GraceBridge
User Guide

The Make-Ready Packet

Screen: /dashboard/caseUpdated 2026-09-22For: Volunteer, Staff / caseworker, Founder

What this screen is for

Screenshot of the make ready packet screen at /dashboard/case/GB-1010, illustrating “What this screen is for”, with numbered callouts: 1. The ID-recovery walk.
Figure 1 — What this screen is for.

The make-ready packet turns a whole ID Walk into one downloadable PDF: a cover sheet, every office's address, hours and fee, the official forms already filled where they can be, and a checklist — so a volunteer walks in with everything in hand instead of assembling it stop by stop.

What you see, in the screen's own labels

Screenshot of the make ready packet screen at /dashboard/case/GB-1010, illustrating “What you see, in the screen's own labels”, with numbered callouts: 1. Make the packet.
Figure 2 — What you see, in the screen's own labels.
  • "Make the packet" — the button, in the ID-recovery walk panel's header bar. It becomes "Packet downloaded" for a few seconds after it succeeds.
  • The downloaded file is named `{case id}_ID_packet.pdf`.

What's inside the packet

Flow diagram illustrating “What's inside the packet”: Cover sheet — “GraceBridge — ID Make-Ready Packet”, the walk explained in plain words -> Stop 1: Birth certificate — office, hours, phone, fee, filled form -> Stop 2: Social Security card — office, hours, phone, fee, filled form -> Stop 3: Texas ID — office, hours, phone, fee, filled form -> Closing Checklist page.
Figure 3 — What's inside the packet.
  • A cover sheet titled "GraceBridge — ID Make-Ready Packet," with this text, verbatim:
"This packet is everything we could get ready for the walk to a > birth certificate, a Social Security card, and a Texas ID — in the > order that actually works, since each one unlocks the next. For each > stop you'll find: which office, its hours and phone, what it costs, > and what to bring. We've filled in what we're allowed to fill in > ahead of time. Your part is simple: look each form over, sign it, and > hand it to the person behind the counter. Take the stops in order — > the next one is waiting on the last one to land. If a fee comes up > and money is tight, ask your shepherd; that is exactly what they are > there for. GraceBridge prepares these forms; you review and sign them > yourself. Nothing here gets filed or mailed until you do."
  • One section per stop, titled "Stop {n}: {office}", with office hours, phone, fee, and — when a fillable form exists for that stop — the filled official form. When no form is bundled for a stop, the section says: "No fillable form for this stop is bundled — use the official link above."
  • Each office section carries a "Last verified {date} — Confirm hours and fees by phone before you go" note.
  • A closing "Checklist" page.

What to do

Screenshot of the make ready packet screen at /dashboard/case/GB-1010, illustrating “What to do”, with numbered callouts: 2. Prepare the paperwork.
Figure 4 — What to do.
  1. Open the case, find "The ID-recovery walk," and click "Make the packet."
  2. The whole packet is assembled on your own device — cover sheet, office info, filled forms, checklist — and downloads as one PDF.
  3. Hand it to the person, or carry it with you to each office.
  4. Review every box before it's filed. The form-filler aims for most of the typing, not perfection.

Filling one link's paperwork individually: on any link in the chain, click "Prepare the paperwork" to open a guided form. Every field has a hover bubble explaining why it's asked. Fields the case already knows (name, phone) fill themselves. Sensitive fields — a date of birth, a mother's maiden name, a Social Security number — are marked "never stored" right on the screen, and that's literal: those values live only in your browser, print onto the paper, and are gone when you close the tab. Two buttons: "Print the packet" and "Download the filled official form."

What NOT to do

Screenshot of the make ready packet screen at /dashboard/case/GB-1010, illustrating “What NOT to do”, with numbered callouts: 1. DON'T — never stored; 2. DON'T — Fees and waits are estimates until the first real walk confirms them..
Figure 5 — What NOT to do.
  • Don't treat the packet as a filing. Nothing is submitted to any agency automatically. A human still fills what needs filling by hand, signs, pays, and files or mails it.
  • Don't lose a printed packet carelessly. The packet's own footer says why: "Fields marked 'never stored' were entered moments ago and exist only on this paper — GraceBridge keeps no copy, by design. If this packet is lost, shred-level care applies: it carries identity data." Treat that paper the way you'd treat cash.
  • Don't assume a fee or wait is exact. They're labeled estimates until a real walk confirms them, on purpose.

What GraceBridge records — and what it never does

Screenshot of the make ready packet screen at /dashboard/case/GB-1010, illustrating “What GraceBridge records — and what it never does”, with numbered callouts: 1. Sensitive entries never leave this screen: they print once and are gone, by design..
Figure 6 — What GraceBridge records — and what it never does.

Only a receipt reaches the server when you make a packet: the case id, how many pages, and which links got a filled form. No field value you typed — no name, no date of birth, no SSN — ever leaves your browser.

When something goes wrong

Screenshot of the make ready packet screen at /dashboard/case/GB-1006, illustrating “When something goes wrong”, with numbered callouts: 1. time to check on it; 2. raises a hand when a wait runs long.
Figure 7 — When something goes wrong.
  • A field couldn't be filled automatically: "That didn't work — use the official link instead." The printed packet still carries the official address and a fully filled data sheet.
  • A government form couldn't be fetched from the agency's own site on demand: the affected page in the packet reads "{form} — form to be filled by hand" with instructions to use the official link on the previous page instead, and bring the packet along regardless — nothing else about the packet is lost.