IRP Poverty Dispatch » Energy and Technology

State Medicaid Programs

townsend — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:45:50 +0000

N.J. to disperse $40M in federal Medicaid funding to hospitals, clinics investing in electronic records, By Susan K. Livio, February 9, 2012, Star-Ledger: “The state this week is distributing $40 million in federal Medicaid funds to reward 30 hospitals and 40 physician practices that have been enterprising enough to invest in an electronic medical record system designed to improve care and catch mistakes, state health and human services officials announced today…”
Health care providers say Medicaid managed care riddled with problems, By Beth Musgrave and Valarie Honeycutt Spears, February 9, 2012, Lexington Herald-Leader: “The baby was coming, no matter what a managed care company had to say. But when a woman in labor went to one of Appalachian Regional Healthcare’s eight Kentucky hospitals before Christmas, the hospital was told by one of three managed care companies that now run Medicaid in much of Kentucky that it must get preauthorization to deliver the baby in order to get paid. Fourteen days after the woman and baby went home, the hospital still was waiting for approval to deliver the baby, said Joe Grossman, vice president and chief financial officer of Appalachian Regional Healthcare. Grossman was one of several people to testify Wednesday before a Senate panel about problems with private companies that are now managing Medicaid care in Kentucky…”
Quinn to Obama: Illinois pressing ahead on Medicaid reforms, By Ray Long and Alissa Groeninger, February 10, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “As President Barack Obama presses forward with his signature health care law, his fellow Illinois Democrats running state government have waited more than a year to win federal approval for a new plan to fight fraud in the health program for 2.7 million of the state’s poorest residents. Facing increasing Republican pressure to put reforms in place, Quinn’s team told the Obama administration this week that Illinois will wait no longer. Later this month, the state’s Healthcare and Family Services Department will start matching addresses of people enrolled in Medicaid against Illinois secretary of state driving records to ensure that care for the poor is going to people who actually live in Illinois. The Quinn administration also is putting together a plan to check income eligibility and plans to roll it out soon, officials said…”

Mobile Banking - Haiti

townsend — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:39:39 +0000

How Haiti is fighting poverty by killing cash, By Margo Conner, January 27, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “In Haiti, cash is escaping from wallets and savings accounts are breaking free from brick-and-mortar banks. Two years after 2010’s devastating earthquake, mobile money has taken off in the island nation. While the country has seen setbacks in many areas and continues to struggle, one bright spot is the transformation of the country’s traditional banking sector. Physical banks were wiped away by the quake and subsequent hurricane, and a mobile banking network that uses cell phones has grown up in their place…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:19:22 +0000

States get $845 million in home heat aid from feds, By Andrew Miga (AP), December 22, 2011, Boston Globe: “States got more than $845 million in federal home heating aid on Thursday, but the latest round of government funding won’t take the chill from the fuel assistance program, which is being cut by about a quarter this winter. New England, with its reliance on costly home heating oil, is expected to be especially hit hard by the spending cut. Several Northeast states already have reduced heating aid benefits this winter…”
Home heating help slashed by $1 billion, By Pamela M. Prah, December 22, 2011, Stateline.org: “Just in time for the cold weather and holiday season, states have learned that Congress cut $1.2 billion from a program to provide heating and cooling assistance to low-income families. The large spending bill that Congress approved this month for 2012 contained about $3.5 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Advocates of LIHEAP had hoped Congress would fund the program at its 2010 level of $5.1 billion; it was funded at $4.7 billion for 2011, an amount that several governors urged Congress to maintain for this year. President Obama’s budget proposal would have cut LIHEAP funding by nearly 50 percent to $2.6 billion, so the congressional figure came down somewhere in the middle…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:27:50 +0000

Northeast states cut heating aid to poor, By Andrew Miga (AP), December 11, 2011, Boston Globe: “Mary Power is 92 and worried about surviving another frigid New England winter because deep cuts in federal home heating assistance benefits mean she probably can’t afford enough heating oil to stay warm. She lives in a drafty trailer in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood and gets by on $11,148 a year in pension and Social Security benefits. Her heating aid help this year will drop from $1,035 to $685. With rising heating oil prices, it probably will cost her more than $3,000 for enough oil to keep warm unless she turns her thermostat down to 60 degrees, as she plans. ‘I will just have to crawl into bed with the covers over me and stay there,’ said Power, a widow who worked as a cashier and waitress until she was 80. ‘I will do what I have to do.’ Thousands of poor people across the Northeast are bracing for a difficult winter with substantially less home heating aid coming from the federal government…”

Fuel Poverty - UK

townsend — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:57:17 +0000

One in four face fuel poverty, says Consumer Focus, December 2, 2011, BBC News: “The proportion of homes in fuel poverty in England and Wales has risen from 18% to 24% in two years, estimates suggest. Consumer Focus calculated that nearly 5.7 million households are in fuel poverty - when more than 10% of their disposable income is spent on fuel. The watchdog said the issue was particularly acute in Wales, where 41% of households were in fuel poverty…”
One in four households suffer from fuel poverty, By Donna Bowater and James Kirkup, December 2, 2011, The Telegraph: “New calculations by Consumer Focus show more than five million households are now forced to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on heating and lighting their homes. The previous forecast of 4.1 million households was made before the big six energy suppliers increased huge price rises last summer. The figure has risen 25 per cent from last year when a fifth of homes were struggling with fuel poverty after sharp increases in energy bills in the autumn. It means the Government is unlikely to meet its legal obligation to end fuel poverty within five years…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:28:34 +0000

