Getting to Know COMPASS Text-Only Version 3/2016 · PDF fileGetting to Know COMPASS Text-Only Version ... The menu has several items you may choose from. ... There are many benefits

Getting to Know COMPASS Text-Only Version

3/2016

Getting to Know COMPASS 3/2016 Text-Only

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MENU

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Welcome to the COMPASS tutorial. This session is narrated. Please take a moment to adjust your computer’s volume now.

You’ll see that most slides will advance automatically; however, you may use the player controls at the bottom of the screen to pause the player or move forward or back if needed.

If you would like a text-only version of this session, you may access a copy from the link on this screen.

When you’re ready to begin, click the “Begin” button.

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The menu has several items you may choose from.

If this is the first time you’re viewing this training, it’s recommended you begin with the Overview section.


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OVERVIEW

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COMPASS is the fast and easy way Pennsylvania residents can apply online for many health and human services.

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But it doesn’t stop there. COMPASS offers even more than just the ability to apply for benefits.

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You may already be familiar with the Pennsylvania Application for Benefits Form, which is a paper form that you can use to apply for benefits at your County Assistance Office. This form allows you to apply for several social service programs at once.

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Like the paper application form, COMPASS is a single-access point for many social service programs, but unlike the paper application, COMPASS offers you much, much more.

For instance, you can apply for LIHEAP, CHIP, and reduced price school meals directly from COMPASS.

You can’t do that with the paper form!

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This training session will do two things for you: First we’ll show you the basics of COMPASS, and some recent updates to the system; and second, we’ll show you some of the basic tasks you can complete in the system with some live step-by-step demonstrations.


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COMPASS is an acronym that stands for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services. COMPASS is sort of like a department store that offers one-stop shopping for many of your social service needs.

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We hope that this session will provide you with all the information you need to use COMPASS with ease.

First, let’s talk about the many great features found within COMPASS, and then we'll show you how the system works.

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The services that COMPASS provides access to are Health Care (including Medical Assistance and CHIP), SNAP, School Meals, Cash Assistance, LIHEAP or Energy Assistance, Child Care Works, and Long Term Care.

You can also easily navigate from COMPASS to the Federally Facilitated Marketplace. Or you can submit referrals to Home and Community Based services, such as Autism Services, Early Intervention Services, and Intellectual Disability Services.

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In addition to applying for and renewing benefits, you can also see if you qualify for benefits, check the status of your application, view your case benefit information, view required verification items, submit documents electronically for your application or case, report changes to your case, receive notices directly to your account, and manage other aspects of your case online.


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By using COMPASS, you will be able to complete many necessary interactions involving your application or case much more efficiently than you previously could by traveling to the office or even making a phone call.

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And more and more people are taking advantage of the convenience of COMPASS.

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COMPASS was upgraded and is now available to even more people.

In addition to being accessible from desktop and laptop computers, users can now access COMPASS from tablets, mini-tablets, and from their mobile smart phones.

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There are a few differences between viewing on the mobile devices and on a computer, the major difference being that users cannot yet apply for benefits or scan documents while using the mobile site.

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However, you can screen for benefits, check your application status, and access your My COMPSS account, all from a tablet or mobile smart phone.

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We should note here that when accessing COMPASS through a mobile device, you will have the option of accessing the full site. The “View Full Site” link at the bottom of the mobile screen will take you to the full site, which functions a lot like the site does when viewed on a laptop or desktop computer.


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As you can see, it will take a bit more zooming and scrolling around the image to navigate around the full site from a mobile device.

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From here, you could fill out a new application or renew an application, but the scanning feature remains unavailable on a smart phone or tablet.

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We’ll cover this a bit further in some of the other sections of this training.

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You can access COMPASS online at: www.compass.state.pa.us.

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There are many benefits to using COMPASS.

COMPASS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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You can track the status of your application using COMPASS.

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COMPASS is private, secure, and confidential.

http://www.compass.state.pa.us/


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COMPASS provides access to forms, links, and other publications.

