The final account type is Linked Accounts. Linked Accounts are accounts that have been linked with an underlying Concern Role ID for a Person entity in Cúram. These users have access to detailed information about their benefits and cases in the Cúram system, via citizen account. Users with a linked account can submit Life Events such as "I Lost my Job" or "I got married". They also have access to information about benefit payments. Because of the sensitivity of this information, customers must ensure that they have a robust process for creating linked user accounts.
Some typical scenarios for linking are presented below. These are examples only, the actual processes for linking will be unique to each customer. A client requests a Citizen Account. The client is asked to present themselves at their local Social Welfare office with drivers license and other personal identification. The case worker, uses custom developed Cúram functionality to enter details for the new linked account after verifying the identity of the client.
A client creates a user account for Universal Access and submits an Intake Application. They are contacted by their case worker who asks them if they want access to more services using the Universal Access system. The client agrees and presents themselves at the local office with identification such as a passport. The case worker is able to link the client to the account they used to submit the Intake Application.
In both of these cases the case worker does not have access to the client's password. Instead, the linking process triggers a batch job that generates a letter, sent to the client's home address. The letter contains the password and a separate letter then contains an electronic code card. All of this functionality is developed by the customer however it is supported by UA APIs that allow a UA username to be linked to a Concern Role ID.
Continuing the above scenario, the client receives a letter from the Social Enterprise containing their initial password (in the case of the first scenario) and instructing them that a code card will arrive shortly. The code card arrives by post the next day and the client is able to log into their Citizen Account. The login screen contains a username and password as before, however there are also additional authentication factors - The client must enter their date of birth, social security number and a code from their electronic code card. This is called Multi-Factor Authentication. Multi-Factor authentication is discussed later in this chapter.