Budget pressure on help for low income families with heating bills, By Brett Neely, November 30, 2011, Minnesota Public Radio: “A federal program that helps low income families pay their heating bill is coming under intense budget pressure. The Low Income Heating Assistance Program sent Minnesota more than $152 million last year. That money helped 172,000 households, including many seniors, the disabled and the poor, pay their heating bills. The average grant from the LIHEAP program was just over $500 for the winter. But with austerity the new buzzword in Washington, the program’s funding is drying up fast - just as many households prepare for higher heating bills…”
A costly winter ahead for home heating oil users, By Les Christie, December 1, 2011, CNNMoney.com: “Bill McLaughlin is bracing himself for a tough winter. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Brewer, Maine and neither of them are working. Bill, who’s 59, is disabled and Cindy lost her job more than a year ago. And now the cold is setting in. During any winter in Maine, paying for the oil that heats their home is a big expense. But this winter, it will be especially taxing. The price of heating the average home with oil is expected to jump 10% this year to an average of $2,535 over the winter heating season (October 1 through March 31), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That’s 45% higher than just two years ago, when the average bill was just $1,752…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program - Maine

townsend — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:05:03 +0000

Federal cuts give Maine a chill as winter approaches, By Abby Goodnough, November 27, 2011, New York Times: “Michele Hodges works six days a week but still cannot afford a Maine winter’s worth of heat for her trailer in Corinth, a tiny town where snowmobiles can outnumber cars. Ms. Hodges and her two teenage daughters qualified for federal heating assistance last year, but their luck might have run out. President Obama has proposed sharply cutting the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and Maine is at this point expecting less than half of the $55.6 million that it received last winter, even as more people are applying. The average state benefit last year was about $800 for the season; now it may be closer to $300. Eligibility requirements have tightened too, and with oil prices climbing - the average in Maine was $3.66 a gallon last week, up from $2.87 a year ago - many here are anticipating days or weeks of forgoing heat…”

High-Speed Internet Access

townsend — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:52:07 +0000

FCC launching $4-billion program to narrow digital divide, By Alexa Vaughn, November 9, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “The Federal Communications Commission is launching a $4-billion program to narrow the digital divide by making high-speed Internet access and computers more affordable for more than 25 million mainly low-income Americans. The FCC said a public-private partnership, which includes major broadband and computer companies and nonprofits, will make ‘the biggest effort ever’ across the nation to help poorer citizens as well as rural residents, seniors and minorities obtain broadband access. Those who qualify would pay $9.95 a month for Internet access at 1 megabit per second and $150 for a refurbished laptop running the Windows 7 operating system, along with applications that include digital literacy training…”
Internet access: Discount for poor families with kids, By Peter Svensson (AP), November 10, 2011, Christian Science Monitor: “Cable companies said Wednesday that they will offer Internet service for $9.95 per month to homes with children that are eligible for free school lunches. The offer will start next summer and is part of an initiative the Federal Communications Commission cobbled together to get more U.S. homes connected to broadband. One third, or about 35 million homes, don’t have broadband. That affects people’s ability to educate themselves and find and apply for jobs, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program - Maine

townsend — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:37:25 +0000

Maine told heat aid being slashed, By Glenn Adams (AP), November 2, 2011, Lewiston Sun Journal: “As Andy Tasker watches his work hours and pay go down, his need for heating assistance goes up. The Auburn resident and thousands like him in Maine are facing drastic cuts in Low Income Home Energy Assistance, as the price of heating oil rises far above last year’s level. ‘This is a necessity to me,’ Tasker said Monday, just days after federal government told the Maine State Housing Authority that it should expect to receive $23 million for the program, down from $55.6 million last year - a 60 percent drop. Maine Housing officials, and their counterparts around the Northeast, are hoping one of two bills in Congress will bolster heating assistance, but the outlook nonetheless is not good that the final amount will help people like Tasker…”

Weatherization Program - Indiana

townsend — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:41:18 +0000

Weatherization goal passed: 20,185 homes got improvements with stimulus funds, By Mary Beth Schneider, October 27, 2011, Indianapolis Star: “Indiana has surpassed its goal of weatherizing about 20,000 homes with federal stimulus dollars and hopes to deliver energy-saving improvements to as many as 3,000 others before the program ends in March. Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, standing outside an Eastside home outfitted with a new furnace, water heater and insulation, said Wednesday that the jump in projections is possible because of cost savings that have left some of the $131.8 million in federal funds available. The success marks a turnaround from the program’s slow start. In November 2009, when the first benchmarks were to be met, the state was to have completed work on 2,202 homes. Instead, only 403 were completed…”

Medicaid Information System - New York

townsend — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:22:40 +0000

Taking pulse of Medicaid costs, By Cathleen F. Crowley, October 25, 2011, Albany Times-Union: “Guy Amisano’s soda company sold cases of Pepsi all over Western New York, but he never could put his finger on which sales were the most profitable or whether his price discounts paid off. So in the 1980s, Amisano hired some computer geeks to build a software program to track sales and costs in real time. ‘I was able to see precisely what and to whom I should sell and at what price to achieve optimal profitability without losing volume,’ Amisano said. His profits rose 20 percent and his company grew significantly. Over the next 14 years, Amisano ran Pepsi-Cola Elmira Bottling Co. while selling his computer program on the side. More than half of the beverage industry bought it. In 2000, his family sold the Horseheads-based bottling company to focus on the visual datamining software under a business called Salient Management Company. Now New York’s Medicaid system — the largest in the nation — uses Salient’s software to track the public health program’s $52 billion annual budget, 4.7 million recipients and 60,000 health care providers. Medicaid is the public health insurance program for low-income and disabled people. For the first time, top health officials say they can see where Medicaid dollars are going in real time…”

SNAP and Farmers Markets

townsend — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:17:57 +0000

Minn. farmers’ markets adapt as food stamp program changes to EBT, By Julie Siple, October 25, 2011, Minnesota Public Radio: “Getting fruits and vegetables into the hands of low-income Minnesotans got a little bit easier this summer, as a growing number of farmers markets across the state allowed customers to pay with Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT cards — the replacement for food stamps. It’s part of a national trend, one aimed at making fresh produce more accessible to the more than 45 million Americans who rely on government assistance to put food on their table…”

