Illinois’ Automated Phone System Interview

Waiver FNS granted a waiver of the face-to-face interview requirement and authorized us to use the Phone System Interview for recertifications. FNS approved the script prior to initial project approval and has requested accuracy information and other data for us to renew each year.

Project History  Implemented July, 2007 – to households with earnings  Expanded July, 2008 to include non- assistance households  Expanded December, 2009 to Family Medical Cases

Simplified Reporting In Illinois we use 6 month certification periods (as opposed to 12 month certification periods with an interim report at 6 months) One recertification is a face to face interview – regulations require a face to face interview every year One recertification is a mail in

PSI Process Central Notice that benefits are expiring has invite to use PSI and includes: –Special Codes to Access System –Worksheet to follow along with the call –Dates PSI is available

Behind the Scenes Our system sends a daily file of data for every customer that is eligible to call in to our vendor --data includes- details about people in the case, income, housing costs Our vendor sends call data – responses to the questions back to our system

Customer Calls IVR System available 24/7 English/Spanish Speech recognition Can switch to keypad

PSI Interview Script 8-10 minute interview Considered their "signature" when they access system using special codes provided in the notice First ask to confirm accuracy of case name and address (if they say no, they are locked out and cannot use PSI system)

PSI Interview Script (cont) Questions continue about: Household members, student eligibility Income All deductions - shelter, child support deduction, dependent care Change in health insurance Optional survey contains racial/ethnic

PSI Interview Script (cont) System asks customer to confirm accuracy of each answer If system doesn't understand, it will ask again sometimes in a different way If system doesn't understand 3 times, it will disconnect

“Partial” Calls If a caller hangs up or gets disconnected, they can call back same day and script continues where they left off If they hang up and call back another day, it starts over If they call and don't finish, we send a notice The notice tells them they didn't complete and the date they need to reapply for benefits to continue to be timely

Complete Call When customer gets completion number – interview/application is complete If verifications are needed, central notice for verification is generated

Complete Call (cont) System registers the application with a special designator of “P” Appears on office/caseload pending list the following day Call data also transfers to legacy system called Automated Case Management (ACM)

Caseworker Tools Questions asked and customer responses from the call transfer electronically to a web based system called Caseworker Tools that worker can see immediately Verifications needed are highlighted for the worker

Complete Call (con’t) Once verifications are received, worker processes the application

Number of Recertifications With the IL SNAP caseload at 860,000 cases, we send an average of 120,000 notice of expirations each month 73% are invited to use PSI as a way to reapply.

Fast Facts – # of Complete Calls Most recent quarter – we received average of 31,000 complete calls per month 35.4% of those offered opted to used PSI

Fast Facts – After Hours Calls 37.6% of complete calls are done after work hours or on weekends

Fast Facts – Partial Calls Over the last 3 months, we sent an average of 5000 notices each month to callers who started a PSI interview and didn’t finish it the same day.

Customer Survey Results For June, 2011 of over 8800 callers who opted to take the survey: –97.4% said the interview was convenient and easy to use –97.9% said the questions were easy to understand –98.6% said they would use PSI again

Accuracy Quality Control ** For first half of FY 2010 sample, we had 36 reviews done on cases that used PSI for their recertification. **3 cases had errors resulting in an error rate of.2%, 12.7% of the total 1.58% state reported error rate.

Accuracy (continued) ACE reviews - (includes process & documentation errors) PSI Cases reviewed accuracy rate 83.5% Non PSI cases reviewed – accuracy rate 87.5%

Lessons Learned Develop the script you think you want before your vendor comes on board - gives you a starting point Make sure you have a test system Decide up front the reports you need Think about what success looks like Think about what success looks like

Ongoing Costs Telecom Bill for the last 3 months for the toll free lines for PSI averaged $12,000 each month

Questions? Contact: Jan Freeman, Manager Illinois SNAP Director Bureau of Policy Development Illinois Department of Human Services