Сотрудники программы экономической помощи Северной Дакоты отработали 13 000 часов сверхурочно для ликвидации очереди заявлений

FARGO — Employees for North Dakota’s Economic Assistance program worked roughly 13,000 hours of overtime in two months to catch up on a backlog of applications, a state official said. Human Services zones across the state required eligibility employees for Economic Assistance to work eight to 12 extra hours a week on the backlog starting June 1, according to a May 27 email sent from Ward County Human Service Zone Director Kristi Frederick to directors in North Dakota’s 19 Human Services zones. Frederick serves on the North Dakota Economic Assistance Task Force. ADVERTISEMENT The Forum obtained multiple emails about the overtime initiative from the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through an open records request. The May 27 email listed talking points for zone directors to discuss with supervisors and program managers. All staff in the program were notified about the requirement the next day, according to the email. “Information and data change so rapidly, and we find ourselves in what seems to be a perpetual state of adaptation,” the email said. “Your willingness to engage and support efforts to get benefits to citizens is greatly appreciated. Thank you also for the commitment to support overtime to address the backlog through the basically unanimous roll call vote.” Overtime stopped on Aug. 3 and totaled about $500,000, said Rebecca Askins, interim economic assistance director at HHS. Human Services zones will determine how to cover those costs, she said. Economic Assistance oversees requests for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Eligibility employees determine which applicants are eligible for Economic Assistance programs, Askins said. More than 27,000 North Dakota households use SNAP, according to HHS. LIHEAP has the second most clients with 9,616 households, followed by 3,716 in CCAP and 932 in TANF. Economic Assistance must meet certain federal deadlines in approving or rejecting applications, Askins said. For example, a Human Services zone must decide if a household is eligible for SNAP, excluding emergency applications, within 30 days of applying, according to federal law. ADVERTISEMENT Ideally, the majority of Economic Assistance requests should be processed in 14 days or less, Askins said. The state needs to be in federal compliance, Askins said. Meeting those deadlines also means those who need assistance are receiving it in a timely manner, she said. Multiple reasons can generate a backlog, Askins said. She noted there has been an influx of applications. “With watching the extent of the backlog continuing to grow, that's why the decision was made to do the overtime so that we could try and clear some of that out and sort of create that kind of clean slate, if you will, so that we were working from normal or regular workloads and forward,” she said. A zone director encouraged other zone directors to reach out to retired or separated eligibility employees about temporarily working on the backlog, according to one email. Askins said she is unaware if any zones brought back retired or separated employees. The overtime has helped clear that backlog, Askins said. A June 26 email said the initiative helped process 10,000 additional work items through June 19. “Your tremendous efforts are making a difference,” Frederick wrote in that email. “Take a few minutes to engage in some celebration!” ADVERTISEMENT Overtime was paused June 29 through July 3, Frederick noted. The state still had a backlog as of June 25, she wrote. “As of yesterday (June 25), there were approximately 8,300 items sitting in queues, and roughly 4,500 of those are overdue now,” Frederick wrote. “The end of the month and start of a new month are rapidly approaching and both cause an uptick; it is crucial to really see the numbers drop. We ask that workers and supervisors really focus on processing items timely — keeping work flowing and nothing over 15 days past the received date.” Askins said the overtime initiative has made a difference, and she is encouraged about the conversations on how the backlog happened. Along with looking at long-term solutions, zones are closely monitoring workloads in an effort to prevent future backlogs, she said. “I am pleased with the work that was done and the ability to work through those items,” she said.