FAQs about processing shared evidence

Merative ™ Social Program Management is now Cúram ™ by Merative™

How To

Summary

Using scenarios that are typically faced by caseworkers when they are required to manually review and process shared evidence, this article explains how to use the Update action to process incoming evidence that involves a correction, a change over time, or a combination. The article applies to Social Program Management version 8.0.0 and later.

Steps

1. How do I decide whether to use the Add as New action or the Update action?

Scenario: When the evidence that is being shared is the same type of evidence and, therefore, comparable to evidence that already exists on the case, you can use the incoming evidence to update the existing evidence or to add it as new evidence.

When the evidence that is being shared is the same type of evidence and, therefore, comparable to evidence that already exists on the case, you can use the incoming evidence to update the existing evidence or to add it as new evidence.

The incoming evidence is displayed next to the existing evidence on the Evidence Comparison View page and both the Add as New and Update actions are available. Use the information that is provided on the Evidence Comparison View page to determine the action to use.

For example, Jay Anderson is receiving benefits in Income Support case 1544 and the case includes Unearned Income evidence of type Child Nutrition Program. Jay is also receiving benefits in another Income Support case where Unearned Income of type At Risk Childcare Payments is created and then shared to Jay’s case 1544.

On both the Incoming Evidence and Existing Evidence sides of the page, use the Current Description information to determine that while the incoming evidence and existing evidence are both Unearned Income evidence, they are not comparable. The reason is that the Current Descriptions display Child Nutrition Program and At Risk Childcare Payments as the types of unearned income.

You realize that you do not want to update the existing evidence with the incoming evidence because it is a different type. You can then decide whether you want to add the incoming Unearned Income evidence of type At Risk Childcare Payments to your case or not. If you want to add it to your case, use the action Add as New.

Figure 1: Unearned Income of type At Risk Childcare Payments is shared and is different from the existing Unearned Income of type Child Nutrition Program.

2. What are the different types of evidence sharing patterns where I can use the Update action?

Scenario: When evidence is shared that is comparable to existing evidence on a case, you can use the **Update **action to update the existing evidence with the incoming evidence.

When evidence is shared that is comparable to existing evidence on a case, you can use the Update action to update the existing evidence with the incoming evidence. The update might involve a correction, a timeline update, or a combination.

An evidence correction

A correction means that information on an evidence record must be replaced or overwritten with corrected data. From an evidence-sharing perspective, the incoming evidence and existing evidence have conflicting information on the same date or multiple dates that must be resolved.

An example of when evidence that is being shared might result in a correction to existing evidence is when evidence was previously shared to a case and then later an update is made to the evidence and the corrected evidence is shared again. For a detailed example, see How do I process incoming evidence that involves a correction?

An evidence change over time

When a client’s circumstances change over time, if a change to evidence is required caseworkers can update existing evidence to change over time from a new effective date. From an evidence-sharing perspective, the incoming evidence and existing evidence have different dates and can be combined to form an updated timeline on the existing case.

The incoming evidence can be used to update the timeline of the existing evidence with a more recent or even historical change that occurred to the evidence.

An example of when evidence that is being shared might reflect a change over time that can be used to update the timeline of existing evidence is when a more recent version of the evidence is shared from a newly created application to an existing case that contains historical information. For a detailed example, see How do I process incoming evidence that involves a change over time?\

An evidence correction and change over time

The incoming evidence and existing evidence might have conflicting information on the same date and have different dates. In such cases, it might be possible to combine incoming and existing evidence to form an updated timeline on the existing case.

An example is when historical information about the existing evidence is shared from an existing case to a new application and the evidence that is being compared also has conflicting information on the same date. For a detailed example, see How do I process incoming evidence that involves both a correction and a change over time?

3. How do I process incoming evidence that involves a correction?

Scenario: When the incoming evidence and existing evidence have conflicting information on the same date, you can update the existing evidence with the corrected information that is being shared or you can confirm the evidence as correct.

For example, Julie is receiving Income Support related benefits in two different cases. Julie receives unearned income of type Alimony from her former spouse and the Unearned Income evidence is recorded as $200 monthly in both cases. Julie then notifies the agency that the amount was reported incorrectly and is instead $225 monthly.

The Unearned Income evidence is corrected in one of the cases (#519) and the evidence broker shares the evidence to Julie’s other case (#520).

