with documentation and examples
5

Operations

Local development, deployment, and data management

Core Concepts

Mental models for benefits matching and eligibility

System Map

How all the components connect

Programs Database

Schema and queries for benefit programs

Eligibility Engine

How screening and matching works

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Design Principles

Not everyone has reliable internet, speaks English, or trusts government websites. Pathfinder works offline, supports multiple languages, and builds trust through success stories from real people.
Many people self-exclude from benefits they actually qualify for. Pathfinder encourages exploration—show what’s possible before asking for detailed information.
Benefits applications are mentally exhausting. Break complex processes into small steps. Show progress. Celebrate milestones. Make the next action obvious.
Case managers and social workers multiply impact. Give them tools to manage multiple clients, track outcomes, and make bulk referrals efficiently.
Receiving benefits can feel stigmatizing. Success stories normalize the experience and show real impact—putting human faces on abstract programs.

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Key Differences from Terra

While Pathfinder shares infrastructure with Terra, it serves a different purpose:

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Ready to Dive In?

Start with Core Concepts to understand how benefits matching works, or jump to Programs Database to see how we store and query benefit programs.