State Benefit Eligibility Systems

townsend — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:55:04 +0000

States retool food stamp, benefits systems, By Pamela M. Prah, October 21, 2011, Stateline.org: “Food stamp applicants in California and Texas no longer have to be fingerprinted, a change both states hope will save money and improve the process of distribution. That makes Arizona and New York City the only remaining jurisdictions that fingerprint - a requirement that opponents say scares off the needy from applying for food stamps while doing little to combat fraud. The changes in California and Texas reflect a larger movement at the state level, spurred on by the recession and a record number of Americans getting food stamps and other public assistance: States are trying to make it easier for those seeking help and cheaper for state workers who process the applications and provide the benefits…”

Hybrid Welfare Eligibility System - Indiana

townsend — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:44:22 +0000

FSSA hopes new hybrid system aids service, By Dorothy Schneider, October 16, 2011, Lafayette Journal and Courier: “Richard Graves has had his share of frustration in dealing with the local office for the Indiana Department of Families and Social Services Administration. He can recount tales of lost paperwork and unreturned phone calls, as he has worked to oversee his granddaughter’s Medicaid coverage. ‘I haven’t talked to the caseworker in two years,’ Graves said. Complaints about the state’s FSSA case management are nothing new, but Indiana officials are hoping they lessen as ongoing improvements to the application system are rolled out across the state…”

Medicaid Program - Virginia

townsend — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:46:47 +0000

Ineligible Medicaid recipients cost Va. millions, By Jim Nolan, October 13, 2011, Richmond Times-Dispatch: “Errors by local Department of Social Services caseworkers in enrolling ineligible Medicaid recipients are responsible for the greatest number of improper payments in Virginia’s share of the program, according to an extensive review by the legislature’s watchdog agency. It found that the state’s administration of the Medicaid program is overly complex and not automated. It also needs investments in technology and greater oversight to guarantee it is not overpaying managed-care organizations for services. Errors in enrolling ineligible recipients could have cost the state somewhere between $18 million and $263 million in fiscal 2009, according to the report - requested by lawmakers in 2010 and presented Tuesday to lawmakers by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:25:57 +0000

Heating assistance in jeopardy for low-income families, By Oralandar Brand-Williams and Karen Bouffard, October 1, 2011, Detroit News: “As thousands of state welfare recipients are cut off from cash assistance today, another program to help low-income families pay winter heating bills is in jeopardy. Money for the Low Income Energy Efficiency Fund is tied up in a legal fight challenging the authority of the Michigan Public Service Commission to distribute money to local programs. The news came on the same day a group announced a legal challenge to a new state rule cutting off cash assistance after 48 months. A hearing in federal court is scheduled for Tuesday. The PSC collects the heating aid money from utility companies that funnel a portion of the rate charged to customers into the fund. Agencies such as the Heat and Warmth Fund then draw from the pot of money, which totals about $90 million annually, to help people with their heating and utility bills. Today is the first day of the new fiscal year when the local agencies normally tap the fund, but no money will be available until the court decides the issue…”
Home heating program may see deep cuts, By Pamela M. Prah, October 3, 2011, Stateline.org: “With Congress in a cutting mood, states are worried they may have to deny home heating help to as many as 2 million families this winter. ‘We’re working against a worst-case scenario and we are very worried,’ Richard Moffi, fuel assistance program chief for the Vermont Department for Children and Families, told The Associated Press. Congress has yet to decide on the funding level for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for the coming winter, but ‘all signs point to at least a $1.1 billion cut,” says Mark Wolfe, executive director, of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, an organization that represents state LIHEAP directors. LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides grants to states to help low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills…”

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:05:32 +0000

Federal heating funding could drop from $115 million down to $46 million, By Christopher Keating, September 27, 2011, Hartford Courant: “With federal money being slashed deeply by President Barack Obama, state legislators are considering a controversial plan by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to distribute the federal money only to residents who use oil to heat their homes. The idea is being proposed because low-income citizens who heat their homes with electricity and natural gas have shutoff protection during the cold winter months and cannot have their heat turned off for non-payment for half of the year between November 1 and May 1 under the law. The move is under consideration because the state’s $115 million allotment under the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, could be cut to $46.4 million. State officials are hoping that the funding could boost to $75 million, but that is uncertain…”

State Medicaid Programs - North Dakota, Utah, California

townsend — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 21:48:12 +0000

Medicaid change delayed, By Dale Wetzel (AP), September 16, 2011, Jamestown Sun: “A chronically delayed new computer software system to handle North Dakota’s Medicaid bills, which was to be finished in nine months, will not be working until mid-2013, an executive told state legislators Thursday. The project was originally scheduled to be finished two years ago. Last summer, a vice president for the software’s developer, Affiliated Computer Services Inc., promised it would be functioning by June 2012. ACS is a unit of Xerox Corp…”
Utah explores extending Medicaid to inmates, By Kirsten Stewart, September 15, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “Utah health officials are exploring expanding the state’s Medicaid program to cover inmates’ hospital stays and doctors’ office visits. Inmates have traditionally been barred from the state-federal health insurance program, which caters to the poor and disabled. Currently, the Department of Corrections contracts directly with the University of Utah’s hospital and clinics for procedures that cannot be handled at the prison infirmary, and the state picks up the tab. Moving inmates onto Medicaid would shift most of the funding burden onto the federal government, explained state Medicaid director Michael Hales on Thursday at an advisory board meeting. In the past, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been loathe to shoulder what has long been a state obligation, said Hales. But the agency has recently signaled a willingness to bend the rules…”
Calif. Medicaid expansion: A lifeline for ex-convicts, By Sarah Varney, September 13, 2011, National Public Radio: “California has embarked on an ambitious expansion of its Medicaid program, three years ahead of the federal expansion that the health law requires in 2014. At least half a million people are expected to gain coverage - mostly poor adults who never qualified under the old rules because they didn’t have kids at home. Among those who stand to benefit right now are ex-offenders. Inmates often leave California prisons with no consistent place to get medical care. But that’s changing…”