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Incomplete applications can be saved for up to 6 months.

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If you have an active case, you can report changes, such as a change of address, addition of a household member, or a new job.

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COMPASS also features a screening tool where you can complete a short questionnaire without having to apply. Based on your answers to a brief set of questions, you’ll receive information about the benefits that you are interested in and potentially qualify for.

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This can help you decide if you really want to go through the application process.

The screening assesses the best option for you – whether it’s sticking with COMPASS or going directly to the Federally Facilitated Marketplace to apply for health insurance through the federal government according to the Affordable Care Act.

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Some Health Care applications can now receive real-time, automatic, eligibility determinations.

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If a real-time eligibility determination is not made on a Health Care application, the application is sent to the appropriate office for further review and processing. You, the applicant, are


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made aware of what is happening to your application on the Confirmation screen after your application has been submitted.

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Beyond just using COMPASS to apply for or renew benefits, you can also use COMPASS for even more things – like to view pending verification items for applications.

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After the County Assistance Office receives and reviews the application you submitted through COMPASS, you can view an updated list of pending verifications by logging into your My COMPASS Account, selecting the e-Form, and clicking the “Status and Pending Verification” link.

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With COMPASS you can opt to receive and view notices on-line. Choosing this option allows you to see and print your notices at any time; you won’t have to call your County Assistance Office to get copies you might need for other services and then wait to receive the copies in the mail.

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Anyone who uses COMPASS to apply for benefits must create a My COMPASS account. With a My COMPASS account, you will be able to view a summary of your current benefit details, as well as complete other actions online.

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With your My COMPASS account, you have the ability to scan and upload documents for your application or case.

This way, if you wanted to, you could provide needed verification documents right along with your application.

Of course if your computer doesn’t have scanning capabilities, you can still mail or fax copies of your documents.


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You can even reprint the 1095-B tax form through COMPASS. This is the form the federal government requires you to report on your income tax return to show that you and your household had qualifying minimum essential healthcare coverage during the previous tax year.

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You can access the 1095-B reprint feature either through your My COMPASS account, or if you don’t have a My COMPASS account, through a link on the COMPASS homepage.

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When applying for benefits through a MyCOMPASS Account that is associated with a case, you will see all known case information display in your application.

This will be big a time saver for you.

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Click the button to begin.

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On the COMPASS homepage, under the section, Helpful Links, you can find other online tutorials and quick reference guides that can teach you about COMPASS.

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Once you’ve created a My COMPASS account and set up a username and password, you can access it by logging in.


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We’ll talk more about creating a COMPASS account in the next section.

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And now comes the big question – How’s all this going to help you?

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Well… let’s think about it for just a second –

If you spend less time traveling to your local office, less time on the telephone, and less time waiting to see your caseworker, you’ll have more time to spend on so many other things…

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That’s the convenience COMPASS offers – Service without having to leave home, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, any day of the year.

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This training was created to offer a preliminary look at the COMPASS system.

In the following sections, we will show you step-by-step demonstrations of many of the features in COMPASS.

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If you’ve already explored all of the demonstrations in this training, feel free to access the live COMPASS website and access any of the features discussed in this tutorial. You can type the URL: www.compass.state.pa.us into your browser, or you may click on the “COMPASS” button on this screen now.

To resume, click the continue button, appearing on your screen, or the slide advance button on the player below.

http://www.compass.state.pa.us/


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At this point, you can return to the Main Menu to select another topic to explore, or you can navigate directly to the Creating Your MY COMPASS Account section now.


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Creating Your My COMPASS Account

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This section will show you how to set up your MY COMPASS Account, whether you are a first time user, or you already receive DHS benefits.

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It’s very easy and just requires you to enter:

a user name and password

answers to security questions (in case you forget your password)

the name and date of birth of the head of household

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If you already have an active case with DHS or CHIP, or if an online application was completed on your behalf, you can set up your My COMPASS account.

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In the Returning Users section, select the My COMPASS Account link.

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Select the Register Citizen User link from the menu on the right.


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You will have to create a username and password that will identify your account.

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These hint questions and answers may be used if you forget your password.

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Finally, to associate your account with your case, you must enter one of the following: your county assistance office case record number, your CHIP case record number, or your e-form# and password.

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Then enter either your Social Security Number or the number that appears on your EBT or Access Card.

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Let us know if you’d like to receive online notices, and then once you’re finished, click the Register button at the bottom right of the screen.

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The pop-up window indicates that your new user account was created successfully.

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Once you’ve set up your My COMPASS Account, you can begin to manage your benefits online!


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If you are applying for benefits for the first time using COMPASS, you will be required to set up a MY COMPASS Account as part of your application.

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For the second question, select “No” to set up your account.

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Create a username and password.

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Select and answer the security questions.

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Then enter the head of household.

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The pop-up window indicates that your account was created successfully.

Now click “OK” to continue the application.

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That’s how quick and easy setting up a MY COMPASS Account is when you’re applying for benefits.


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You may return to the Main Menu now, or navigate directly to the Using My COMPASS section of this training.


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My COMPASS Account

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Here we’ll look at the many things you can do from your My COMPASS account.

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In the Returning Users section, log into your My COMPASS Account by clicking the link.

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Log in with your credentials.

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Your My COMPASS account allows you to take a number of different actions from one central location.

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The home screen is the first screen you see upon logging in.

There is a menu along the left side of the screen with actions that can be taken from the home screen.


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There’s also a menu across the top of the screen that may have two or four items to choose from.

The number of items available depends on whether the My COMPASS Account user has an active case or not and if the user is enrolled in online notices.

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In this example, this My COMPASS account user only has two menu items available in the top menu, Home, the screen we’re on now, and Benefits. We’ll take a look at the Benefits screen and the two additional screens, for Reporting Changes and Notices more closely, after we look at the Home screen a little bit more.

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The home screen shows alerts or messages from headquarters if there are any. Here you can see an alert and some messages.

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The Home screen also shows recently submitted applications.

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From here, you could select one of the applications listed and take any one of the following actions related to that application:

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You could view a summary of the application.


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You could also view and/or print the signature page.

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There’s also a left hand navigation menu.

By accessing the buttons in the left hand navigation menu, you have the ability to:

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-screen for new benefits through the Do I Qualify button,

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-apply for benefits through the New Application button,

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-renew benefits through the Renew Benefits button,

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-and you can apply for LIHEAP here if you received a Registration Number.

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If an application was submitted by a Community Partner on your behalf, you may associate it to your account here.


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And here is where you may access a copy of your 1095-B Tax Form that is needed to report qualifying health coverage on your income tax return.

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Since in this example, this user does not have an active case, we’ll log in to another user’s case to view the additional My COMPASS Account screens.

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As you can see, this user has the “Home” and “Benefits” buttons in the top menu, but now the “Report Changes” and “Notices” buttons also appear.

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The My Benefits screen offers access to case benefit information, including case demographic information, case members, and benefit level if you are an active MA, SNAP, Cash, LIHEAP or CHIP recipient.

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The Report Changes screen allows you to electronically report changes to your case record.

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In the left hand navigation menu, you can choose the type of change you want to report.

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The Scan Documents page may be accessed from this screen to scan documents to be associated with the case record and reported change.


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And finally, if you’ve enrolled into online notices, the Notices screen provides a summary of all case correspondence.

This feature is only available if you have an active MA, SNAP, cash or LIHEAP case.

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You could make some changes to your account here. You could change the email address notices are sent to, or opt out of online notices here.

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And that’s pretty much what you need to know about the features you can access through your My COMPASS account.

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You can return to the Main Menu or click the link to continue to the Do I Qualify section.


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Do I Qualify?

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COMPASS features a screening tool where users can complete a short questionnaire without having to complete an entire application.

Based on answers to a brief set of questions, information is returned indicating the applicant’s potential eligibility for the selected benefits.

