Financial Assistance Services
Financial Assistance Services administers programs that provide economic support to single adults and families by helping to meet basic needs. The department determines initial and ongoing eligibility for economic assistance programs including cash assistance, food support, medical assistance, childcare and emergency assistance. Staff communicate program rules and requirements to clients as well as to internal and external social service providers and community agencies. Additionally, Financial Assistance Services connects residents to community resources to meet their needs beyond the economic assistance programs that the county administers.
Increasing talent, attraction and retention
Financial Assistance Services continues to be intentional about its hiring practices. More than 60% of the department’s staff and 40% of leadership identify as racially or ethnically diverse. Staff turnover increased greatly in 2022 and has stayed high, likely due to neighboring counties offering fully remote work, stress from increasing applications and change in leadership.
Strategies to increase talent attraction, retention and promotion include a Professional Elder Mentorship Program that connects staff to community elders for support and career guidance, workgroups consisting of staff and leadership focused on improving onboarding and training, and partnering with community programs and colleges to recruit employees with invested interest. Additionally, the department is collecting resignation data from staff exiting to inform hiring and retention methods. To ease workload, FAS has brought on more temporary workers, increased the number of clerks, and implemented a new electronic case file management system in July 2024 to streamline operations and create efficiencies for staff.
This measure supports Aligning talent attraction, retention and promotion.
Procurement spending to small businesses, woman owned businesses, minority owned businesses and/or veteran owned businesses
Financial Assistance Services’ percentage of spending with small businesses who are certified through the Central Certification Program (CERT) is small because a large amount of the department’s contracts are with government agencies and non-profits. Advancing this measure is important to help small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses increase competitiveness and create jobs.
To increase the department’s percentage of spending with CERT businesses, leadership will consult the CERT list when searching for services such as trainings and employee development offerings and work with procurement to ensure small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses that we already work with have the resources to become CERT certified.
This measure supports Intergenerational prosperity for racial and economic inclusion.
Percentage of Emergency Assistance (EA) and Emergency General Assistance (EGA) applications approved
Emergency Assistance (EA) and
Emergency General Assistance (EGA) programs help with shelter, such as damage deposit or past due
rent/mortgage and help pay for utilities when there is threat of disconnection
to electricity, heat, and water.
The
criteria for EA and EGA programs ensure that those most in need receive
support. These requirements can be challenging for applicants to meet, leading
to lower approval rates. The application process is thorough and complex. It
can be difficult for applicants to gather all necessary documents or fully
understand the forms, which can result in incomplete applications and lower
chances of approval. The denial rate includes all applications where Emergency
Assistance is checked. Applicants may believe their need is an emergency but
may not meet the criteria for the programs. Applications submitted by
individuals that don’t qualify impacts approval rates and the efficiency of
processing.
To enhance
the effectiveness of the EA and EGA programs, we are undertaking a
comprehensive review of the current policies. The goal is to identify and
implement changes that will increase approval rates and ensure that more
residents receive the critical support they need during times of
crisis. Targeted improvements include eligibility criteria, reducing application complexity, and increasing awareness and understanding of the
programs.
This measure supports Residents
First - Effective, Efficient, and Accessible Operations.
Expedited
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications processed timely by language
SNAP is a program for residents with limited resources to purchase food. Timely processing of expedited applications helps ensure that residents' basic need for food is met. FAS has implemented several strategies to improve the timeliness of application processing, however, increased application volume, high caseloads, workforce shortages, inefficient workflows, and scan center delays have all contributed to lower performance over the last few years. More information can be found about FAS’s application volume, backlog and work to improve timeliness on the FAS Operational Statistics Dashboard. FAS implemented a new electronic casefile management system in July 2024 with more efficient workflows and a better screening and application assignment process.
Timeliness improved overall in 2023, however, non-English speaking applicants experience less timely processing than English speaking applicants. Several factors contribute to decreased timeliness for non-English speaking groups including additional barriers to accessing required verifications and delays in communication. Most notices are sent in English, requiring additional steps for non-English speaking applicants in order to connect with interpreter services to translate forms. Client communications sent back to case workers may also need to be translated causing further delays in service.
This measure supports Advancing racial and health equity and shared community power.
