Sorry for the unusually long hiatus. Guess I haven't had much to say. But, the Colorado Benefits Management System never lets me down (although it seems I'm the only one it does not let down).
Let me quote from a story in the Rocky Mountain News of December 1, 2008. As you may know, this is four years and three months after CBMS went live. Here's the link to the entire story, under the byline of Daniel J. Chacon: State agency sees spike in numbers using food stamps . Here's the quote:
"An awful lot of people right now have had their work hours reduced, have been laid off, are unemployed with no work, or are unable to work," said Mark Tandberg, social services director for Adams County.
"Folks are struggling to keep food on the table," he said.
Sometimes, they struggle to get food stamps, too.
Some of Colorado's social services agencies have come under fire in recent years for taking too long to process applicants' paperwork, violating federal protocols.
"We're still not where we need to be, but we are doing better," said Liz McDonough, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Services.
"Part of the reason is counties are now doing interviews over the phone, and that's helping with the processing time," she said.
Ed Kahn, special counsel for the Colorado Center on Law & Policy, sued the state DHS more than four years ago for taking too long to process food stamp applications. He said human service agencies have done a slightly better job this year, but roughly 2,000 people a month are still not getting their benefits approved within the required 30-day period ordered by a judge last December. He said he's considering whether to take the state back to court.
Given the economic troubles and growing need for aid, "It's unconscionable that they haven't made enough improvement in this problem," said Kahn.
Thanks, Ed. Keep at it. Hopefully, it will end sometime soon.
Good to read all this...
Posted by: Term Papers | March 04, 2010 at 02:48 AM