This screening feature can save you the time and effort of applying for benefits that you don’t qualify for.

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Begin with the COMPASS homepage.

Select the “Do I Qualify?” link.

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Some simple navigational directions explain how to use the application.

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Information is presented explaining how the screening tool works in four simple steps.


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First, you’ll choose the benefits you’d like to receive.

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The screening tool will quickly capture information about the household based on the benefits selected.

There are two sections where the screening tool captures information...

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The first section, asks you to tell us who is in your household.

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If there is more than one person in your household, click the “Add Another Person” button to add additional household members.

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This first section also captures information about the household in general.

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After the Household section, the next section asks questions about each person.

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Beginning with the head of household, you will answer questions about each person.


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Tell us about any work or income anyone has.

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Then tell us how everyone in the household is related to one another.

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Answer the same information for the other household members.

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The relationship information is already prepopulated for the final household member, based on what you told us about the other household members.

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Based on the information you told us this screen gives your expected results.

This screen also suggests additional benefits that your household may qualify for that are not available through COMPASS.

More information is available about each benefit from the hyperlinks on this screen.

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From this point, if you wanted to, you could select the Apply Now button to apply for benefits now.

You’ll have to enter some more information to fill out the entire application.


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Otherwise, you could return to the COMPASS homepage by clicking the Back to COMPASS Home Page link at the bottom.

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Using COMPASS to find out if you might qualify for benefits is just that easy!

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You may choose to return to the main menu or continue to the Application section at this time.


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Application and Renewal

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In COMPASS, whether you’re applying for benefits, or renewing your benefits, you’ll see many of the same screens.

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But what is the difference between applying and renewing?

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While the Application process is for applications for new benefits, the Renewal process is for renewals of active cases needing to be reviewed.

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The major difference is that when you’re entering a renewal, you’ll see some information prepopulated from the existing case.

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Here, we’re going to look at a new application.

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From the COMPASS Homepage, begin by selecting either the Apply for Health Care Only or Apply for Any Benefits link from the Get Started Now section.

For our example, we’ll select the Apply for Any Benefits link now.

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As you can see, there’s a left hand navigation menu that shows the sections of the application process.

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As we navigate through the application process, the section we’re in will be highlighted.

For instance, we’re now in the Getting Started section, and that tab is highlighted in the menu.

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When we finish the Getting Started section, the next tab, the Household tab, will be highlighted.

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After a few informational screens that tell you about the application process and define some key terms used throughout the application, you will be asked if you have an existing My COMPASS Account.

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If you already have a My COMPASS user account, you’ll enter that information here.


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Otherwise, if you don’t already have a My COMPASS user account, follow the steps to set up your account. You will have to create a username and password that will identify your account.

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If you want more detail about how to create a new MyCOMPASS Account, view the Creating Your MyCOMPASS Account section of this training.

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In the household section, tell us who lives in your household.

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If there’s more than one person in your household you can add additional people by clicking the “Add Another Person” button.

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Then enter your address.

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You can see that some of the fields are mandatory, and are indicated by the word, “Required,” in orange text next to the field.

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If a required field is not completed, a pop-up window will alert the user that a field must be completed to go to the next screen.


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Once you reach the Benefits page, the application can be printed, canceled, or saved.

But not up until that point.

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Applications can be saved up to 180 days from the date application was stopped and saved.

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Select the benefits you want to apply for and be sure to click the check box for each household member who is applying.

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If you choose to continue working on the application, you will have to complete additional questions.

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Tell us some general information about your household members.

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We also need to know if you are registered to vote or if you would like to register to vote.

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Tell us about your household’s income.


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Depending on the benefits you are applying for, we may need to know about your household’s living expenses, such as rent or child support you pay.

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Depending on who’s in your household, and what benefits you’re applying for, we may need to know what resources you have, such as bank accounts, cars, or non-resident property.

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You can go back to a prior screen to make changes to your entries at any time before you submit the application.