In the Evidence Comparison View, use the Update Existing Evidence card and the Timeline of changes to analyze and determine how to process the incoming evidence.

The following list outlines the steps that you can take to analyze the evidence:

  1. Use the informational messages in the Updating Existing Evidence card to see that the incoming evidence can potentially be used to update the existing evidence, but there is one conflict that must be resolved. See Figure 2.
  2. Use the Timeline of changes to see that both shared Unearned Income and the existing Unearned Income started on 6/1/2021. However, the incomes have a conflict that must be resolved because the amount is different. The amount is recorded as being $200 monthly in the existing case, but the amount that is being shared from the incoming case is $225 monthly. See Figure 2.

Figure 2: Unearned Income evidence of type Alimony is shared and has a different amount than the Unearned Income evidence of type Alimony in the existing case.

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action if you determine that the amount that is being shared is correct.

  1. In the Update Existing Evidence card, click the **Incoming Evidence is correct **radio button.
  2. Review the informational message to confirm what happens if you proceed. The Unearned Income evidence on the existing case will be updated with changes shared from the other case. See Figure 3.
  3. Click Update.
  4. In the existing case, the Unearned Income evidence is corrected with the same amount of $225. See Figure 4.
  5. In the existing case, the Unearned Income evidence of type Alimony is placed into a status of In-Edit and the changes are applied on the In-Edit evidence page. See Figure 5.

Figure 3: Clicking the Incoming information is correct radio button results in an update to the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case.

Figure 4: An informational banner displays indicating that the incoming evidence is resolved, and the amount of the Unearned Income is updated on the Existing Evidence side of the page.

Figure 5: Unearned Income of type Alimony is placed into a state of In-Edit on the existing case #520.

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action if you determine that the amount on the existing case is correct:

  1. In the Update Existing Evidence card, click the Existing information is correct radio button.
  2. Review the informational message to confirm what happens if you proceed. The Unearned Income evidence on the existing case will be kept and confirmed as correct. See Figure 6.
  3. Click Update.
  4. The incoming evidence from case #519 is processed and the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case #520 is not updated. See Figure 7.

Figure 6: Clicking the Existing information is correct radio button results in the Unearned Income on the existing case being kept and confirmed as correct.

Figure 7: An informational banner displays indicating that the incoming evidence is resolved. The amount of the Unearned Income evidence is not updated on the Existing Evidence side of the page. Because the Amount values are still different, both values are highlighted in yellow.

Because the Unearned Income evidence of type Alimony in the existing case #520 was confirmed as correct, it is then shared back to the other case #519 where it can be processed in a similar manner on the Incoming Evidence page of the other case. See Figure 8.

Figure 8: The Unearned Income evidence is shared back to the other case. Now case #520 is the incoming case and not the existing case.

4. How do I process incoming evidence that involves a change over time?

Scenario: When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable but have different dates, you can combine the evidences to form an updated timeline.

When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable but have different dates, you can combine the evidences to form an updated timeline. You can use the incoming evidence to update the timeline of the existing evidence with a more recent or even historical change that occurred to the evidence.

For example, Jay is receiving Insurance Assistance in an ongoing case #585. Jay is receiving Income of type Wages and Salaries in an amount of $500 monthly since 1 January 2020. Jay then applies again and reports in his application Income of type Wages and Salaries in an amount of $600 monthly beginning 15 June 2021.

When the application is submitted and processed, the evidence broker shares the Income evidence from Jay’s new application to Jay's ongoing case.

On the Evidence Comparison page, use the Update Existing Evidence card and the Timeline of changes to analyze and determine how to process the incoming evidence.

The following list outlines the steps that you can take to analyze the evidence:

  1. In the Updating Existing Evidence card, use the informational messages to see that the incoming evidence can potentially be used to update the timeline of the existing evidence and that no conflicts need to be resolved. See Figure 9.
  2. On the Incoming Evidence side, use the Timeline of changes to first review details of the income evidence being shared that started on 6/15/2021. See Figure 9.
  3. On the Existing Evidence side of the Timeline of changes, use the informational message to see that there is income evidence in the existing case. Because there was no change to the evidence on the corresponding date of 6/15/2021, no evidence details are currently being displayed. See Figure 9.
  4. On the Existing Evidence side of the Timeline of changes, use the informational message that is displayed as a reminder to click a date on the timeline to view evidence on the existing case. See Figure 9.
  5. Click the 1/1/2020 date on the Timeline of changes on the Existing Evidence side.
  6. Use the Existing Evidence side of the Timeline of changes to review details of the existing Income evidence that started on 1/1/2020. See Figure 10.
  7. Use the Current Descriptions on each side of the page to see that both the incoming and existing income evidence is of the same type of Wages and Salaries and can be combined to form an updated timeline of changes on the existing case. See Figure 10.

