DHS reduces food stamp application wait

It’s quiet at the Waipahu Department of Human Services unit, according to Civil Beat, a new Hawaii online news service launched by Peer News and backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The announced reorganization of DHS offices launched heated discussions at the Legislature this year and reporter Noelle Chun went down to the Waipahu Civic Center in early August to view the impact of the changes first hand.

That office is where Hawaii residents apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamp, which helps approximately 141,300 individuals (71,000 households), up from 97,800 (49,600 households) two years ago.

Despite the continuing economic downturn and a client list that has nearly doubled since 2008,  “All is calm at the SNAP office,” Chun wrote. A new telephone application process means DHS staff work quietly at their computers while a few in-person applicants fill out forms.

An administration plan to consolidate offices, close 31 locations and eliminate 228 staff positions was stopped by the Legislature. Still, although the federal government requires DHS to respond to all SNAP applications within 30 days and deal with emergency applications within a week, Oahu applications slipped from an 89 percent on-time response rate to 78 percent. Some interviews were being scheduled two or three months out.

In September 2009, the Food and Drug Administration said DHS could conduct initial application and renewal interviews by telephone, instead of in person, followed up by applications sent in by mail or fax or dropped off.

Lillian Koller, director of DHS told Civil Beat, “We’re doing the maximum telephone use, and we're having much more success now than we did before because of the phone.” Phone interviews dramatically reduced wait times and now some 80 percent of applications are received by phone.

More changes are planned, as Hawaii officials are conferring with the federal government and other states that have improved their programs. New Mexico, for example, modernized its process, cutting the average wait from 21 days to 6.2 days and five Hawaii program administrators have traveled there to observe in person. New Mexico changed from case-load management – in which cases are assigned to one employee who oversees the case throughout its life – to process management, which would allow any employee to work on any case when the help is needed.

DHS is looking to simplify or eliminate processes to make it easier on the staff and smoother for the client and to match state policy with guidelines from the federal government, which provides the funding for both the SNAP program and welfare assistance. “It’s a culture change,” one manager told reporter Chun. “We would have to make those serious changes in our attitude and in the way we do business. And I think we are ready."