In the left hand navigation menu, the colored circles next to the section headings indicate the completion level of the section.

Green means the section is completed.

Orange means that some questions were not answered fully, but you may be able to finish the application without answering them.

Red means that something required was not completed, and you will probably have to return to that section once you reach the Completion Check.

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After you’ve entered all of your information, your application will be checked for completion.

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If your application passes the Completion Check, there are a few final screens to complete to submit the e-Form.


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Here all the information you entered is summarized so that you can make sure that everything is correct.

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From here you can return to any section and make changes easily if you need to.

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Next Steps include the Routing and Provider Information, which has a link with information about the office your application will be sent to.

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Additional Information asks a few more questions about your household preferences.

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Following the Additional Information screen, COMPASS brings you to the final section of the e-Form.

All applications must be signed.

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You have the option to e-Sign COMPASS applications.

An e-Signature is the same thing as signing a paper form.

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Let’s try e-signing this application.


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The Rights & Responsibilities page appears next.

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You must check the box indicating that you’ve read and understand your Rights & Responsibilities.

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Viewing or printing options are available for the entire e-Form or for the e-Signature page.

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An application is not fully submitted until you reach the Confirmation screen.

This means that your application has been submitted to the appropriate office for review.

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From the Confirmation screen you can view a summary of the application, view a list of the required verifications, or scan required documents.

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Applying for benefits using COMPASS is easy and can take less time than completing a paper application.

Plus you can apply without having to leave home, and do it at your own pace.


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You may return to the Main Menu now, or navigate directly to the Scanning section of this training.


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Scanning and Submitting Documents

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Scanning and Importing Documents.

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If you access the COMPASS website via a desktop or laptop computer, you can submit documents needed for your application or active case by using the Scanning Feature.

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The scanning feature in COMPASS provides individuals and Community Partners with the ability to scan or import verification documents and submit them electronically for the following Department of Human Services administered benefits:

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Medical Assistance, SNAP, LIHEAP, Cash Assistance, Long Term Care, and select Home and Community Based Services.

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This feature is not yet accessible from a tablet or smartphone.

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For now, any scanning and submitting of documents must be done using a desktop or laptop computer.


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Documents can be scanned and imported either to a submitted e-Form (application) or to an existing case.

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The e-Form scanning page can be accessed from various points within your My COMPASS Account that tie it to a specific e-Form.

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When submitting an application or renewal, you could access the scanning feature directly from the Confirmation screen by selecting the “Scan Documents” button.

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But if you’ve already submitted your application or renewal, you can still scan or import documents to submit with your e-Form.

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In this example, we’ll navigate there by finding a recently submitted application.

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After selecting the e-Form, click on the “Status and Pending Verification” button.


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Your browser will open the e-Form’s status check screen in a new tab.

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Then click on the “Scan Documents” button.

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Your browser will open the scanning page in a new tab.

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This is what the Scanning page for the e-Form looks like. This screen may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s really quite simple if you just go through the steps one by one.

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If you need it, help is available for assistance with each of the steps. You may access the help pop-up box by clicking on the “Help” button associated with a field.

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Close the box by clicking the “X.”

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The e-Form number prepopulates in the first Section. The e-Form number is a unique number that was previously assigned to your COMPASS application or renewal.


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In Section 2, select a scanner, if one is connected to your computer or network.

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If you don’t have a scanner installed, you can still use this screen to import a document that has already been scanned and saved on your computer or disk. However, note that if you did select a scanner, you cannot import images during the same session. You would need to close and reopen the scanning feature to be able to import files.

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If no scanner is installed, you can still import a document if it’s already saved on your computer.

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Before anything is scanned or imported, you must select the type of document you are submitting in Section 3.

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Click on the “Add” button to launch the pop-up window where you will need to select the type of verification document you are submitting.

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If the document is not listed in the drop down menu, you can type a description of it in the text entry box below the drop down menu.

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When you are finished, click the “Add” button to close the pop-up window and return to the Scanning page.


