tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25606055.post8770360661707686140..comments2023-11-03T07:47:58.166-05:00Comments on Ramblings of an HHSC Employee amidst chaos: All about the lawsuitHHSCEMPLOYEEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13098601719458276335noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25606055.post-60461697280430719222009-08-05T21:30:48.575-05:002009-08-05T21:30:48.575-05:00Amen! As my supervisor has said, the clients don&#...Amen! As my supervisor has said, the clients don't care about what kind of situation the agency is in. But if they did care and realized how much it effects them, maybe they would have told their state reps that the offices needed more staff and that the TIERS system doesn't work worth a darn. That would have headed this lawsuit off at the pass. But since it seems nobody cares but the actual staff in the trenches, here we are. In my region we are unable to work any overtime unless in special situations but we all have the same complaint: "How do you even begin to get ahead when you have no time to do anything but interview?" So, clients go without because, in our region anyway, the state is too cheap to pay overtime or even allow us to be in the building after 5pm and before 8am. The way I see it, the only way the state of Texas is going to halt the TIERS program is if the federal government comes in and takes over. Perhaps that's what is needed so the people of Texas stop getting the short end of the stick.Melihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17924888498742320253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25606055.post-45819784176290549332009-08-04T21:58:12.359-05:002009-08-04T21:58:12.359-05:00The way I see it, there are two choices that the S...The way I see it, there are two choices that the State has. One, which barring a mandate from the Federal Government I know won't happen is to STOP all TIERS, put the folks that are in the wretched system back on SAVERR, and go from there. A lot of the TIERS clients in the Houston and Dallas areas are being serviced by the ART staff. If they are behind in their caseloads too, then TIERS must not be that efficient. TIERS is probably going to be a great system once the bugs get worked out, and once the people using it have a chance to actually see it work, but even when you are trained and experienced in TIERS and are forced to see ten to twelve clients a day, with limited overtime available (our super says NO working off the clock,) of course you are going to get behind. I have been working with TIERS for the past three years, and I can safely say that I feel confident in my ability to see maybe eight clients a day and be able to do all the checks and balances that we are supposed to do as conscientious workers. Any more than that, and things tend to get overlooked or put off due to time constraints and cases don't get completed because there just isn't enough time in a day. I worked SAVERR reviewes on Saturday. We were assigned nine each. I was done with all but two of them by lunchtime, those two I couldn't get in contact with until the actual appointment time. Seven reviews interviewed, pended, Databrokered, OAG'd and TWC'd, along with BVS and some phone verifying done on the ones that I could, all in four hours. Any TIERS workers care to claim that? Same rules, same policy, different system. I say STOP using TIERS until it works as well or better than SAVERR. Why was SAVERR used to process all of the Hurricane IKE applications? Those were done by workers from all over the state also. The hole was dug when they started the Womens' Health Program, I don't know if the Feds realize it but Hawkins and his crew just laughed when they said to stop any more roll out of TIERS areas. There are still many many thousands of families each day getting put into the TIERS system because of the Womens' Health Program. <br /><br />The only other choice would be to hire more workers, which could take a year or more before the effects are seen after posting the positions, interviewing, setting up training, and learnng in the OTJ environment... We have good, well trained workers now in the SAVERR system. Get rid of TIERS for the time being and focus on what works. Paid overtime and a tried and true system to work in would help immensely to rid the clog, so to speak.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com