Figure 9: Income evidence of type Wages and Salaries that started on 6/15/2021 is shared and is displayed on the Incoming Evidence side of the Evidence Comparison page.

Figure 10: Income evidence of type Wages and Salaries that started on 1/1/2021 is shared and is displayed on the Incoming Evidence side of the Evidence Comparison page.

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action where you determine to update the existing income evidence:

  1. Review the informational message to confirm what happens if you proceed. The income evidence on the existing case will be updated with changes shared from the application. See Figure 11.
  2. Click Update.
  3. In the existing case, the income evidence that is being shared was added to the end of the timeline as a change over time to the income evidence in the existing case effective 15 June 2021. The Start Date of the change over time is also updated to 1/1/2020 to align with the Start Date of the initial evidence record. See Figure 12.
  4. Figure 11: Clicking Update results in the income being updated with the changes that are shared from the application case.
  1. Figure 12: An informational banner is displayed that indicates that the incoming evidence is resolved, a change over time effective 6/15/2021 is added to the timeline of the existing income evidence and the Start Date is updated to 1/1/2020 to align with the Start Date of the initial evidence record.

5. How do I process evidence that involves both a correction and a change over time?

Scenario: When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable and have conflicting information on the same date in addition to different dates on their timelines, you can use the shared evidence for both a correction and to form an updated timeline.

When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable and have conflicting information on the same date in addition to different dates on their timelines, you can use the shared evidence for both a correction and to form an updated timeline.

For example, John is receiving Food Assistance benefits in an ongoing case. He is receiving Unearned Income of type Educational Loan, originally in an amount of $40 monthly that began on 1 January 2021 and then increased to $60 monthly from 1 June 2021. Jay then applies for Medical Assistance benefits and reports in the application Unearned Income of type Educational Loan in the amount of $65 monthly that began on 1 June 2021 and then increased to $80 monthly from 1 August 2021.

When the application is submitted and processed, the evidence broker shares the Unearned Income evidence from John’s ongoing case to his new application.

On the Evidence Comparison page, use the Update Existing Evidence card and the Timeline of changes to analyze and determine how to process the incoming evidence.

The following list outlines the steps that you can take to analyze the evidence:

  1. In the Updating Existing Evidence card, use the informational messages to see that you can potentially use the incoming evidence to update the timeline of the existing evidence but one conflict must be resolved.
  2. Use the Timeline of changes to see that there is a conflict between the incoming and existing evidence on the 6/1/2021 date. The incoming Unearned Income is reported to have changed to $60 monthly from 6/1/2021, but the existing Unearned Income is reported to be $65 monthly starting 6/1/2021. See Figure 13.
  3. Use the Timeline of changes label and the Select a date to compare label over the timeline as a reminder to click other dates on the timeline to determine whether the shared evidence can be used to update the timeline of the existing evidence.
  4. On the Incoming Evidence side of the comparison page, click the 1/1/2021 date to review details of historical information about the Unearned Income evidence that started on 1/1/2021 that is being shared. See Figure 14.
  5. On the Existing Evidence side of the Timeline of changes, use the informational message that is displayed to see that there was no change to the existing Unearned Income evidence on the corresponding date of 1/1/2021. Therefore, no evidence details are currently being displayed. See Figure 14.
  6. On the Existing Evidence side of the Timeline of changes, also use the informational message that is displayed as a reminder to click a date on the timeline to view evidence on the existing case. See Figure 14.
  7. On the Existing Evidence side of the comparison page, click the 8/1/2021 date to review details of the existing Unearned Income evidence that changed to $80 from 8/1/2021. See Figure 15.
  8. Use the Current Descriptions on each side of the page to further confirm that both the incoming and existing Unearned Income evidence is of the same type of Educational Loan and that the evidences can be combined to form an updated timeline of changes on the existing case when the conflict that exists on 6/1/2021 is resolved.