Technology and Innovation for Developing Countries

townsend — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:02:23 +0000

To help the poor, experts invent solar-powered hearing aids, motorcycle ambulances, Associated Press, September 12, 2011, Washington Post: “A bit of creativity never hurts, especially when it comes to solving health problems in developing countries. Instead of the usual donated medicines and health equipment, some experts are inventing new products for the poor, like a solar-powered hearing aid or a motorcycle ambulance. Both inventions were showcased at an engineering conference in London. And in a new report published online Monday in the journal Lancet, the United Nations highlights innovations like using text messages in South Africa to remind women with HIV to get their babies tested and tucking medicines into Coca-Cola crates to reach remote villages. Hundreds of thousands of replacement joints, surgical tools and other medical devices have been sent to poor countries over the years. But according to the World Health Organization, about 75 percent of the donated goods sit unused, either because they’re broken or no one knows how to use them…”

Restrictions on Food Aid and Cash Assistance - Michigan

townsend — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:36:55 +0000

House OKs tighter rules on food aid for criminals, By Karen Bouffard, September 8, 2011, Detroit News: “The state House tightened rules for Bridge Card users Wednesday, giving Michigan State Police powers to help root criminals from the welfare system. The legislation passed Wednesday would set up an automated program to compare lists of public assistance recipients with lists of people with outstanding warrants and bar anyone with a warrant from getting public assistance. It also prohibits people who are jailed from receiving food stamps or other assistance, bans dispensing cash from Bridge Cards at ATMs in casinos and bars the cards from being used to buy alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets…”
State House passes new restrictions on Bridge Cards; bills go to Senate, By Kathleen Gray, September 8, 2011, Detroit Free Press: “New restrictions on the use of Michigan’s Bridge Cards, which operate like a debit card for food and cash assistance to low-income residents, were passed without debate Wednesday in the House. Jail inmates would no longer be able to use the cards, nor could they be used to get cash from ATM machines in casinos or to buy alcohol, lottery tickets or tobacco products. Approximately 1.3 million bridge cards are in circulation in the state. The amounts the state loads onto the cards are determined by the level of income and family size of recipients…”

Identity Database - India

townsend — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:57:25 +0000

Scanning 2.4 billion eyes, India tries to connect poor to growth, By Lydia Polgreen, September 1, 2011, New York Times: “Ankaji Bhai Gangar, a 49-year-old subsistence farmer, stood in line in this remote village until, for the first time in his life, he squinted into the soft glow of a computer screen. His name, year of birth and address were recorded. A worker guided Mr. Gangar’s rough fingers to the glowing green surface of a scanner to record his fingerprints. He peered into an iris scanner shaped like binoculars that captured the unique patterns of his eyes. With that, Mr. Gangar would be assigned a 12-digit number, the first official proof that he exists. He can use the number, along with a thumbprint, to identify himself anywhere in the country. It will allow him to gain access to welfare benefits, open a bank account or get a cellphone far from his home village, something that is still impossible for many people in India…”

Medicaid Eligibility System - Colorado

townsend — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:36:26 +0000

Report: CO Medicaid system plagued by delays, By Ivan Moreno (AP), August 23, 2011, Denver Post: “Colorado’s Medicaid program has had significant delays in determining applicants’ eligibility, according to a federal review released Tuesday that raised the question of withholding money from the state if problems are not solved. The review from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also found that Colorado’s system does not provide sufficient time for applicants to show proof of citizenship and is not programmed to deny or terminate benefits to those who don’t qualify. The report presented to lawmakers in the state audit committee said Colorado is not complying with federal regulations that call for eligibility to be determined within 90 days for people with disabilities-or within 45 days for all other applicants. The report said about half of all applications are not processed within the federal timelines. State officials responded that they’ve made system improvements and now 80 percent of all applications are processed in time…”

Poverty Rates in Oil-Producing Counties - North Dakota

townsend — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:32:04 +0000

Many live in poverty in oil country due to high rent, food prices, By Teri Finneman, August 14, 2011, Dickinson Press: “In one of the state’s wealthiest counties, the line of people waiting for the food pantry to open shows another side of the state’s oil boom story. The oil and gas industry has contributed to the state’s nationally known prosperity and created high-paying jobs in western North Dakota. But those who don’t make oilfield wages face the boom’s negative side effects, including the increasing cost of rent, services and goods. ‘I think the common misconception is that since we are in what most people call ‘oil country,’ that everybody is wealthy,’ said Holly Flatau of the Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo. ‘What it’s actually caused is a greater gap in those that are wealthy and those who are not. It’s harder for people that aren’t wealthy to make it on their own…’”

Lifeline Phone Subsidy Program

townsend — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:45:27 +0000

Regulators say low-income phone program is hemorrhaging millions, By Fred Hiers, August 2, 2011, Ocala Star-Banner: “Federal and state regulators are working to fix a program they believe is making millions of dollars in unauthorized payments to low-income phone customers. Lifeline is a federal program, paid for by all phone users, which subsidizes low-income people in order to help pay for their phone installations and use. The limit is one phone. The subsidy goes to the phone service provider. The annual subsidy for customers is nearly $162 per year. According to a Florida Public Service Commission report, 642,129 Floridians were subscribing to the program as of June 20, 2010. Other states also administer the program. The problem is, some customers are receiving payments for more than one phone, regulators say…”

LIHEAP Weatherization Program-Arizona, Colorado

irpstaff — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:18:55 +0000

Low-income families struggle with utility bills can get help, July 28, 2011, Eloy Enterprise: “PHOENIX - Help is available for low-income families and individuals across Arizona struggling with summer utility bills pushed higher by desert temperatures above 110 degrees and major dust storms. The Arizona Community Action Association (ACAA), through its member Community Action Agencies statewide, offers assistance to qualifying individuals and families through programs including the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the federal weatherization program and the locally-funded Arizona Home Energy Assistance Fund. LIHEAP and the Arizona Home Energy Assistance Program provide bill assistance for low-income families who may be spending up to 30 percent of their income to pay for energy costs…”
17,000 low-income Colorado households likely to lose energy assistance benefits this winter, By David O. Williams, July 28, 2011, Colorado Independent: “More than 17,000 low-income Colorado households will lose state benefits to help pay their home heating bill this winter if the federal government delivers on expected funding cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Colorado’s share of LIHEAP last year, delivered in the form of block grants to the state’s Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), was $62 million. The Obama administration in February proposed cutting overall LIHEAP funding in half, meaning Colorado is faced with receiving only $31 million for the winter of 2011-12…”

