DSS: ARPA-funded call center staff cut from 125 to 40 after federal dollars sunset, wait times rise
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Summary
Department of Social Services officials told the Appropriations Committee the agency reduced its ARPA‑funded Tier 1 call center staff from about 125 to 40 after pandemic‑era ARPA dollars expired. The agency said weekly call volume averages roughly 41,000 calls and that wait times and service gaps have increased.
Department of Social Services officials told the Appropriations subcommittee that ARPA dollars previously funded a large Tier 1 call center team and that the sunset of that money required the agency to reduce that staff from roughly 125 people to 40.
DSS said the ARPA dollars helped build a Tier 1 workforce — vendors and state hires — who handled basic inquiries (for example: application status, account access, address or phone updates). When the ARPA funding ended, the agency said it could not sustain the larger team in its base budget and shifted to a smaller state‑funded Tier 1 group of about 40 staff based in the Greater Hartford office.
Agency staff said call volume remains high; a weekly report shown to the committee displayed an average of about 41,000 calls per week across the benefit center, and an interactive voice response (IVR) system resolves roughly 55% of incoming calls. Committee members and DSS leadership described higher wait times at Tier 1 since the staffing shrink, with Tier 1 sometimes experiencing longer waits than Tier 2 because tier‑2 calls are scheduled in advance.
DSS described a two‑year training approach that places newer staff on phones to prepare them for eligibility work. The department said the phone team is meeting performance standards but that it is hard to replace the capacity previously provided by ARPA funding; lawmakers noted the governor's proposed budget did not include new funding to restore the larger Tier 1 team.
DSS said it has been exploring technology tools, including robotic process automation and a chatbot pilot, to reduce manual work and accelerate processing of redeterminations. The agency said it went live last fall with RPA to ingest redetermination documents and reduce rekeying, and that it is evaluating additional AI tools subject to federal permissibility.
Committee members requested follow‑up information including peak wait‑time frequency, time‑of‑day surges, staffing levels versus full authorized headcount, and productivity metrics to better quantify how often the system hits extreme wait‑time peaks. There was no formal vote; the committee said it will review the requested materials.