Figure 13. Unearned Income evidence of type Educational Loan is shared and has a different amount than the Unearned Income evidence of type Educational Loan on the date of 6/1/2021.

Figure 14. Historical Unearned Income evidence of type Educational Loan in an amount of $40 monthly that started on 1/1/2021 that can be used to update the timeline of the existing evidence.

Figure 15. Unearned Income evidence of type Educational Loan that changed to $80 monthly on 1/1/2021 is displayed on the Existing Evidence side of the Evidence Comparison page.

Incoming evidence is correct

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action if you determine that where there is a conflict on 6/1/2021, that the incoming information is correct:

  1. In the Update Existing Evidence card, click the Incoming information is correct radio button.
  2. Review the informational message to confirm what happens if you proceed. See Figure 16.
    1. The Unearned Income evidence on the existing case will be updated with changes that are shared from the other case.
    2. The start date of the Unearned Income evidence on the existing case will be updated to 1/1/2021 so that the start date of all evidence records on the existing case is the same.
    3. Where there is a conflict on 6/1/2021, information on the existing case will be corrected with the information that is being shared from the other case.
  3. Click Update.
  4. An Unearned Income evidence record that starts on 1/1/2021 is added to the beginning of the timeline of the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case. The amount of the Unearned Income evidence record that changed on 6/1/2021 was corrected to an amount of $60 and the start date is updated to 1/1/2021. See Figure 17.
  5. Click the 8/1/2021 date on the Existing Evidence timeline. The start date of the Unearned Income record that changed on 8/1/2021 is also updated to 1/1/2021. See Figure 18.

Figure 16: Clicking the Incoming information is correct radio button results in an update to the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case and where there are conflicts information on the existing case will be corrected. The start date of the existing evidence will also be updated.

Figure 17: An informational banner is displayed that indicates that the incoming evidence is resolved. An initial evidence record that started on 1/1/2021 is added to the beginning of the timeline, the amount of the Unearned Income record that changed on 6/1/2021 is corrected to an amount of $60, and the start date is updated to 1/1/2021 to align with the start date of the evidence record that was added to the beginning of the timeline.

Figure 18: The start date of the Unearned Income record that changed on 8/1/2021 is updated to 1/1/2021 to align with the Start Date of the evidence record that was added to the beginning of the timeline.

Existing information is correct

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action if you determine that where there is a conflict on 6/1/2021 the existing information is correct:

  1. In the Update Existing Evidence card, click the Existing information is correct radio button.
  2. Review the informational message to confirm what happens if you proceed. See Figure 19.
    1. The Unearned Income evidence on the existing case will be updated with changes that are shared from the other case.
    2. The start date of the Unearned Income evidence on the existing case will be updated to 1/1/2021 so that the start date of all evidence records on the existing case is the same.
    3. Where there is a conflict on 6/1/2021 information on the existing case will be kept.
  3. Click Update.
  4. An Unearned Income evidence record that starts on 1/1/2021 is added to the beginning of the timeline of the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case. The amount of the Unearned Income evidence record that changed on 6/1/2021 is not corrected and remains $65. The start date is updated to 1/1/2021. See Figure 20.

Figure 19: Clicking the Existing information is correct radio button results in an update to the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case and where there are conflicts the information on the existing case will be kept. The start date of the existing evidence is also updated.

Figure 20: An informational banner is displayed that indicates that the incoming evidence is resolved. An initial evidence record that started on 1/1/2021 is added to the beginning of the timeline, the amount of the Unearned Income record that changed on 6/1/2021 remains the same at an amount of $65, and the start date is updated to 1/1/2021 to align with the start date of the evidence record that was added to the beginning of the timeline.

6. What is the difference between using the Ignore action rather than using the Update action with the Existing information is correct radio button selected?

Scenario: When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable and the incoming evidence can be used only to correct the existing evidence, you can use either the Ignore action or the Update action.

When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable and the incoming evidence can be used only to correct the existing evidence, you can use either the Ignore action or the Update action.

Use the ****Update ****option and click the ****Existing information is correct ****radio button where you want the information on the existing case that conflicts with the incoming evidence to be shared back to the other case and you want to keep the evidence in both cases synchronized.

