Unemployment rates prompt increase in state aid programs

03/06/09 - With high unemployment rates, the state of Rhode Island is seeing an increase in the number of people applying for the nutrition assistance program.Formerly known as the food stamp program, the nutrition assistance program distributes federal food aid to those struggling to make ends meet.

Due to the increase, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) plans to hire nine additional workers for the program.

The hiring is also necessary because of a higher-than-usual increase in retirements in the past year due to changes in the retiree healthcare plan, Amy Kempe, Governor Carcieri's, press secretary said.

She said the nine new workers would be sufficient to handle the department's workload.

"The state does have a 10.3 [percent] unemployment rate, so when you see a higher unemployment rate you tend to see an increase in the number of applications for food stamp benefits and other assistance programs," Kempe said.

Kathleen Gorman, director of the Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America at the University of Rhode Island said that an upswing in the number of families and individuals applying for aid was likely, as the savings and unemployment benefits of the unemployed began to run out.

As director of the Feinstein Center, Gorman also directs the Food Stamp Outreach Project, a program funded through the state that trains service providers and seeks to spread awareness.

As such, Gorman said she has significant contact with the program.

"I probably know more about it than anyone in the state," Gorman said. "And that's not bragging, it's just because we deal with this everyday."

However, Gorman offered a different opinion as to whether the nine new workers would be sufficient.

"It's nowhere near enough, but it's a start," Gorman said.

The loss of employees and the increasing number of people seeking assistance have combined to overburden the program staff, Gorman said.

"People are losing their jobs, they're losing other benefits that they had, so they're needing help, and I think the staff that are there are doing a heroic job, they're working a lot, but they just can't meet the need," she said.

In some cases, the offices have been missing the 30-day federal deadline for responding to applications, Gorman said, describing the strain on the department.

Kempe denied that the office has been unable to meet any deadlines.

"There is a federal requirement that applications must be processed in 30 days and the department is well within those federal guidelines," Kempe said.

The new workers will serve more of a supplementary function.

"The Department of Human Services is well within the guidelines of the 30 days already, however these nine additional employees will [decrease] the processing time as well as handle an increase in the applications we anticipate with the uptick in the unemployment rate as well as with the outreach to the community," Kempe said.

Federal dollars pay for the aid distributed through the program, and the costs of administration are split between the federal and state governments.

The United States Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, conducts regular reviews of application processing timelines as part of its quality control process.

As of the 2007 fiscal year, Rhode Island was 34 in the nation in terms of timeliness, with 86.62 percent of applications processed on time, according to 2008 figures from the USDA.

Gorman, who returned Tuesday from a hunger conference in Washington, D.C., said many states are facing similar challenges with understaffing and increasing demand.

Hunger rates in Rhode Island fall around the national average, Gorman said.

About one out of every eight households in the state have uncertain access to adequate and nutritious food, according to the Feinstein Center's website.

"I think one out of eight households is a huge number, I think we should just be horrified to hear that," Gorman said.