Fuel Poverty - United Kingdom

irpstaff — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:44:46 +0000

Fears energy price rises will put more Cumbrians in fuel poverty, July, 25, 2011, News & Stars: “Ruth Willis fears the latest energy bills blow could not have come at a worse time. Parts of Cumbria are already dogged by so-called fuel poverty as families struggle to pay gas and electricity bills. And new rises come as the aftermath of the recession continues to bite and people grapple with the tight financial times. Ms Willis, chief executive of Action with Communities in Cumbria, believes the increases are unreasonable and is clear about what they could mean for some…”
Fuel poverty warning issued, July 26, 2011, Berwick Advertiser: “The number of people living in fuel poverty in the region could rocket, according to a Northumberland-based debt advice service. Government figures, published earlier this month, revealed that more than 20 per cent of households - around 5.5 million - were spending more than 10 per cent of their annual income on keeping warm in 2009. However, already-high utility prices are set to soar after British Gas and Scottish Power announced forthcoming price hikes, with most energy suppliers expected to follow suit…”

Hybrid Welfare Eligibility System - Indiana

townsend — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:18:05 +0000

Ind. FSSA welfare ‘hybrid’ poised to expand, By Eric Bradner, July 24, 2011, Evansville Courier and Press: “A year and a half ago, Indiana’s human services agency decided to scrap some parts of its ‘modernization’ effort and replace it with a new way of handling welfare benefits. The Family and Social Services Administration piloted its ‘hybrid’ system - one that combined the technological advances of the botched effort and the in-person touch that existed before 2008 - in 10 Southwestern Indiana counties. Eighteen months later, the state is expanding that hybrid way of determining whether Hoosiers qualify for welfare and delivering those benefits to 72 of Indiana’s 92 counties. A look at data on error rates, timeliness, case backlogs and more show that across the board, the hybrid system is outperforming its two predecessors - the paper-based system in place before 2008, and the computerized one in place after that…”

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:55:03 +0000

States hit hardest by heat wave cut or cancel programs to help poor people cool their homes, Associated Press, July 21, 2011, Washington Post: “Many states hit hardest by this week’s searing heat wave have drastically cut or entirely eliminated programs that help poor people pay their electric bills, forcing thousands to go without air conditioning when they need it most. Oklahoma ran out of money in just three days. Illinois cut its program to focus on offering heating money for the winter ahead. And Indiana isn’t taking any new applicants. When weighed against education and other budget needs, cooling assistance has been among the first items cut, and advocates for the poor say that could make this heat wave even more dangerous…”

Weatherization Program - California

townsend — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:06:03 +0000

State’s slow start puts federal stimulus funds at risk, audit finds, By Kate Linthicum, July 12, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “California could lose tens of millions of dollars in job-creating federal stimulus money for home weatherization projects because the state and several local agencies - including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power - have failed to perform as promised, according to an audit released Monday. Two years ago, California was awarded nearly $186 million to help low-income homeowners make their houses more energy-efficient. But as of April 30, the state had spent $68 million, the audit found. California State Auditor Elaine Howle, whose office conducted the review, warned that California could be forced to forfeit more than $37 million early next year if it doesn’t quickly pick up the pace of distributing grants. Howle blamed a host of factors for California’s sluggish spending of the federal money, part of a $5-billion economic recovery allocation approved in 2009 to put people to work insulating attics, weather-sealing windows and making other energy-saving improvements on nearly 590,000 homes nationwide…”

Cities and Energy Efficiency Projects

townsend — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:24:01 +0000

The art of luring ‘poor’ cities into energy-saving projects, By Ellen M. Gilmer, June 27, 2011, New York Times: “The decay of Michigan’s many rusted-out towns doesn’t strike most as fertile ground for any kind of green movement. But entrepreneur Sean Reed sees the state as a prime spot for energy efficiency measures to take root. Through the Clean Energy Coalition, where he is executive director, Reed is aiming to bring those cash-strapped cities into the sustainability fold by making available more clean energy technology in the local building and transportation sectors. Change, though, is not likely to come easily. One CEC project — Cities of Promise — targets municipal energy use in struggling communities, like Flint and Hamtramck. Using a $4.4 million grant issued last year by the Michigan Public Service Commission, CEC has performed energy audits of city-owned and -operated buildings in eight towns…”

Social Services Database - New York City

townsend — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:01:16 +0000

Concern for vast social services database on the city’s neediest, By Anemona Hartocollis, June 16, 2011, New York Times: “New York City has spent the past 18 months developing a database on four million residents, most of them the city’s neediest, which officials say will enhance social services but which advocates for the poor say could put their privacy at risk. Using data-sharing concepts developed by the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies, the database links together vast amounts of information gathered by city agencies that previously maintained their files separately. Now, workers in an array of city departments will have access to information about nearly half of the city’s residents, including welfare and food stamp payments, child care vouchers, and records of Medicaid enrollment and stays in public housing and shelters, among other kinds of social service records…”

TANF Benefit Payments - South Dakota

townsend — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:24:51 +0000

Federal push may restrict welfare checks, By Jonathan Ellis, June 4, 2011, Argus Leader: “South Dakota is one of a handful of states that sends a check each month directly to welfare recipients, meaning the state has no control over how recipients spend those dollars. That’s a departure from how many states administer their programs, known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Most states issue TANF benefits through Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, a system that allows the government to directly transfer benefits onto a card that can be used for food stamps, TANF, child support and other benefits. The electronic cards work like debit cards, allowing recipients to use them at ATMs. They also enable state governments to restrict where the cards may be used. Many states choose not to enact restrictions, but others do. Now it’s possible the federal government will require all states, including South Dakota, to restrict where TANF benefits can be spent. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have introduced a bill that would require states to ensure that benefits aren’t accessed in casinos, liquor stores or strip clubs. The legislation comes after a host of media investigations throughout the nation found that benefits were withdrawn at ATMs in those locations as well as at tattoo parlors and other questionable locations…”

