Six months ago Governor Douglas, without scissors but nonetheless with great media fanfare opened a shiny new computerized clearing house for government assistance that included the 3SquaresVT food assistance program (formerly food stamps).
Mission accomplished! Almost before the paint was dry Vermont Chief Technology Officer Tom Evslin, self-described government handyman (who left the administration in September) declared the Benefit Service Center a possible template for state government reorganization saying:
“We can move quickly to replicate it in other parts of state government”
Can more be done with less? The goal was a new streamlined system for the 180,000 Vermonters who rely on these programs. Consolidation was key as the center was formed. Economic Services Department cut back on staffing, 30 positions were cut. The state was to rely on community action councils to take up the slack for “customers”.
Fast forward: Community advocates from the Hunger Council call the situation a “crisis”
The online application form wasn’t available until Oct. 4. Wait times for the 1-800 number average 5 minutes, but in some cases can take as long as 20 minutes, according to Steve Dale, commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.
Vermonters have had to make repeated calls to the center in order to file an application or find out whether their information has been processed. (The new “paperless” system doesn’t have a notification system letting applicants know where their virtual paperwork is in the process.)
Dale said in an interview with Vtdigger.com that 40 percent of Vermonters who have applied had seen a delay in food stamps eligibility determination of more than 30 days. He said the total number of applicants affected by the glitches in the new system numbered in the “hundreds.”
The Central Vermont Council on Aging released a statement saying the Douglas/Dubie administration’s “lack of planning and foresight has negatively affected both our staff and our clients.”
Governor Douglas is currently touring Asia on a 14 day trip drumming up EB-5 investments for Vermont businesses.
As chair of the Governor’s Commission on Healthy Aging Lt.Gov.Brian Dubie (now acting governor?) hasn’t had any comment on the current difficulties the elderly are now having with access to benefits.
Is Dubie now listening? This summer after a well publicized statewide listening tour focused on healthy aging issues he declared:“I have made it a priority to make our state a place where all older Vermonters can enjoy a good quality of life.”
People put a lot of faith in the power of technology to create efficiency. It certainly does have that potential, but only if, as with other tools, you implement it correctly.
I hate to be cynical, but here it seems that the plan was to “put everything on computer” for Efficiency Theater, with no plan to actually deliver services efficiently. Just look like you’re doing something, and get to cut jobs at the same time!
Please do not blame the frontline employees for any of this mess. They feel as badly about the cluster it’s become as anyone. All they can do is watch while the many chiefs (and contractors) tell the fewer and fewer frontline employees what to do-and then instruct them to try and mop up the resulting mess. Someone should ask how much is being spent right now by DCF on temps, overtime and more and more long distance phone calls. You have to think that all of these measures are adding up to additional money being spent that was supposed to be saved by this streamlining. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to the employees watching it play out. Is this an example of what lies ahead for other agencies/depts held to the Challenges for Change mandate? Hope not.
Not much chance when you can’t get through. Too few lines and workers in a time of increased need.
And, BTW, some of the job of the frontline workers has been dumped onto librarians — because when you don’t have money to eat, the place you access 3SquaresVT online is at your friendly local neighborhood library’s computer and Internet. Navigating the website and the forms is far from straightforward.
Have librarians been asked if they were willing to take on or trained for this responsibility? Speaking as a local library trustee, I can tell you they/we have not!
This is what a Republican future looks like, folks. Dump responsibilities onto the lowest level without ever acknowledging that’s what you’re doing. Just like cutting the state’s education property tax (or shifting non-educational expenses into that fund) and dumping the expense onto the local property tax.
Tax shifting. Yup. Republicans are a tax shifty group alright.
NanuqFC
It’s not the Democrats who are picking your pocket – but the Republicans, who refuse to spend it for the common good, instead putting it in their own pockets! ~ Anonymous
…he thinks we could save money by getting people who need services to give up because they can’t get through.
“We can move quickly to get the hell out of here before the whole thing collapses.”
And, having left in September, he obviously took his own advice.
“Is this an example of what lies ahead for other agencies/depts held to the Challenges for Change mandate?”
Yep. This has all been planned from the beginning. Douglas knew that this would happen. He wanted it to happen. Dubie knew it would be this way.
Thanks for that BP. Douglas screwed us again.