Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Eligibility staffing cuts and call-center funding threaten benefit processing, DHHS official warns
Summary
Karen Hebert, director of the Division of Economic Stability at DHHS, told the Senate committee that 69 eligibility positions were unfunded in recent budget proposals and that losing or failing to renew the division’s Tier 1 call-center contract would force staff from processing to phones, increase waits and raise the risk of SNAP errors.
Karen Hebert, director of the Division of Economic Stability, told senators the division delivers cash assistance, child support, SNAP and childcare programs and depends heavily on personnel to make eligibility determinations. She said personnel account for roughly 35% of the division’s budget and roughly 56% of its funding is federal.
Hebert summarized daily workload and the magnitude of demand: “There are about 204,000 individuals who receive services through our bureau. There are about 21,000 applications received and processed…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
