Navigating the Course
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Transcript of Navigating the Course
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Planning for and Working Through Natural Disasters
Louisiana
Navigating the Course
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• Implemented September 2, 2005, four days after landfall
• Accepted DFSP applications statewide• Included 25 Louisiana parishes and several
counties in Mississippi and Alabama for initial benefit month (September 2005)
• Extended DFSP benefits for two months (October and November 2005) for six parishes
DFSP for Katrina
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• Implemented September 29, 2005, five days after landfall
• Accepted DFSP applications statewide• Included 17 Louisiana parishes and several
counties in Texas for initial benefit month (October 2005), of which five parishes “overlapped” with the Katrina DFSP
• Extended DFSP benefits for one month (November 2005) for ten parishes
DFSP for Rita
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• Supplements to raise allotments to maximum allotments for regular FSP recipients
• Automated mass replacement FSP benefits for lost food (percentage based on time of month disaster occurred)
• Inclusion of “hot food” as an eligible food• Elimination of staggered issuance schedule to allow
regular FSP recipients to receive benefits on first day of month
• Automated extension of certification periods for redeterminations of regular FSP cases
Waivers for Katrina/Rita DFSPs
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• Elimination of Semi-Annual Reporting forms for DFSP months
• Elimination of change reporting requirements during DFSP months
• Extension of DFSP application period• Addition of parishes to DFSP• Additional month(s) of DFSP and regular FSP
supplements• Elimination of Quality Control reviews for DFSP
months
Waivers for Katrina/Rita (cont’d)
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$409,387,689(DFSP & Regular FSP Supplemental
and Replacement Benefits)
Total Benefit Issuance for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
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Katrina 345,441
Rita 151,146
TOTAL 496,587
DFSP Households
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• Developed and published general DFSP policy and system guide
• Enhanced DFSP system to includeName, SSN, and DOB for all HH membersCase StatusBenefit MonthName of Authorized Representative
• Secured sites to operate DFSP outside of local offices
• Created a Quality Assurance Team to monitor parish office procedures to ensure program integrity in the DFSP
Changes After Katrina and Rita
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DFSP for Gustav
• Implemented September 9, 2008, 8 days after landfall
• Accepted DFSP applications statewide• Utilized approximately 65 DFSP application sites• Included 43 Louisiana parishes for initial benefit
month (September 2008)• Extended DFSP benefits for one month (October
2008) for 7 parishes
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DFSP for Ike
• Implemented September 22, 2008, 9 days after landfall
• Accepted DFSP applications statewide• Utilized approximately 34 DFSP application sites• Included 14 Louisiana parishes and evacuees
from FEMA-declared Texas counties for initial benefit month (September 2008)
• All 14 Ike parishes were also Gustav parishes, so most DFSP cases were certified in the Gustav DFSP
• Extended DFSP benefits for one month (October 2008) for 7 parishes
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• Pre-landfall issuance of September 2008 regular FSP benefits
• Supplements to raise allotments to maximum allotments for regular FSP recipients
• Automated mass replacement FSP benefits for lost food (percentage based on time of month disaster occurred)
• Inclusion of “hot food” as an eligible food• Elimination of staggered issuance schedule to allow
regular FSP recipients to receive benefits on first day of month
• Automated extension of certification periods for redeterminations of regular FSP cases
Waivers for Gustav/Ike DFSPs
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• Elimination of Semi-Annual Reporting forms for DFSP months
• Elimination of change reporting requirements during DFSP months
• Extension of DFSP application period• Addition of parishes to DFSP• Additional month(s) of DFSP and regular
FSP supplements
Waivers for Gustav/Ike (cont’d)
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$302,388,733(DFSP & Regular FSP Supplemental
and Replacement Benefits)
Total Benefit Issuance for Hurricanes Gustav and Ike
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Gustav 562,058
Ike 5,472
TOTAL 567,530
DFSP Households
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Louisiana DFSP for Gustav and Ike
•Approximately 2.7 million (in a state with a population of approximately 4.2 million) people received either regular Food Stamp or DFSP benefits in Sept. 2008
•Over 985,000 calls processed through the IVR in Sept. 2008
•The following areas were identified for enhancement:
