GENERAL SESSION - FNS Arbitrations and TAG

SNAP - QC Arbitrations

Nancy Beca-Stepan, FNS

PowerPoint is on-line

Arbitrations are individual decisions. They do not set policy.

Only supported in disagree decisions.  Limited to point(s) of disagreement.

Chapter 14 of 310

Documentation must include regional disagree letter, review forms with attachments, legible copies of all case record materials, applicable policy and procedural information (link is acceptable)

Cover letter - big picture descriptions and explanation of your position.  Provide contact details.

Once received, it evaluated for timeliness of submission.

SNAP TAG 

Stephanie Proska and Mary Black-Finke, FNS

PowerPoint is on-line

2014 Rates:  Active 3.66%   Negative 26.30%

TAG receives communication about proposed changes and submits input

Quality Control Integrity Reviews - will be visiting 8 states (VA, VT, WA, MO, FL, CT, TX and NJ)

Looking at possible bias (cases being treated differently)  Hoping to turn into a QC ME process

ABAWDS - 310 Chapter 8 pages 8-28 through 8-30.  Training will be posted on PartnerWeb. Guide was created by certification policy and is on web.

Completion Rates:  For 2014, national rate was 91.91%  If you need help, contact regional office and use training on PartnerWeb.  Corrective action required for 95% or lower.

Report will be published in the fall.

Regression:  In 315 Handbook - regulations at 275.23

310 Handbook Updates will be published in 2016.  Clean-up primarily.

 

 

  

DataBuilder's See's Candy Winners

DataBuilders See's Candy WINNERS

Christine Hurschman - Delaware

Kay Wyatt - South Carolina

Christa Phillips - DC

Mattie Pounds - DC

BREAKOUT SESSION - CAPER Results and Where Do We Go From Here - 8/12 1:30pm

Breakout Session - CAPER Results from the Past and Where We Go From Here

Jessica Shahin, Stephanie Proska - FNS

Jeri Flora - Florida 

Cheryle Thompson - Texas

Q:  How is Congress viewing the CAPER? A:  FNS has received no inquiries from them

Jeri Flora, Florida - PowerPoint

CAPER required a major Philosophical Change.  States weren't adequately prepared.

How useful is data generated by CAPER review?  Able to strengthen procedures, improve notices, use of appropriate system codes, improved timeliness

Maryland:  analyzed data and identified system coding issues by staff (esp multiple program cases) 

Texas:  problems are not easily fixed

Wisconsin:  identified necessary system changes

New York: Notices are problematic especially very specific information such as countable income figures. Texas agrees was problem for them also.  Wisconsin had conducted client focus groups prior to CAPER and had to revisit.

Arkansas:  improved staff system code selections.  Workers would use Other code which did not generate a notice.  Also notices regarding missed information when it had been provided reduced.

What challenges were presented through CAPER?

Florida:  required technology changes allowing for detailed and specific details.

Texas:  system enhancements on average take 18 months to produce.  Plus system took action, not workers.  Had to change system to allow for worker intervention.  Plus workers can not view notice prior to it being sent.

Maryland:  If notice is wrong, manual notices have to be sent to client.  QC findings are monitored for compliance.  

Vermont: Clear and understandable - who defines?  

New Jersey:  Clear and understandable - very subjective.  FNS should provide language.  

FNS: Was guidance on notices helpful?

Florida:  States need policy not guidance

Texas:  Has pre-denial readings.  Supervisor reads and approves before action is taken.  245 doesn't provide sufficient details for corrective action purposes.  245 doesn't tell them if case outcome was correct

Pennsylvania:  Feels we need both measurements.

Wisconsin: Returns requested verifs to one point for scanning and document imaging.  Having difficult time with.  How are other states dealing with.

North Carolina:  time stamp receipt on documents may help.  If denied at 2 and documents received at 3, it's valid.

Oregon:  Interim reports on 12-month certs are challenging also.

Corrective Actions -

Florida - hold regions accountable, completed code table scrub (had 800), removed hard coding of system generated reason codes.  Training and education of staff, developed code table guide, reduced threshold of tolerance for field

In Florida, 58.23% is procedural.  Notices 32.91%

Texas requests report be made available with the federal breakdown of error trends/breakdowns

Suggestions for improvement

Start over, consider a tolerance level, stabilization of variances, provide clear and uniform federal policy training, policy is complicated and subjective.

