- Indiana agency begins hybrid welfare plan rollout, By Ken Kusmer (AP), January 26, 2010, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Indiana’s human services agency said Tuesday the state’s third try at effectively enrolling and keeping people on food stamps and other welfare benefits has begun rolling out, but one affected caretaker said the frustrations keep mounting. The Family and Social Services Administration said it has begun implementing what it’s calling a hybrid welfare intake system, involving caseworkers and some automation, in 10 southwestern Indiana counties. It follows the agency’s aborted bid to turn over highly automated welfare intake to private vendors – a plan designed to replace an outdated, paper-based casework system – that remains in 33 counties…”
- Indiana agency begins hybrid welfare plan rollout, By Eric Bradner, January 26, 2010, Evansville Courier and Press: “The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration rolled out its pilot ‘hybrid’ system for processing welfare applications in a swath of 10 Southwestern Indiana counties on Tuesday. The rollout means the state’s human services agency now has three ways of handling applications for Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families operating simultaneously. The hybrid pilot is now in place in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Warrick and Vanderburgh counties. The recently abandoned ‘modernization’ effort, which severely restricted face-to-face interaction with agency workers and instead had those seeking benefits apply online or by phone, remains in 49 counties.
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty