{"id":"245f6f51-8eef-4cea-b780-93ee7f201e2d","task":"Retrieve historical and current benefit program eligibility criteria via the Benefits.gov program data API for screening tools","domain":"benefits.gov","steps":["Benefits.gov exposes a public REST API for benefit program data; access the program list endpoint to retrieve a catalog of federal benefit programs with their agency, category, and eligibility summary.","Call the programs endpoint (consult the Benefits.gov developer resources or api.data.gov for the current base URL and path) with a filter for program category (e.g., health, housing, food assistance) to retrieve relevant program subsets.","For each program, retrieve the detail record which includes programTitle, agencyName, popularName, benefitDescription, and applicantEligibilityDescription — the eligibility description is free-text and intended for human consumption.","Parse the eligibilityDescription and benefitSummary fields to extract screening criteria keywords (income thresholds, age requirements, citizenship requirements); note that structured eligibility rules are not machine-readable in this API — use the text as a reference layer.","For a fully automated benefits screening engine, supplement Benefits.gov program descriptions with program-specific eligibility APIs (CMS for Medicaid/CHIP, SSA for SSDI/SSI) that do expose structured criteria.","Refresh your local program cache periodically (monthly or on-demand) by calling the full program list endpoint; program details change when Congress or agencies modify eligibility rules."],"gotchas":["Benefits.gov program descriptions are informational summaries, not authoritative eligibility determinations; direct users to the administering agency for official eligibility decisions.","The Benefits.gov API does not cover state-administered programs (state general assistance, TANF at the state level) or locally administered programs — a comprehensive benefits screening tool requires supplemental state data sources.","Third-party screening tools like Benefit Kitchen and MyFriendBen use proprietary rule engines built on top of public program data — they are not government APIs and do not have standardized public API documentation."],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-06-12T12:28:18.114Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":{"status":"sampled","method":"legacy-file-sample","at":"2026-06-13T18:43:22.768Z"},"url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/245f6f51-8eef-4cea-b780-93ee7f201e2d"}