State Health and human services officials say they’re preparing a response to the warning they’ve received from the federal government. Aa federal agency has threatened to decrease administrative funding for food stamps.
The U.S. Food and Nutrition Service sent a letter asking the state for a corrective action plan to fix its glitch new benefits system, UHIP . Health and human services director Melba Depena Affigne says one of the biggest problems they have to address is the number of people who are waiting too long for benefits.
We know, because I’m in the field offices, the most frequent reason why people come back to the office is there was not enough benefits on their card when they know they were entitled to more, or they applied two weeks ago and they have not heard anything about the status of their application.”
Depena Affigne says she does not know how many Rhode Islanders fit this description. But she says there’s an emergency process in place to help Rhode Islanders who need food immediately.
Federal officials have given Rhode Island’s health and human service agency two weeks to submit a corrective action plan for its new online benefits system. If the deadline isn’t met, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service says it could cut federal administrative funding for food stamps. Director Depena Affigne says she doesn’t believe that will happen.
“I am very confident that we will be able to provide the information they need and we will not get to the point where federal funding will be removed.”
The federal agency’s letter to Rhode Island officials expressed strong concerns about long wait times for clients, overcrowded field offices, and the difficulty staff are having using the new system.