Friday, May 05, 2006

One of the ways clients are getting screwed in this deal

As has been said numerous times, WE have always had 30 days to process a Food Stamp Application.  THIRTY DAYS from start (date they filed) to finish (date benefits are available to them or denial letter is in hand).....
 
With applications coming BACK to the local offices from TAA that date all the way back to January- we are WELL past the 30 day mark.
 
What I have yet to hear is an uproar over how the BENEFITS are actually being affected.
 
Let me explain it as an example:
 
SAVERR Way
 
Jane Doe applies for herself and her two children 2/1/06.  Jane Doe lost her job in January and has no income. 
 
Jane Doe would have been certified no later than 3/3/06 for $399 for a household of 3.  She would have been certified for 6 months.  She also would have been an SR1 case and the only changes she would have had to report in her 6 month certification would have been address and/or if her income went over the income limit.
 
Jane Doe got a job April 1.  Under SR rules, there would be no penalty if she didn't report the job as long as she was still under the limits.
 
Total amount of benefits for 6 month cert:  2394.00 in Food Stamps
 
TAA Way:
 
Jane Doe turns in application 2/1/06.  It goes to TAA.  TAA doesn't do anything with said application until the end of April- and app is sent back to local office.  Cl is interviewed FINALLY on May 1. 
 
Now that Jane Doe is working, this reduces her benefits to $50 per month.  So she gets 399 for Feb and March and $50 ongoing.  Remember, this job is not something she would have had to report had she been seen and certified timely. 
 
Total amount of benefits for 6 month cert:  998.00
 
This amounts to a difference of 1396.00 total in benefits that the client lost because TAA did not process her application timely.
 
How does QC or FNS view this?  Should we be just certifying the case based on what would have been correct in those first 30 days?
 
Just another way this system is not working.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

INTERESTING...
I never thought about it that way...

Anonymous said...

Yes, and think about how many of these there are.

$1000's of benefits issued wrong.

Clients are losing out- BIG TIME.

hhscsurvivalist said...

TAA mailed a client's COMPLETED application to a DIFFERENT CLIENT!
Talk about setting someone up for ID theft? Not to mention the issue of confidentiality......