Reduction in the amount of time each client spends in line at sites
Reduction in the amount of “wait time” to receive benefits
Prevention of fraud and duplicate participation
Reduction in the number of applicants at sites on specific days
Enhanced timeliness and accuracy of EBT benefit issuance
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Past Process
Process completed –
not eligible for benefits
Worker determines eligibility
Client arrives at site
Client completes
paper application
Client completes
interview with worker
Different worker
provides EBT card
Benefits issued to card night of the
day of application entry
Information entered into mainframe
system
Paper application driven/shipped to
data entry site
Process completed – eligible for
benefits
Yes
No
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Past Process Concerns
• If errors occur on paper application, data entry worker must call client to correct errors
• Worker determines eligibility and potential benefits using a table
• Benefit calculation done manually and could be incorrect• Duplicate participation could occur• Client may have to return to site to address errors• Information may be transposed or entered incorrectly• Application delivery process problematic
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Louisiana D-SNAP Preparations Following Gustav and Ike
• Outreach activities with community partners
• Implementation and promotion of the pre-application process and tool
• Agreements formalized with D-SNAP sites across state
• Sites identified with proper technology
• Sites hardwired for internet connections
• Site set-ups packaged for quick transport and set-up
• Site set-up drills conducted to enhance process
• Applicants will come to sites based on an alphabetical system
• Enhanced D-SNAP System with pre-application and card swipe technology
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Louisiana D-SNAP Call Center
Louisiana has implemented a Call Center that includes the following components:
An Interactive Voice Response System to provide information on the program
Customer Service Representatives to support the pre-application process and to assist the applicant with completion of the application via the telephone
Customer Service Representatives to provide support and information on the program
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Louisiana D-SNAP Citizen Portal
Louisiana has implemented a web-based citizen portal to allow citizens to complete a D-SNAP pre-application:
Citizens can complete the application prior to coming to a D-SNAP site
Citizens can pre-apply at any time during the year using web-based technology, allowing citizens to apply when necessary information is readily available
Application remains on-line and can be reused in another disaster
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Louisiana D-SNAP Worker Portal
Louisiana has implemented a web-based worker portal providing the following benefits:
When applicants arrive at the D-SNAP site, their pre-application will be accessed through the system and information will only have to be validated and updated instead of creating an entire new application
Allows the worker to see pre-application information on a summary screen during the face-to-face interview with the client and to make necessary changes
If the applicant has not pre-applied, information is entered into the system when the applicant is present, reducing errors and the need to send paper applications to a central processing site and reducing duplication of effort, errors, and “wait time” to benefits
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Louisiana D-SNAP Card Swipe
Louisiana has implemented a card swipe technology to expedite the processes at the site:
If the client has completed an on-line pre-application, the worker can swipe the drivers’ license or state identification card verifying identity and automatically pulling the pre-application up in the system
Louisiana has implemented card swipe technology to support EBT processing
Eligibility for benefits is determined while the applicant is on-site
EBT cards can be swiped at the site to verify card numbers and allow card numbers to be automatically entered into the system (reducing potential errors)
EBT cards can be provided to applicants on-site with benefits loaded by the next day
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Louisiana D-SNAP Technology
Louisiana has implemented duplicate participation checks with other states:
Files are received from surrounding states and loaded to the system for duplicate participation checks across both disaster and regular SNAP files
States participating in the process include: Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida, and Alabama
Case members and heads of households are checked against Louisiana disaster and regular SNAP eligibility and benefit files
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Enhanced Process
Pre-application completed using
on-line Citizen Portal.
Client comes to site for
interview.
Client completes application
with worker.
