Kent County DHHS reviews assistance payments data, Accuracy Unit activity and site programs

At the May 20, 2026 meeting of the Kent County Department of Health & Human Services in Grand Rapids, Financial Assistance Director James Geisen presented an Assistance Payments update with a team of program managers and analysts.

James Geisen and District Manager Lisa Orr reviewed InContact and UCL data and described recently implemented strategies intended to improve application processing and customer contact. Program Manager Amy Wright summarized action plans for CDC and DSS casework as part of ongoing performance-improvement efforts. Department Manager Liz Trompen outlined recent activities by the Accuracy Unit aimed at reducing issuance and processing errors. Program Manager Yvonne Jasper described several ongoing special projects — Vibrant Futures, Safe Start and AYA — and the department’s mentoring program; Administrative Service Manager Betsy Booms provided administrative-support statistics covering December 2025 through March 2026.

Geisen reported the department is conducting additional CDC case reads under a CDC Performance Improvement Plan and continues to monitor the FAP QC active error rate. The department has completed quality-control case reads and unit reviews designed to identify training and process changes.

Next steps include continuing the scheduled case reads, tracking the Accuracy Unit’s metrics, and implementing the CDC/DSS action plans. The board received the updates; no formal vote was recorded on program changes at the meeting.