State switching to online, call centers for welfare applications, By Nancy Hicks, July 2, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star: “Some Nebraskans will be unable to get the help they need under the state’s plan to use call centers and online applications rather than caseworkers and face-to-face interviews for welfare-related applications, according to testimony at a Friday public hearing. ‘The new system, which discourages or eliminates the possibility of meeting face to face with a live human caseworker, is immoral and shows indifference toward the needs of people with disabilities, indeed people with any needs,’ said Kathy Hoell, executive director of the Nebraska Statewide Independent Living Council. The state plans to set up four call centers to handle most applications for services like food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, energy assistance and child care subsidies. Department of Health and Human Service leaders are also promoting online applications as a way to streamline the process…”
Day: July 6, 2010
SSI and Eligibility for Food Stamps – California
State’s food stamp cash-out policy no longer the best option for many aid recipients, By Alexandra Zavis, July 5, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Leaning on a cane, Donjean Gardner eases open her fridge and surveys the contents: half a Subway sandwich, several boxes of tangerine juice, a jar of pickles and half a jar of salsa. Her one good meal a day comes from Meals on Wheels. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her 30s, Gardner traveled the world for 20 more years working in television production. But the disease caught up with her eventually. Now 70, she is mostly confined to the metal bed that dominates her cramped apartment in Echo Park. Her only income is $845 a month in cash assistance for impoverished elderly or disabled people, most of which is spent on rent. She thought she might qualify for food stamps. To her dismay, the answer was no. California is the only state that does not allow its 1.2 million recipients of federal Supplemental Security Income to apply for the benefit. The state decided in 1974 to increase its matching grant – known as the State Supplementary Payment – by $10 a month in place of administering food stamps for them. This additional amount has not changed in more than three decades…”
Uninsured Adults and Dental Care – Virginia
Uninsured Virginians may lose free dental care, By Phillip Lucas, July 6, 2010, Washington Post: “Advocates for uninsured Virginians say slow action from state and federal officials means that thousands of residents who could have received free dental care this summer will go unserved unless Congress intervenes. Virginia received authorization from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to use money from the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund to provide dental care to uninsured residents. The emergency fund is a federal block grant established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and it is supposed to serve as a safety net for families looking for employment opportunities and other types of assistance. Virginia requested permission to use some of the money for dental care for uninsured adults…”