Pre-application completed?
No
Driver’s license or state ID
swiped to pull up application
Enter different line for EBT card
issuance.
Worker checks
system for eligible case.
Worker swipes EBT card and
assigns to client. Receives
confirmation of eligible case.
Worker uses summary screen
to review information and make updates.
System determines
eligibility and benefits
Process completed – not eligible for benefits.
Benefits loaded to card that night after addition
duplicate participation
checks.
Yes
Yes
No
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Process Enhancements• Pre-application speeds process as only updates and
corrections must be entered and completed• Driver’s license and state ID card used for identity
verification and to pull up application• Eligibility and benefit amounts determined by
system• Duplicate participation check conducted on-site with
other states and Louisiana regular and disaster SNAP
• Errors corrected and validation that case is correct and that client is eligible while client is on-site
• Proactive error reduction measures improve customer service
• EBT card swipe enters card # into system, reducing possibility of errors
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Louisiana D-SNAP Contingency Plans
Louisiana has implemented the following contingency plans if no power or connectivity exists and L’AMI is operational:
Paper applications can be taken and entered into L’AMI.
Louisiana has implemented the following contingency plans if L’AMI is not operational and Citizen and Worker Portal are operational:
Citizen and Worker Portals utilized and confirmation comes in batch process when L’AMI is operational
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Hurricane Isaac
• Implemented September 5, 2012, seven days after landfall
• Initial D-SNAP approval for nine Louisiana parishes
• Total of 21 Louisiana parishes approved
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D-SNAP Pre-Applications
• July 2012 28,309
• August 2012 62,238
• September 2012 371,894
• October 2012 372,478
• Currently 374,201
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Waivers for Isaac DSNAP
• Supplements to raise allotments to maximum allotments for regular SNAP recipients
• Automated mass replacement SNAP benefits for lost food (percentage based on time of month disaster occurred)
• Inclusion of “hot food” as an eligible food• Elimination of staggered issuance schedule to allow
regular SNAP recipients to receive benefits on first day of month
• Automated extension of certification periods for redeterminations of regular SNAP cases
• Elimination of Semi-Annual Reporting forms for two months
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Alphabet Schedule
• Day 1 A – C
• Day 2 D – G
• Day 3 H – L
• Day 4 M – R
• Day 5 S – Z
• Day 6 A – M
• Day 7 N – Z
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Social Media
How did we let the public know about D-SNAP and site/alphabet information?
• DCFS Webpage
• Public Service Announcements
• News/Radio
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Hurricane Isaac Affected Households
D-SNAP Certifications: 263,916
Supplements: 121,277
Replacements: 201,632
Total number of Payments Issued: 586,825
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Total Benefit Issuance for Hurricane Isaac
$140,390,819(DSNAP & Regular SNAP
Supplemental and Replacement Benefits)
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Paper Process vs. Automated Process
First Day of Application Processing
Jefferson Orleans
Cases Benefits Cases Benefits
Gustav 23 $7,111 33 $9,584
Isaac 3,565 $1,598,627 3,896 $1,348,706
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Smart Technology
All applications must have a corresponding “pre-application”– Use your smart phone or tablet to the pre-app
online– Use your cell phone to call the call center and
have the CSR enter your data for you
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Off-Site vs. Local Office
Advantages for Off-Site• More parking• Better traffic controls• “Regular” work continues with skeleton crew• D-SNAP clients not mixed in with “regular” clients• Logistics for handling larger crowds• Create staging areas• Neutral site determined with local officials
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Off-Site vs. Local Office
Advantages for Local Office
• No rental fee• Computer access• Connectivity established
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More changes…
Beginning with Hurricane season 2013 and going forward, all D-SNAP sites will follow
the Incident Command System.
Each site has already identified all key positions and roles and all personal will be
trained in their role.
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Contact Information
Kim Matherne
Louisiana Department of Social Services
(225) 219-2428