I am thrilled that once again I get to share some good news about the great work our staff is doing here at Job and Family Services. I learned this week that the agency’s food stamp accuracy rate for Federal Fiscal Year 2008 (Oct. 1, 2007 to Sept. 30, 2008) is 98.24%. This is a 6.53% increase from the previous fiscal year’s rate of 91.71%.
The purpose of the food stamp accuracy rate is to make sure that we give the correct amount of food stamp benefits to eligible food stamp participants. The state gives county departments of Job and Family Services a goal of having an accuracy rate of at least 96%.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, the agency is seeing thousands more food stamp recipients. It would be very easy for mistakes to happen with so many additional cases, but our Family & Adult Assistance workers understand the importance of being accurate.
In addition to the front line eligibility workers and their managers, clerical staff, call center staff and Program Quality Assurance staff should all be commended for their hard work in keeping errors low. By doing so, it decreases the amount of misspent dollars for the food stamp program. In these hard economic times, that is always important.
As I walk through the lobby at our downtown building, I can see the fear and anxiety on our clients’ faces. Many of them are walking through our doors for the first time and just want a friendly face to help them through the process of obtaining food stamps. I am proud that our employees understand this and do not hesitate to go above and beyond to help the citizens of Hamilton County.
