Official: Revamp to trim fraud, wait

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Nov 7, 2009 - Page: 10A

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The state’s revamped disaster food stamp program is expected to reduce long waits and decrease fraud, an official with the Department of Social Services said.

“It’s an easy to use Web-based system that should improve our processes,” said Sammy Guillory, deputy assistant secretary in the agency’s Office of Family Support.

Disaster food stamps provide assistance to eligible low-to-moderate-income households that need help buying groceries after a catastrophic event. Regular food stamp recipients will automatically receive additional benefits if they are eligible.

The new computer program was donated by Cúram Software, and DSS dedicated $1 million of a federal award it received in the regular food stamp program to the system.

Residents can now pre-apply for disaster food stamps online or by phone.

Pre-applying does not guarantee benefits and exact requirements for the program are determined after the disaster and are based on location and income. But pre-applying will save time and avoid long lines for assistance after a disaster, Guillory said.

Residents who have pre-applied can come to disaster food stamp issuance sites and only have to swipe their driver’s license or verify their identity, finalize their eligibility and get a food stamp card, he said.

The agency’s previous computer system buckled under the volume of applications after hurricanes Gustav and Ike last year. DSS partnered with Florida to use its Internet-based system as a backup while Louisiana’s system was being reworked.

The newly designed system has been tested to handle 40,000 applications a day and has been reviewed by federal officials, Guillory said.

“We’ve passed all of their tests,” he said. “We’re confident that it will work.

As part of the new process, DSS has also partnered with six other states to share data on both regular and disaster food stamps, Guillory said.

The agency will receive files of all the food stamp recipients from each state so no one receives duplicate benefits, he said. In the past, DSS shared that type of information with only one other state, he said.

Even with the double-checks, the department has to remain diligent in preventing employee fraud, Guillory said.