Use the Ignore option where you do not want to make any corrections to the evidence in the existing case and you do not want the information on the existing case that conflicts with the incoming evidence to be shared back.

7. How do I process incoming evidence that conflicts on more than one date?

Scenario: When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable and have conflicting information on more than one date, you can update the existing evidence with all or only some of the information that is being shared.

When the incoming evidence and existing evidence are comparable and have conflicting information on more than one date, you can update the existing evidence with all or only some of the information that is being shared.

For example, John is receiving Food Assistance benefits in an ongoing case. John is receiving Unearned Income of type Pension, originally in an amount of $110 monthly that began on 1 January 2021 and then increased to $120 monthly from 1 March 2021. John then applies for Medical Assistance benefits and reports in his application, displayed as Income Support case 802, Unearned Income of type Pension in an amount of $100 monthly that began on 1 January 2021 and then decreased to $90 monthly from 1 March 2021.
When the application is submitted and processed, the evidence broker shares the Unearned Income evidence from John’s new application to his ongoing case.

On the Evidence Comparison page, you can see that both the Unearned Income that is being shared and the existing Unearned Income that started on 1/1/2021 have a conflict that must be resolved because the amount is different. It is recorded as being $110 monthly in the existing case, but the amount that is being shared is $100 monthly. See Figure 21.

Figure 21: Unearned Income evidence of type Pension is shared and has a different amount than the Unearned Income evidence of type Pension in the existing case on the date 1/1/2021.

You also see that both the Unearned Income that is being shared and the existing Unearned Income that started on 3/1/2021 have a conflict that must be resolved because the amount is different. It is recorded as being $120 monthly in the existing case, but the amount that is being shared is $190 monthly. See Figure 22.

Figure 22: Unearned Income evidence of type Pension is shared and has a different amount than the Unearned Income evidence of type Pension in the existing case on the date of 3/1/2021.

Incoming information is correct for all conflicts

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action where you determine that where there is a conflict on both 1/1/2021 and 3/1/2021 that the incoming information is correct:

  1. In the Update Existing Evidence card, click the **Incoming information is correct **radio button.
  2. **Click **Update.
  3. The amount of the Unearned Income evidence records in the existing case that started on **1/1/2021 **and that changed on 3/1/2021 will be updated with the amounts that are being shared.

Both incoming and existing information are correct

The following steps outline how to process the incoming evidence by using the Update action where you determine that where there is a conflict on 1/1/2021 that the incoming information is correct, but where there is a conflict on 3/1/2021 that the existing information is correct:

  1. On the Incoming Evidence timeline, click the 3/1/2021** **date.
  2. Click the **Edit **action.
  3. Update the amount of the Unearned Income that changed on 3/1/2021 from $90 to $120. See Figure 23.
  4. Click Save.
  5. On the Incoming Evidence timeline, the amount of the Unearned Income evidence that changed on 3/1/2021 now displays the same amount of $120 as the amount displayed. Note that no update is made to the Unearned Income evidence in the new application from where the evidence is being shared. See Figure 24.
  6. In the Update Existing Evidence card, click the Incoming information is correct radio button.
  7. Click Update.
  8. In the existing case, the Unearned Income evidence that started on 1/1/2021 is updated with the corrected amount of $100. See Figure 26.
  9. The Unearned Income evidence in the existing case that changed on 3/1/2021 remains unchanged with an amount of $120. See Figure 27.

Figure 23: Use the **Edit action to update the amount of the incoming Unearned Income that changed on **3/1/202****1 to $120.

Figure 24: The amount of the unearned income that changed on 3/1/2021 is updated to $120.

Figure 25: Clicking the **Incoming information is correct **radio button results in an update to the Unearned Income evidence in the existing case. Where there are conflicts, information on the existing case will be corrected.

Figure 26: An informational banner displays that indicates that the incoming evidence is resolved. The Unearned Income evidence that started on **1/1/2021 **is corrected to an amount of $100.

Figure 27: An informational banner displays that indicates that the incoming evidence is resolved and the amount of the Unearned Income evidence that changed on 3/1/2021 is not updated on the Existing Evidence side of the page and remains at $120.

Document Information

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Merative Social Program Management

**Software version:**All Version(s)

Modified date:
16 November 2021