Internet Access and Income - Canada

townsend — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:59:27 +0000

High-income homes 97% online, By Michael Oliveira, May 27, 2011, Winnipeg Free Press: “An overwhelming 97 per cent of the highest-income households in Canada had access to the Internet last year while just over half of the homes in the lowest income group were online, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. Overall, about 80 per cent of all Canadian households had Internet access in 2010, with the highest penetration levels in British Columbia (84 per cent), Alberta (83) and Ontario (81). Almost all the homes with total incomes above $87,000 were connected, while just 54 per cent of households with incomes under $30,000 had access…”

Electronic Payments and Fees for Jobless Benefits

townsend — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:01:25 +0000

Debit cards hit jobless with ‘junk fees’, By Susan Tompor, May 11, 2011, Detroit Free Press: “Michigan’s debit card for jobless benefits hits the unemployed too hard in the pocket with ‘junk fees,’ a national consumer group said Tuesday. The group, which did a study of such cards for jobless people in 40 states, took issue with a fee on the Michigan debit card that charges $1.50 each time a purchase or ATM transaction is denied because there’s not enough money on the card. Another fee charges $1 to track the balance on the card at an ATM after two free balance inquiries each month at a network ATM. There are no free balance inquiries at out-of-network ATMs…”
Report gives Ohio’s unemployment benefits card a thumbs down, By Sheryl Harris, May 11, 2011, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “The National Consumer Law Center says Ohio could have done more to protect citizens when it began delivering unemployment benefits on prepaid cards. The law center compared the prepaid cards issued by 40 states, giving Ohio’s card its lowest rating, a thumbs down. The biggest factor in the rating is the state’s decision to permit an ‘opt-in’ for overdraft coverage, which allows a card to be used even when there aren’t sufficient funds in the account to cover a transaction. Ohio’s card, issued through U.S. Bank, charges $17 per overdraft, but the big gripe about overdraft fees is that they tend to trigger additional deficits and even more fees. The law center report generally praised the Ohio card for providing ample fee-free services, including customer service calls, written statements, balance checks and withdrawals at U.S. Bank and VISA Plus ATMs. That’s better than some states, which charge consumers for both transactions denied for lack of funds as well as for checking their balances…”

Restrictions on Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards

townsend — Wed, 11 May 2011 20:04:34 +0000

California’s limits on welfare debit cards inspire U.S. response, By Jack Dolan, May 11, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “Welfare recipients nationwide would be barred from using their government-issued debit cards at casinos, strip clubs and liquor stores under a bill to be introduced Wednesday by leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. A co-sponsor of the measure says he was inspired by the fact that nearly $5 million in cash benefits issued in California and meant to help struggling families feed and clothe their children, was spent or withdrawn from ATMs at casinos and poker rooms between January 2007 and May 2010. Tens of thousands of dollars in Temporary Aid for Needy Families assistance was accessed or spent with the debit cards at Los Angeles-area strip clubs in the same period. The Times last year detailed all of those transactions, prompting immediate changes in the state’s network of ATMs that accept Electronic Benefit Transfer cards…”

Restrictions on Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards - Massachusetts, Washington

townsend — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:59:59 +0000

Curb on use of welfare cash OK’d, By Michael Levenson, April 27, 2011, Boston Globe: “House lawmakers voted unanimously last night to ban welfare recipients from spending their cash benefits on alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets, reigniting an issue that flared during Governor Deval Patrick’s reelection campaign last year. The House approved the ban, as part of a larger amendment to the state budget, on a 155-0 vote. The measure not only targets welfare recipients, it also bans store owners from accepting welfare debit cards for purchases of alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets. Store owners who violate the ban could be fined $500 for the first offense, and more than $1,000 for subsequent offenses…”
Bill would restrict where state welfare funds can be used, By John Stang, April 27, 2011, Kitsap Sun: “The Washington Senate on Wednesday approved an overhaul of the state’s WorkFirst program that tightens controls over how welfare payments may be spent. The 44-0 vote sends the bill to the House. The state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program includes a WorkFirst component that requires recipients to seek jobs. A state study unveiled in February said the WorkFirst program cannot adequately function in its current financial set up. The study recommended a review of eligibility requirements and of the amounts of financial assistance given to families. The bill suspends the WorkFirst requirements for some families until July 1, 2012, when the state Department of Health and Human Services is supposed to begin phasing in a revamped WorkFirst program…”

Fraud in the Foodshare Program - Wisconsin

townsend — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:05:47 +0000

Fraud taints state’s FoodShare program, By Raquel Rutledge and Jason Stein, April 23, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Thousands of people who receive publicly funded food assistance report losing their benefits card routinely - a sign investigators say shows many are cheating the state’s $1 billion program. Some sell their Quest cards for cash. Others trade them for drugs. And that’s not the only way the state’s FoodShare program is being abused, an investigation by the Journal Sentinel has found. Instead of using the cards as intended - as a tool to keep the poor from going hungry - participants who aren’t hungry can use the cards to profit. Unscrupulous recipients sometimes buy steaks, seafood and other expensive items with their subsidized benefits and then sell the food to friends at a discount to get cash. Other times they approach strangers in grocery stores, offering to use their Quest cards in exchange for cash - completing the deal in the parking lot and pocketing $50 for every $100 they spend in Quest funds for the strangers’ groceries. In other cases, recipients fail to report all their income or that a working spouse lives in the home. Some collect money from multiple states. Lax rules and oversight make the program susceptible to fraud…”

