Thursday, December 10, 2009
Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board
Weary state workers to the rescue
Amid the missteps and system failures that have caused a huge backlog in processing food stamps for the millions of Texans who need them, there are folks who deserve applause: state employees who are working overtime and on weekends so that needy Texans don't go hungry for too long.
The 7,700 food stamp workers have been putting in an average of 13 hours in overtime each week to help catch the state up in enrolling or renewing people in the federal food stamp program administered by the Texas Health and Human Services Department. The state agency has struggled to meet federal guidelines for processing food stamps since 2005, when efforts to privatize the system backfired.
Health and Human Services Executive Director Tom Suehs, who started the job in September, noted the sacrifices of state employees: "It's mothers who can't put their children to bed, parents who miss cheering on their sons and daughters and supervisors who go to sleep wondering about the people who didn't get help that day."
He recently approved 3.5 percent bonuses, which average about $1,000 per employee. At least in this case we can say that the bonuses are well deserved.
State workers are faced with a massive backlog that has left low-income Texans hungry and waiting for weeks and months for government food assistance. Since September, the state agency hired 500 people to help process applications.
State workers also will get a reprieve from mandatory overtime during the holidays so they can spend time with their loved ones. Those are small but significant steps in easing much of the stress state employees have come under as they try to help move Texas out of a ditch that the Legislature dug when it tried to improve a system (that wasn't broken) by privatizing it several years ago.
The wholesale move to privatization failed — but not before major damage had been done to the food assistance program. The agency has hired a different company, Maximus, to run call centers and handle some basic tasks in processing applications. But most of the work again has been shifted to state employees.
The state program began sliding downhill in 2005 after career state workers fled in droves after being told their jobs were being outsourced to private contractors.
The damage is not easily or quickly reversed, and the state is under a directive from the federal government to meet deadline requirements that stipulate applications must be processed within 30 days — seven days for emergencies. Failure to improve could put the food stamp program at risk, federal officials have warned Texas leaders.
State employees, who long have been undervalued for their efforts, are coming to the rescue, sacrificing evenings, weekends and breaks to speed things up — not because there was a bonus in it for them but because Texans are in need.
From August 2008 to August 2009, food stamp rolls nationwide increased by 7 million people, from 29.5 million to 36.5 million, according to federal officials. In Texas, enrollment increased from 2.7 million people to 3 million during that period.
For now, state employees are mopping up a mess left behind by others. We are confident they will put Texas' food stamp program on solid footing again, though it will take time. Give them a hand.