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Alachua County Food Stamp Hotline

Alachua County Food Stamp Hotline. A partnership between DCF Circuit 8 and The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners. December 2008-August 2009. Project Final Report. Why did we need a Food Stamp Hotline?.

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Alachua County Food Stamp Hotline

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  1. Alachua County Food Stamp Hotline A partnership between DCF Circuit 8 and The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners December 2008-August 2009 Project Final Report

  2. Why did we need a Food Stamp Hotline? • Local FS participation rates were below national averages which resulted in a loss of potential benefits for citizens and loss of income for the local economy • PRAB Members questioned ability of local citizens to seek assistance at DCF ACCESS Service Centers and via the ACCESS Call Center in Jacksonville • Locally and across the state we were seeing an increase in applications, wait times in lobbies and volume of calls to ACCESS Call Centers • DCF volunteered to provide site and access to trained staff and through funding from the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners we began our Food Stamp Assistance Hotline.

  3. Project Outline • $14,973 requested to fund local call in number to assist Food Stamp applicants and participants to gain access to info about applying for and maintaining their benefits • Approved by BOCC on 11/25/08 • Press Release from County on 12/8/09 • Hotline up and running on 12/8/09 • Thru August 2009 2601calls processed!

  4. Services Provided • Line open from 8 to 5 pm, Mon thru Fri • If line is busy customers can leave message • Messages returned same day • One temp services employee hired and paid by county via Manpower contract • Line is manned by DCF staff if this person is not available • Details of each call were recorded and reviewed by supervisors

  5. Services Provided • Mail applications, directions to application sites in community • Answer questions regarding process and FS policy • Referrals to other agencies as needed • Answer simple case specific questions • Referrals to Call Center for detailed questions regarding ongoing cases • Encouragement and support from a REAL person!

  6. Performance Data Number of Calls per Day N= 2601 Newspaper Sticky Notes

  7. Performance Data Types of Assistance Provided to Customers Only 180 calls sent to CCC

  8. Monthly SNAP ParticipationAlachua County 27.3% Increase Over a similar period of time the NE Region has seen a 16.9% increase in participation rates.

  9. Where do WE go from here…. • Using ARRA Funding DCF will maintain the phone line in Alachua County • New initiatives for improving customer interviews, application processing and internet access to case information are improving services to our customers • Over 2.3 million people in the state of Florida are now receiving Food Stamp Benefits • Innovative ideas and community based partnerships are essential to our programs • Thank you again for making this possible….

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