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Audrey Johnson tells Appomattox supervisors errors at social services cut SNAP, reduced disability payment
Summary
A resident told the Appomattox County Board that SNAP benefits were wrongly terminated and a separate Medicaid renewal omission led to an estimated $400 monthly disability reduction; the Department of Social Services director said the agency has rebuilt operations and invited formal follow-up.
Audrey Johnson, a resident of Concord, told the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors that her SNAP benefits were terminated despite completing a timely renewal and that a separate Medicaid renewal omission led to an estimated $400 monthly reduction in her disability payment. “My SNAP benefits were terminated because I was told I failed to renew them. This wasn't true. I completed my renewal on time,” Johnson said, and added she waited nearly two weeks for anyone to correct the error.
Johnson asked the board what it will do to improve accountability and customer service at the county’s Department of Social Services and said repeated calls and emails went unanswered. “$400 a month drop in my disability makes a huge difference in whether I eat or pay my bills,” she said.
Alicia Wright, director of the Appomattox County Department of Social Services, responded in a scheduled appearance that the agency has undergone a one-year rebuilding process after a prior staffing crisis and has increased staff from six to 20. Wright said the office resolved a long-standing state-network connectivity issue, eliminated a three-year backlog of child-protective investigations and improved timeliness on key metrics: “CPS first-contact timeliness increased last July from 30.8% to now 83%, with multiple months reaching 100%,” she said, and reported SNAP timeliness of 100% in April and May and Medicaid timeliness at 89.9% in June.
Board members acknowledged the improvements but also encouraged Johnson and others who have had trouble to file formal complaints so staff can investigate them. Chair invited Johnson to work directly with Wright and advised citizens to copy the whole board if emails go unanswered. County administration said it will follow up on the specific issues Johnson raised.
County administration also addressed statements from another commenter who alleged dispatchers shared case information. The administrator said she had never met that commenter face-to-face and that dispatch logs are public records but dispatchers do not have or review case files in the manner described; she said the sheriff’s office was asked to investigate legal matters when appropriate.
Wright invited the public to a more detailed advisory board meeting on Sept. 8 at 5 p.m., when the department plans to present in-depth data on state and federal compliance and its operational phases. The board did not take formal action on Johnson’s complaint at the meeting but said staff would follow up and encouraged formal filings to support any investigation.
