Sunday, July 15, 2007
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Staff photo by Joe PhelanThey may be on food stamps, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. They may be on one or all three programs.
It's up to Kendall to make sure they get just the right amount of money each month -- not too much, not too little.
"It's not an easy job," said Kendall, who lives in Belgrade.
Kendall, 25, is one of 330 state workers in the Department of Health and Human Services who handle nearly double the ideal caseload.
And the federal government has noticed.
A recent review of the state-administered food stamp program issued a warning that if Maine doesn't reduce the number of errors made, the federal government will impose financial sanctions.
"As you know, Maine continues to have the highest error rate in the country," wrote Suzanne Biermann, a federal official. "Although we have seen some minor improvements this year, your 10.48 percent is excessive when compared to the national average of 5.46 percent."
Biermann, a regional administrator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, noted in the report that Maine ranked last in the nation for its 2006 and 2007 payment error rates. If the rates don't go down, the state will be sanctioned in June of next year.
When it comes to caseloads, the system in use in Maine is designed for each caseworker to handle 350 cases. When the federal review was conducted in May, they found caseloads to be 800-850, according to the report that was released last month.
"Maine's caseload size per eligibility worker continues to be one of the highest in the country," the report states.
That's because the state hasn't added staff to keep up with the expansion of the program from 101,589 to 159,598. Staffing levels haven't changed since 1993.
BALANCING ACT
For DHHS Commissioner Brenda Harvey, it's a balancing act between wanting to extend benefits to as many people as are eligible, and keeping an eye on state spending.
In fact, the federal government honored Maine three years ago for doing a good job of getting food stamps to those who qualify. With a 96 percent penetration rate, nearly everyone in Maine who is eligible to receive the federal benefit receives it.
"On the state side, we have an administration, the governor, who's been listening to the taxpayers, and a Legislature that says pare back government," she said. "What our challenge is in DHHS is to live within the resources that are appropriated for the administration of the program while trying to help those same people understand why we have an error rate."
The federal government also praises Maine because caseworkers offer three programs to those who walk in the door seeking help. It's part of the "no wrong door" approach that's designed to keep people who need benefits from having to drive from office to office to qualify for programs.
After filling out a one-page form, an applicant sits down with a caseworker who enters information into a computer program to determine whether they qualify for food stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
By the end of the visit, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half, the applicant should know whether they qualify, how much they will get, and if they need to provide additional information, such as a pay stub, to prove they are eligible, said Michael Frey, a program administrator at the Augusta DHHS office on Anthony Avenue.
Sometimes, mistakes are made.
WHAT'S AN ERROR?
"It's not fraud and abuse," Harvey said. "It's totally an administrative thing."
One is considered positive -- when the state gives someone more money than they are eligible for. That may happen if a relative moves into a food stamp household, even for just a month, and the state isn't notified of the increase in household income.
Once the error is discovered, the person who received extra money is expected to repay it.
The other is negative -- when the state takes people off benefits before they should. The federal government praised Maine for improving its negative error rate from nearly 14 percent in 2006 to a little over 2 percent in 2007.
"We make the correction as soon as we find out about it," Harvey said.
For those on the front lines, it's hard to hear about errors when they feel they are doing the best they can. Frey said the Augusta office alone handles 23,000 families with 39 staff members.
Each caseworker must do 50 annual reviews per month, handle 12 pieces of mail per day, answer the phone and return phone calls, he said.
One day last week, he expected to have 120 people come through the door, none of whom are supposed to wait longer than 20 minutes for help.
Kendall said they all feel badly about the error rate.
"It's tough to see stuff like that in the paper," she said. "Everyone here works their heart out."
HELP ON THE WAY?
The budget recently enacted by lawmakers allows for 30 additional people to be transferred to the food stamp program as other positions are vacated within the department. But the federal government said that won't get enough people in place fast enough, Harvey said.
"If those people don't retire or change jobs or leave, then we don't have those vacancies to transfer," she said. "We aren't pushing people out the door."
So Gov. John Baldacci recently signed a financial order to add 20 limited period positions in the food stamp program. Those who are hired will do only food stamps, and their jobs aren't permanent.
It's up to the governor and lawmakers to decide whether to allow DHHS to add positions permanently, she said. If they use their resources wisely, they still need 20 to 50 more people, Harvey said.
Rep. Lisa Miller, D-Somerville, a member of the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, said lawmakers are aware of the high error rate but did not spend a lot of time discussing it during the session.
She said although members of her committee will be inclined to support increased staffing levels, the Appropriations Committee might not be.
"It will be a difficult sell in appropriations," she said. "Yet we are a low income state and we have a responsibility to manage these federal programs right and manage them so people can access them. We have a responsibility to make it work regardless of our concern about the growth of government."
From Kendall's perspective, growth in government means a more manageable workload. Despite the stress, she finds it to be a rewarding job.
"I go home OK at night knowing for everyone I couldn't help, there were at least a couple people I could," she said.
Susan Cover -- 623-1056
scover@centralmaine.com
Reader comments
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Now in order for the workers to do this it would take more time at interview time and with case loads over 800 someone is not going to get served fast enough. So here is what the bottom line is. Start hiring people to help them. The public wants wants wants, but when it comes to State Employees we are lazy and useless and play computer games. Bottom line is 95% are working as hard as they can with people calling them repeatedly leaving voicemails thinking they will get heard faster. News flash. It takes time to write down every word someone says on voice mail and as fast as they clear it off and start returning THE FIRST PERSON FIRST number 11 is calling to complain, so now there is another voice mail. Give your worker a break, be patient and provide the information you are requested to and you will get much faster services.
You see State workers walking the rail trail and around the buildings? I know it seems like we are not doing anything, but we get 15 minute breaks and lunches and the best stress reliever in the world is exercise so that we can come back to our desks and serve you better.
We have a desk for every employee and some are quiet empty, if you really need to pick on someone how about Wal Mart with 36 cash registers and 4 live people manning the store. Now there is a worthy cause to complain about. report abuse
While it's an easy(and well established) habit to simply point the finger at state workers as THE source of the problems, they simply are not the cause. The fact that anyone EVER gets any help from the state is proof that they're working. Yes, some will always slack, but that's true of any workplace anywhere. To lump the majority of hard working (tax paying) caseworkers and state employees with them is not only unfair, but flat out ignorant.
Perhaps we'd have less people on state aid if voc rehab and retraining programs offered by other depts. weren't cut by the federal government. Perhaps we'd not be losing so much if the state hadn't pushed an unproven program developed by an unqualified company on HHS employees...then suggested firing THEM when they finally had to admit defeat.
Again, it's easy to blame the people on the frontlines. Uninformed and shortsighted, but easy.report abuse
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