January 30, 2009
State agency for elderly, needy families, has technology fumble
By BRIGID CURTIS AYER (Indiana Catholic Conference)
Good ideas don’t always pan out in practice. Modernizing some of the services rendered by the state’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to improve access to benefits is one of them. The attempt at rendering better services has resulted in, at least temporarily in some counties, an inability for many to access any benefits. (Related: Status report on selected measures)
Two bills HB 1691 authored by Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) and HB 1195 authored by Rep. Bill Crawford (D-Indianapolis) were introduced to address the problem.
House Bill 1691 would prevent additional counties from moving to the new system until the Joint Commission on Medicaid Oversight has reviewed the changes and status of the counties that have already implemented the eligibility determination changes.
Another bill regarding this same topic, HB 1195, authored by Rep. Bill Crawford (D-Indianapolis), provided for specific measures to correct some of the problems noted in the summer study committee.
The Indiana Catholic Conference supports the re-view of the program and was supportive of these bills because they call attention to a real and serious problem facing the elderly and families in need.
House Bill 1195, however, was withdrawn Jan. 26 before it was given a hearing.
Both bills, HB 1691 and HB 1195 are pending in the House Public Health Committee.
What is affected
Three programs which are affected in the modernization effort include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamps, and Medicaid.
In 2007, Indiana’s FSSA signed a $1.6 billion contract with IBM Corp. and Affiliated Computer Services to implement a call system and Web program for welfare applicants. This new system would be the entry point for applicants to access benefits. Previously, applicants had to visit a county welfare office, where they were assigned a caseworker to handle their application process in a face to face interaction.
Debbie Schmidt, Executive Director of Catholic Char-ities for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend said their clients are experiencing a myriad of problems with the new system. As a whole Schmidt said, “We’re seeing an increase in need caused by rising utility bills, unemployment, the mortgage crisis, and the downturn of the economy in general.”
This increase in need coupled with a new system which is complicated for applicants and Catholic Charities staff to navigate has compounded the problem for those who are served by Catholic Charities.
“Many of our clients can’t get access or maintain their benefits,” said Schmidt. “In general, the poor do not have home computers, internet access, or even phone service,” she said. “These are obstacles to gaining access. The demand for computers at the library has increased significantly as this is also the way many go to apply for unemployment benefits,” said Schmidt.
Lisa M. Young, who works with Schmidt as Assistant Director said, “The new system is difficult to navigate.” Lost paper work, documents of one applicant being placed in another applicants’ file causing denial or delay of benefits for both applicants, technology failure from unscanned signatures on the receiving end to the Web page being down for days, highlight some of the problems encountered by those needing help. Not only is Catholic Charities staff hearing complaints about these problems but are experiencing them first hand as they work with their clients to help them access state benefits.
Corina Hurtado, Hispanic Health Advo-cate a program of Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese has experienced difficulties from document management errors made resulting in delayed or denial of benefits to her clients. “The application process is complicated,” said Hurtado. “There’s really no easy way an applicant can confirm their application was completed properly or even received. The person thinks they’ve applied when in reality, they haven’t.”
Theresa Teders, Community Services Su-pervisor, for Brief and Emergencies Services a program for Catholic Charities in the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese said she’s had clients who came to her very upset because their Medicaid insurance card was rejected when they went to pick up a prescription at the local pharmacy. Under the previous system, emergency assistance for food stamps would be expedited with a wait time of seven to 10 days, said Tenders, but now the wait is on average about 45 days.
John C. Etling, Agency Director of Catholic Charities Terre Haute said he is also seeing longer delays for those being served in his area. “I’ve seen a delay in services 30, 60 or even 90 days.
“There’s a disconnect somewhere in the process,” said Etling. “There’s one company that has an expertise in handling calls, another with an expertise in document collection, and another that handles the document verification. The problem is there isn’t one company handling it all.”