Cellphone-Only Households

townsend — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:27:43 +0000

Youth, mobility and poverty help drive cellphone-only status, By Sabrina Tavernise, April 20, 2011, New York Times: “It’s not quite the stuff of bragging rights, but Arkansas and Mississippi find themselves at the top of a new state ranking: They have the highest concentrations of people in the nation who have abandoned landlines in favor of cellular phones. At the other extreme? People in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey are still holding on to their landlines, and they have the lowest concentrations of people whose homes use only cellphones. The study, released Wednesday, was part of an annual survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Information from interviews was blended with census data to draw a map of cellular-only use by state. Its findings reflect patterns of consumer behavior that are driven by age, mobility and, in a strange twist, poverty. According to Stephen Blumberg, the researcher who conducted the study, nearly 40 percent of all adults living in poverty use only cellphones, compared with about 21 percent of adults with higher incomes…”

Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards - Illinois

townsend — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:12:59 +0000

Illinois House OKs studying cost of ID photos on food stamp cards, By Dave McKinney and Stephen Di Benedetto, April 13, 2011, Chicago Sun-Times: “After a stormy debate, the Illinois House voted Tuesday to commission a study on how expensive it would be to put photos on the ATM-like cards used for food stamps and cash assistance. Designed to combat fraud, the legislation, which passed 64-48 and now moves to the Senate, would give the Department of Human Services six months to report back to the Legislature with an estimate and to figure out how caregivers could buy groceries for their clients with so-called Link cards bearing the clients’ photos…”

Rural Broadband Access

townsend — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:37:58 +0000

Digital age is slow to arrive in rural America, By Kim Severson, February 17, 2011, New York Times: “After a couple of days in this part of rural Alabama, it is hard to complain about a dropped iPhone call or a Cee Lo video that takes a few seconds too long to load. The county administrator cannot get broadband at her house. Neither can the sportswriter at The Thomasville Times. Here in Coffeeville, the only computer many students ever touch is at the high school. ‘I’m missing a whole lot,’ said Justin Bell, 17. ‘I know that.’ As the world embraces its digital age - two billion people now use the Internet regularly - the line delineating two Americas has become more broadly drawn. There are those who have reliable, fast access to the Internet, and those, like about half of the 27,867 people here in Clarke County, who do not. In rural America, only 60 percent of households use broadband Internet service, according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Commerce. That is 10 percent less than urban households. Over all, 28 percent of Americans do not use the Internet at all…”

Colorado Benefits Management System

townsend — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:38:45 +0000

Federal audit targets delays, errors in Colorado’s benefits computer system, By Michael Booth, February 13, 2011, Denver Post: “Persistent delays and errors in the state computer system for Medicaid and food stamps have prompted federal officials to launch an ongoing performance review of Colorado’s multibillion-dollar benefit programs. The long-troubled Colorado Benefits Management System continued to malfunction after the federal review got underway last summer, with lockouts and slowdowns plaguing managers through at least December, documents obtained by The Denver Post show. Repeated internal complaints about system crashes also have raised questions about a $44 million contract with Deloitte consultants to overhaul a network that has proved problematic since its installation in 2004 at a cost of $223 million. Disclosure of the new federal audit, after an open-records request, comes as legal-aid attorneys continue their pursuit of court sanctions against the state Health Care Policy and Financing Department for delays in processing benefit records. Those delays have exceeded 70 percent of cases in some months…”

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

townsend — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:53:34 +0000

Home heating assistance seen at record high, By Jonathan Fahey (AP), San Jose Mercury News: “High energy prices, high unemployment and a cold winter are prompting a record number of households to seek home heating assistance. The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association will announce Wednesday that 8.9 million households are expected to qualify for financial help this winter, up from 8.3 million last winter. It’s the third year in a row the number of households needing assistance has set a new high. The chief reason is the economy, according to Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of NEADA. ‘We have this group who weren’t poor before the recession, who are poor now and scrambling for whatever they can get,’ Wolfe says. ‘It’s a tough situation.’ Congress doubled funding for the program, called Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, to $5.1 billion two years ago and matched that level last year. Congressional Republicans are expected to try to pare that back during budget negotiations next week…”

Unemployment Benefit Debit Cards

townsend — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:03:05 +0000

States’ unemployment debit cards often carry hidden costs, fees, By Pamela M. Prah, January 20, 2011, Stateline.org: “Like many out-of-work Americans, Philip Tressler gets his unemployment benefits deposited directly into his checking account. He could have received the benefits via a debit card that the state also offers. But Tressler, who was laid off 14 months ago after 32 years working for a grocery distributor in western Pennsylvania, didn’t go for the card. ‘It’s just not convenient,’ he says, especially since he doesn’t use the same bank that issues the state’s debit card. But there’s more than inconvenience at issue when it comes to state debit cards for the unemployed. Had Tressler decided to take one, he might have been subjected to a whole array of extra charges, including $1.50 for each withdrawal of cash from an ATM that isn’t ‘in-network.’ Pennsylvania is among some 30 states that offer debit cards as vehicles for unemployment insurance payments. These cards have their advantages. Workers get their benefits quicker, and states save money. And people without bank accounts can avoid check-cashing fees and make purchases without carrying large amounts of cash…”

Medicaid Computer System - Washington

townsend — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 22:17:11 +0000

New Medicaid computer system plagued with glitches, By Sean Collins Walsh, December 4, 2010, Seattle Times: “Washington’s new computer system for processing Medicaid payments is failing to pay so many valid claims that several doctors and clinics have stopped taking new Medicaid patients until they get paid for the ones they’ve already treated. Others say they may need to do the same, or even stop treating Medicaid patients altogether. The Web-based program, ProviderOne, was $54 million more expensive and three years later than planned when it launched in May, replacing a mainframe system for processing claims submitted by health-care providers on behalf of the state’s poorest patients…”

