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

 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.

 $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 calls processed!

 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

 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!

Number of Calls per Day N= 2601 Newspaper Sticky Notes

Types of Assistance Provided to Customers Only 180 calls sent to CCC

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

 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….