2009 Quality Assurance Family Independence Review

What’s New  Telephone Contact with County before the on-site review  Observation of Building exterior and interior  Fair Hearing  Recertifications (½ Approved, ½ Closed)  Cases will be cited as correct or incorrect  Increase in the number of cases to be reviewed (20 per category)  Promising Practice for Program Access Initiatives  Review Schedule (Regional Concept)  Quality Improvement Plans (Regional)  Automated Forms  Food Stamp Posting in the lobby of the right to same day filing and explanation of the Food Stamp application processing standards

County Office Survey Submitted before the review usually with the letter Office Organization 1. Is there more than one office or are all functions required for processing food stamp applications and managing case files at this office? 2. Who can apply for assistance at this office (i.e. zip code areas)? 3. What is the approximate food stamp caseload for this office? 4. Have there been any reviews conducted recently (ME/ Special Payment Accuracy/Corrective Action, etc.)? 5. Does this office have its own call center/change center? Does it interface with a regional or statewide call center? If so, how? 6. How does this office interface with the State online application system? Staffing 7. How many staff work on food stamp cases? 8. Is the office fully staffed? If not, are there vacancies? If there are vacancies, how is the workload affected by staff shortages? 9. Are case workers out-stationed to accept food stamp applications or conduct interviews? If yes, how many/where/when? 10. Has there been any staff training conducted recently? What subject? 11. How is the staff organized for food stamp processing? o Generic caseworkers or specialized units/teams/service centers? o How are cases assigned (one big caseload; last name; round robin; language; etc)? 12. Does this office conduct supervisory case reviews, or is there a separate team that does second party case reviews? Application Availability and Submission 13. What is the procedure for giving applications to people who come into the office to ask about food stamps? 14. For telephone applications, are there phones available to apply at the local office? 15. Is there a secure drop box? Inside or outside the office? 16. Who assigns date or receipt for electronic applications and paper applications that are dropped off, mailed, or faxed? Application Screening and Interviews 17. Who screens applications for expedited service and how? At what step in the application process? 18. On average, how many days from the application filing date are interviews scheduled for expedited service applicants? 19. On average, how many days from the application filing date are interviews scheduled for non-expedited service applicants? Customer Service 20. Does this office keep a log of customer complaints? Notices 21. What notices (State/local forms) can we expect to find in the case files for: o New approvals o Denials o Terminations o Recertifications

County Observations Observation of county office functions will be reviewed to determined if barriers to applying for programs exist. The review will include observation of the following: Office location accessibility and operating hours Building accessibility for the elderly and disabled persons Required information posted in the waiting rooms Designated telephones to a call center Application processing procedures Receptionist and Screener functions Availability of program information

Promising Practice for Program Access Initiatives Those counties that show an increase in participation based on the State Office’s participation rate currently at 59.65% will be collected as promising practices for exceeding the State’s standard.

QIP DUE FOR REGION # of Counties Reviewed Month of last county reviewed QIP DUE 45 DAYS AFTER LAST REVIEW Region 14JuneAug-09 Region 26JulySep-09 Region 36DecemberFeb-09 Region 46JanuaryMar-09 Region 56SeptemberNov-09 Region 65AprilJun-09 Region 76SeptemberNov-09 Region 86FebruaryApr-09 Region 95JulySep-09 Region 107JuneAug-09 Region 117FebruaryApr-09 Region 127SeptemberNov-09 Region 13 6 (5 Service Centers & MES)MayJul-09 Region 141MarchMay-09 Region 152MarchMay-09 Region 163AprilJun-09 Region 173FebruaryApr-09

If you have any questions, feel free to ask your Reviewers. They will be more than glad to assist. This is a new process us all, but we can get through it!

The Beginning