SPIKE | Dependent Card Info

[steele-lm]

Issue Description

As a user, when I view my "view dependents" page on VA.gov, I want to understand more information about my dependents, so I can accurately verify them.

CURRENT CARD:

IDEAL CARD: (Need to add Figma link)

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Tasks

• [ ] Research if we can add what benefit each dependent is on (e.g. API)
• [ ] Research what options can be pulled in for the current "relationship" value that is displayed (e.g. child, spouse, etc.)
• [ ] Research if we can add the status for each dependent (e.g. student, child incapable of self-support, etc.)
• [ ] Research if we can add the date the dependent was added to the benefit.

Acceptance Criteria

• [ ] Determine if we can add what benefit each dependent is on (e.g. API)
• [ ] Determine what options can be pulled in for the current "relationship" value that is displayed (e.g. child, spouse, etc.)
• [ ] Determine if we can add the status for each dependent (e.g. student, child incapable of self-support, etc.)

• [ ] Determine if we can add the date the dependent was added to the benefit.

[steele-lm]

Swagger documentation: https://department-of-veterans-affairs.github.io/va-digital-services-platform-docs/api-reference/#

[ajialeilani]

You can find the current iteration of potential improvements here in the Figma verification playground.

Possible improvements pictured here:

• Type of benefit the dependent is on (Disability, pension, DIC)
• Non-relationship dependent descriptions (e.g. student, permanently incapable of self-support)
• Planned date of automatic removal based on dependent's 18th or 23rd birthday and messaging giving context to this
• Link out

Other possible improvements not pictured here

• Active/inactive label to indicate whether the dependent is currently or was formerly listed as a dependent on the Veteran's benefits. The cards on Your VA Dependents appear under headers that make this clear, but including the information on the card might allow us to use the cards elsewhere out of this context
• Information about other benefits: Healthcare benefits, GI Bill, etc. This would involve a lot of collaboration with other teams to see if this even makes sense to try to implement, but it's on our radar.

[steele-lm]

Tyler uncovered that these values are associated with Dependents: "Dependency Established", "Spouse" "Eligible Minor Child", "Minor Child" "Turns 18", "Not an Award Dependent" "School Attendance Begins", "School Aged Child" "School Attendance Terminates", "Not an Award Dependent"

[sortizsh]

Tyler to reach out to BIS (BGS) contact to see what can be returned. Is there more that they can decipher that we can return on the card info?

[ajialeilani]

Have we confirmed that the dependents listed here are related to disability compensation, pension, and DIC? The subhead copy on the published page still only says disability comp.

[ajialeilani]

From David Reis:

I’d like to see info about when the dependent was added to the award. (Sometimes a Veteran will divorce a spouse and remarry the same spouse, for example, so processors would need to know if the most recent time they became a dependent has been recorded as well as the lapse between).

This information lives in VBMS. May not yet be in an API.

[ajialeilani]

David Reis also suggested that reward type might not be a useful addition, because Veterans can only have one type of benefit at a time, and they (hopefully) know which one it is.

Also, if a Veteran switches from one benefit to another, dependents will automatically be transferred to the new benefit type.