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RentalsNebraskans applying for welfare services -- such as food stamps and Medicaid -- will soon call in or log on rather than visit welfare offices, according to a memo sent to Health and Human Service employees this week.
Proposed changes to the welfare application system will reduce the number of state employees by about 250, eventually save about $8.4 million a year and make the agency more efficient, according to the memo from Todd Landry, director of the Division of Children and Family Services.
Nebraskans will be able to enroll for welfare programs by phone, Internet or in person and track their status online.
Paperless welfare system
The state is proposing changes in the system for processing welfare applications. Now, people apply in person at local welfare offices. The new system, expected to be fully implemented by 2012, is called ACCESSNebraska.
* The state would establish three to four call centers across the state. Many people would apply for benefits through a telephone interview.
* The state would eliminate 225 jobs because of the call centers and new technology.
* The system is expected to save about $8.4 million a year.
* Online applications have been available since Sept. 8 at www.ACCESSNebraska.ne.gov.
All programs will be included: food stamps; energy assistance; child care subsidies; Medicaid; Kids Connections; TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families); and aid to the aged, blind and disabled.
ACCESSNebraska will include the creation of three to four call centers across the state and a move to a paperless system, where all documents are stored electronically.
One change already occurred: An online application became available Sept. 8, Landry said.
The agency has already received about a dozen online applications. And the first was from Ord, showing that new accessibility through technology helps rural areas of the state, Landry said during a telephone interview.
Many of the online applications came during non-business hours, he said.
Some local welfare offices will likely close as the state moves to the call center approach, but decisions on that have not been made, Landry said.
“We will continue to have local offices,” he said, though the exact number, size and location haven’t been determined.
There are no plans to turn the call centers over to private companies, but state employees will be affected by the changes.
About 225 state positions will be eliminated, leaving about 650 economic assistance positions, according to the memo. That’s a 25 percent to 27 percent reduction in employees in this area.
Landry said he hopes attrition and retirement will mean few layoffs.
Projections show 50 percent of the staff is eligible to retire in the next five years, according to the memo.
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This is not user friendly, nor is it appropriate case management. People need to be treated like people when they are going through crisis.
And I fear that the only ones who will comfortably use this new system are the 250 employees the state laid off.
We are not empowering those who temporarily need assistance; we are dehumanizing them.
If you wonder why there are so many probems in the HHS system, it's because they are forced to reorganize every couple of years and change the rules so often, that they have to spend more time with paper and training than with people....Come on unicameral and governor, think about how you would want your business/home organized and how you would want to be treated before you shake everything up.