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Eligibility workers say understaffing and complex rules slow benefit access
Summary
Eligibility staff for the Oregon Eligibility Partnership told the Joint Ways and Means Human Services Subcommittee that chronic understaffing, complex procedures and insufficient lead‑worker support are delaying benefit decisions and that the unit is currently funded at roughly 46% of needed staff levels, according to testimony
Multiple eligibility workers and supervisors testified at the public hearing on Senate Bill 5526 about the workload and training pressures facing the Oregon Eligibility Partnership (OEP), which handles public‑benefit eligibility determinations.
Jennifer Cranmer, a conservation worker (VEC) for OEP, told the committee she brought “this stack of papers” to illustrate the program’s complexity and said the OEP procedure manual is about…
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