Financial Assistance Services

Operational Statistics Dashboard

This dashboard provides weekly statistics about applications, supplemental documents and call processing timelines for transparency and accountability to the community.

Financial Assistance Services receives and processes applications for cash, child care, emergencies, food and health care.
In addition to processing the applications and needed paperwork, the department staffs a call center to field questions about eligibility, documents received and program and benefits status.
Ramsey County has experienced an unprecedented increase in new applications for financial assistance over the last two years. This increase has been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently the new Department of Human Services Minnesota Benefits (MNbenefits) application system. This increased demand from community, combined with department vacancies, has led to many more phone calls and a growing backlog of applications.
Financial Assistance Services is actively working to address the current challenges to improve service delivery for residents. Some of these efforts include assessing and changing staffing models, addressing workload issues, prioritizing staff retention, advocating for additional staff and funding and modernizing our systems. These changes aim to reduce the application backlog and improve the department’s commitment to Residents First.

Increased applications for cash and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

Prior to 2020, Financial Assistance Services typically received 500-600 new cash and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) applications per week. Since 2020, applications have consistently been double that amount at 1000-1200 applications per week. Currently, there are 37 staff processing these applications. In general, each staff member is expected to process 19 applications per week, and provide additional customer service to residents at least one day a week, in-person, at all the service centers.
The number of weekly applications received below includes applications for cash and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). It excludes Medical Assistance, Child Care Assistance, and some Emergency Assistance and Housing Support (formerly known as Group Residential Housing) applications. 


Application backlog

The increase in applications for cash and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) has led to a significant backlog.
Applications are processed in the order that they are received. The date shown at the right is the date that applications received (on or before) have been assigned to an intake worker. The applicant will then receive a call to complete a phone interview.

Supplemental documents

Many residents need to submit additional documents called verifications to process their application or to continue receiving assistance. These documents are routed through the 'Scan Center.'

More calls

The Financial Assistance Services call center receives thousands of calls each week. Staff communicate program rules and requirements to residents and help residents find community resources to meet their needs beyond the assistance programs that the county administers.
The department is working to change staffing to increase the number of employees available to handle calls. On average, there are 7 employees handling phone calls, each taking 50 calls a day. In addition to adding staff, Financial Assistance Services is currently gathering and analyzing community feedback to help improve resident call center experience.
Calls received refer to all calls that reach the call center queue. The queue holds up to 36 calls at a time. The 37th caller is unable to enter the queue. Calls handled are calls answered by call center employees. Calls abandoned are calls in which the caller hung up before the call was answered. 

View data

Financial Assistance Services is actively working to address the application backlog and call volumes. This is being done by: 
  • Adding more clerical staff to screen and assign new applications and answer calls, freeing up financial workers to process applications.
  • Redeploying staff to assist with identifying duplicate applications, indexing unidentified documents and assigning new applications.
  • Pursuing virtual assistance workstations that will allow residents who walk into the Downtown Saint Paul Service Center to connect virtually with their assigned financial worker.
  • Implemented an “all hands-on-deck” approach where all sections within the department took on some level of Intake applications.
  • Working to hire temporary eligibility workers/financial workers from other counties to work part-time additional hours to help address the application backlog.
  • Optimizing the resident phone experience through targeted research and resident-informed process improvement. This includes a revised call center greeting which decreased the initial message from 2.5 minutes to 1 minute.
This dashboard will continue to be updated as new, innovative solutions are implemented.

To learn more about Financial Assistance Services visit ramseycounty.us/financialassistanceservices.