Telecommunications in Developing Nations

townsend — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 21:22:09 +0000

Nokia taking a rural road to growth, By Kevin O’Brien, November 1, 2010, New York Times: “On Saturday at dawn, hundreds of farmers near Jhansi, an agricultural center in central India, received a succinct but potent text message on their cellphones: the current average wholesale price for 100 kilograms of tomatoes was 600 rupees. In a country where just 7 percent of the population have access to the Internet, such real-time market data is so valuable that the farmers are willing to pay $1.35 a month for the information. What is unusual about the service is the company selling it: Nokia, the Finnish cellphone leader, which unlike its rivals - Samsung, LG, Apple, Research In Motion and Sony Ericsson - is leveraging its size to focus on some of the world’s poorest consumers. Since 2009, 6.3 million people have signed up to pay Nokia for commodity data in India, China and Indonesia. On Tuesday, Nokia plans to announce it is expanding the program, called Life Tools, part of its Ovi mobile services business, to Nigeria…”

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Enrollment

townsend — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:17:00 +0000

Recession officially over, use of food stamps stays at record high, By Husna Haq, October 26, 2010, Christian Science Monitor: “Before the recession, Mary Ellen Hayden was living an active New York City life. She worked days at a corporate job, nights as a professional singer, taught as a substitute on occasion - and all as she was finishing her certification in secondary English education. Then the recession hit and Ms. Hayden found herself out of a job and living on a shoestring budget in the most expensive city in the US. ‘Things were drying up left and right,’ says Hayden, who had completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at private universities in the Northeast. When a friend told her she could qualify for food stamps, she hesitated, but not for long. ‘I was surprised it existed for me,’ says Hayden, who moved recently to more-affordable Rochester, N.Y. ‘And embarrassed because I’d never done it before. You think, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope no one sees me.’ It’s a humbling experience for someone who’s never been on it before.’ The recession introduced millions of Americans to food stamps - many of them, like Hayden, for the first time. Now, more than a year after the recession is officially said to have ended, more Americans than ever are on food stamps, and the trend is higher still…”

Electronic Benefit Transfers and Bank Fees - California

townsend — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:28:13 +0000

Welfare recipients pay banks millions in fees, By Marisa Lagos, October 15, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle: “Banks are making nearly $1.5 million a month in fees by charging California welfare recipients to withdraw their benefits using ATMs and debit cards - an amount that has nearly doubled since 2008. The sharp increase comes as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration has made cracking down on fraud in the state’s welfare-to-work program a priority, most recently by barring use of welfare debit cards at casinos and cruise ships after media reports revealed that nearly $70 million in benefits had been withdrawn outside the state since 2007. Advocates for the poor say that while Schwarzenegger has rightly cracked down on such abuses, he has failed to curb another source of waste: escalating bank fees that take money from needy families and from the California businesses where that money would otherwise flow. By the end of this year, they estimate, more than $38 million will have been transferred from poor families to banks in the form of ATM and debit fees over the past three years. For example, in 2008, according to state figures, banks collected $10.1 million in fees from welfare recipients; this year, they are on track to collect more than $15 million. In June 2008, recipients paid out $833,000; banks collected $1.44 million the same month this year…”

Fuel Poverty in the UK

townsend — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:21:31 +0000

Rise in fuel poverty is a ‘national scandal’, By Graham Snowdon, October 14, 2010, The Guardian: “A senior charity executive has described the increase in fuel poverty as ‘a national scandal’ after official figures released today showed that the number of fuel-poor families rose to 4.5m in 2008, around one in six of all UK households. A fuel-poor family is defined as one that has to spend more than 10% of its income on heating its home to a decent standard. According to the latest data in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) statistics, an extra half a million households fell into this category from 2007-2008. The Annual Report on Fuel Statistics 2010 showed vulnerable households in the UK as a whole - around three-quarters of homes - were especially hard-hit, with fuel poverty in these homes rising to 3.75m in 2008, up by 500,000 from the previous year…”
Fuel poverty doubles in five years, By Harry Wollop, October 14, 2010, The Telegraph: “With the average British fuel bill climbing to well over £1,000 a year - for many pensioners the largest bill they have to pay all year - a worryingly large number of people are struggling to keep their homes warm. A household is defined as being fuel poor if it has to spend 10 per cent or more of its income on paying to keep the home adequately warm. In 2003 the number of households hit a low of two million, but it climbed to four million in 2007 and then 4.5 million in 2008, the figures for which were published today by the Department of Energy & Climate Change…”

Cash Assistance Spent Out-of-State - California

townsend — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:36:14 +0000

$69 million in California welfare money drawn out of state, By Jack Dolan, October 4, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “More than $69 million in California welfare money, meant to help the needy pay their rent and clothe their children, has been spent or withdrawn outside the state in recent years, including millions in Las Vegas, hundreds of thousands in Hawaii and thousands on cruise ships sailing from Miami. State-issued aid cards have been used at hotels, shops, restaurants, ATMs and other places in 49 other states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, according to data obtained by The Times from the California Department of Social Services. Las Vegas drew $11.8 million of the cash benefits, far more than any other destination. The money was accessed from January 2007 through May 2010. Welfare recipients must prove they can’t afford life’s necessities without government aid: A single parent with two children generally must earn less than $14,436 a year to qualify for the cash assistance and becomes ineligible once his or her income exceeds about $20,000, said Lizelda Lopez, spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services…”

Welfare Eligibility System - Indiana

townsend — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:31:56 +0000

Welfare boss says backlog, errors fall, By Ken Kusmer (AP), Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Indiana human services chief Anne Murphy told a legislative panel Tuesday that the face-to-face contact for clients that she has added to the state’s error-plagued welfare automation system is showing success, but lawmakers said many problems remain. Murphy, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said error rates are down and the percentage of new applications for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits on backlog has fallen by 83 percent or more in southwest and west-central Indiana after her agency made the changes in those two regions. ‘Hybrid is what’s driving down this percentage,’ Murphy told the Medicaid Oversight Commission. FSSA rolled out the ‘hybrid’ system to 10 southwest counties in January and 11 west-central counties in June. The agency added 16 more southern counties this month…”