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The Document field in Section 3 will now list the pending item to be scanned or imported, along with the associated household member.

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You will need to click the item listed in Section 3 to highlight it and then select either the “Scan” or “Import” button, located near the top right of the screen.

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The processes for scanning new documents and importing existing documents from a local hard disk are slightly different. Follow this process to Import a document from a local disk:

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To import files already on the local disk, after highlighting the document that you intend to import in Section 3, click on the “Import” button.

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A window will open where you can select the file from the appropriate local disk.

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Here we choose to import a Social Security Card by selecting the file from the local hard disk.

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One difference you’ll see between importing a document from a local disk and scanning directly to COMPASS is that the document will not be previewed on the scanning screen when importing. Instead, a list of the documents to be imported is created.


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Once we’ve returned to the scanning screen, we can repeat this process for other items by adding the type of the additional document and repeating the process.

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Here we choose to import another document as verification of identity.

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When we return to the scanning screen, the second document will then appear on the list as well.

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We can also choose to import or scan documents that aren’t listed in the drop down list by selecting “Other.”

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In the text box below, you must enter a description of the document.

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If you already hit the “Add” button, but wish to change what the description to says, you are able to do so.

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Just scroll to the bottom of the screen and change the description in the text box.


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After selecting a file to be imported from your local disk, you can change the file by selecting the item and selecting the “Remove File” button.

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You could then choose another file to import, or you could delete the document to be imported altogether with the “Delete” button, to remove it from your documents list in Section 3.

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When you are finished adding and importing documents, you must then click the “I Am Finished” button in Step 4.

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Click the “OK” button in the popup window to agree to submit all of the documents, or you can click the “Cancel” button to make any changes before submitting your documents.

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After clicking “OK,” you will be taken to a confirmation screen, confirming the documents that you submitted.

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You can print this screen for your records by clicking the “Print” button at the top right of the screen.

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If you wanted to submit more documents, you could click the “Scan More” button to return to the Scanning and Importing Screen, or you could exit the scanning section by clicking the “Exit” button, to close the browser tab and end your scanning session.


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If you selected the “Exit” button and closed the tab, you’ll be returned to the Status Check screen, which remained open in your browser in another tab. From there, let’s return to the Scanning screen now to look at a few more items.

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We just showed the process for importing documents into COMPASS that are already on a local disk, but most likely you’ll need to scan documents directly into COMPASS.

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The process is the same as when importing files except instead of selecting the “Import” button after highlighting the document from Section 3, you must click the “Scan” button.

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The main difference you’ll see when scanning a document directly to COMPASS is that after you scan the document, it will appear on the screen and you will be able to preview it.

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You can use the buttons below the image view to rotate the image left or right.

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The “Delete Image” button can be used if you want to delete the current image and re-scan the document.

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You may also use the text box below to change the description of the image from this screen.


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If there are additional items to be scanned or imported, click on the “Add” button to repeat the process.

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And finally, if the image is correct, click the “I Am Finished” button in Section 4 to attach the document to the e-Form.

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You’ll again be taken to the document confirmation screen, where you have the same options as before: Print, Scan More, or Exit the scanning menu.

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Again, the “Exit” button will return you to the tab with your e-Form’s Status Check screen.

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Let’s click the link at the bottom of the screen to return to the COMPASS Home Page.

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You can also scan documents to an active case.

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For an active case, the Scanning page can be accessed from the Report Changes section.


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At the bottom of the page, there’s a section that shows your case’s scanning history.

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Below that, click the “Scan Documents” button, to scan or import items to your active case.

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Your browser will open the scanning page in a new tab.

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Here’s what the Scanning page looks like for current recipients.

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The only difference you’ll see is that instead of an e-Form being prepopulated in Step 1, the case record number is pre-populated.

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Everything else is just like scanning or importing to an e-Form.

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And that’s the basic process for scanning and submitting verifications through COMPASS.

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And that’s it! You may now return to the Main Menu to select another topic to explore.