Online Applications Now Available!

Weir2010In case you missed it yesterday, we now have a website and online application for low-income residents who need help with food, medical needs or daily expenses.

This is an excellent example of becoming more accessible to the citizens of Hamilton County. We are now serving one in six in this community in some of our public assistance programs — 133,000 food assistance recipients and 155,000 Medicaid recipients — and we are trying to make the application process as accessible as possible.

Many of the people coming in for help have lost their jobs over the past couple of years, or taken lower-paying jobs. They have had to make choices between paying the electric bill and putting food on the table for their children. With our help, their paychecks stretch a bit further.

But they are not familiar with us and our processes. They haven’t been a part of our system. By putting an online application process in place, we are saving them the trip downtown, the waits in line, the gas money, the parking costs, etc. Good government is about being efficient and customer-firendly. I believe this helps us achieve that.

The website also has a calculator and form to report changes in case information. Check it out:

http://ODJFSBenefits.ohio.gov

by Jim Tinker

Filed Under: Communication

Tagged: food assistance, food stamps, hamilton county department of job and family services, medicaid, moira weir, public assistance