Stephanie Proska - appreciates conversations to improve CAPER process.  Going forward, FNS plans to provide more technical assistance.  Identify areas where they can be more flexible.  FNS is completing analysis on error codes to quantify error breakdown and support recommendations/complaints.

 

Larry G - Important to provide good customer service.  Agree we do not want a system which leaves client confused. Have to keep working toward program simplification.  

GENERAL SESSION - State Panels -- 8/12

State Panel - Retailer and Recipient SNAP Trafficking Investigations 

Tony Bryan - OK inspector General

PowerPoint on-line

referrals to system.  Trafficking supervisor for review and processing decision.  currently has 2,000 case backlog

Benefit Utilization and Mapping Program - BUMP 

retailer data files reviewed

recipient data files reviewed

map transactions

Keep from Repeating History - How to Address Repeat Audit Findings 

Vista Kimble - Deputy Executive Director, Maryland

PowerPoint on-line

Audit Task Force has been formed to address all audit reports and track trends and corrective action activities.

Smartsheet Tracking

FNS HIGH QC COMPLETION RATE AWARDS - 8/12

FNS High QC Completion Rate Awards

98% is requirement by regulation

North Dakota  98.3% 

Arkansas 98.5%

Minnesota 98.7%

District of Columbia 98.87%

North Carolina 99.32%

South Dakota 99.36%

Kentucky  99.63%

Virgin Islands 100%

Wyoming 100%

General Session - 8/12 -- FEDERAL PANEL

Federal Panel Updates

Carlis Williams, Dept of Health & Human Services

Kay Brown, Director, USGAO Education

Mary Ellen Wiggins, The Office of Management and Budget

Jessica Shahin, Food & Nutrition Services USDA

PowerPoints Available

Kay Brown - New Congress focus on program integrity.  10 years into the Improper Payments Act - total $124.7 billion - TANF does not have a measure.Expects to be addressed in TANF reauthorization. 

Medicare $59.9 billion 

GAO - 14 - 704b    GAO - 15  - 509sp  Fraud Risk

TANF lacks incentives to increase client performance

expect Congress to focus on TANF accountability

SNAP fraud - selling of EBT cards

GAO is mandated to explore Child Care waiting lists

Congress has focus on understanding SNAP error rate

Cross program data sharing

Better understanding of poverty and who are the poor - new study forthcoming

Carlis Williams -  Child Care and TANF programs

Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 - changes in quality initiatives and data reporting requirements

http://www.researchconnections.org/childcare 

TANF - States have flexibility and there is no requirement to measure payment accuracy.  Reauthorization may address.  Area of focus is workforce innovation and opportunity act (WIOA)  May require employment outcome measures in the future.

Mary Ellen Wiggins - Performance Partnership Programs for Disconnected Youth initiative 

Jessica Shahin - Integrity, Access and Well-Being of those who are serviced

will be doing QC reviews in the future.  Looking at samples, bias, overall integrity

ABAWDS waivers may not be available for many states.  ABAWDS must be tracked.

Timeliness - must be held accountable for - Put formal warning process in place in October 2014.  Working, states are improving

Employment & Training is getting focus now.  Presently increased to 5 staff in national office and a dedicated position in each regional office. 

Better food choices and promotion of Farmer's Markets

Depth of stock requirements for retailers

Client fraud - client education effort, guide coming out in Fall 2015

Grants to improve investigation of recipient fraud - Best practices forthcoming 

366B changes - under revision - out on Federal Register for comment presently.

  

Breakout Session 2 - Florida Telecommuting Project - 3:30

Breakout Session 2 - 3:30

Doing More with Less:  Supporting a Telecommuting Workforce Through the Use off Technology 

Jorge Martinez, William D'Aiuto, Michael Holder, Pamela Waters- Florida

PowerPoint available

1 in 6 people in Florida are receiving SNAP.  60% of staff work from home - all levels of staff.

Laptop is assigned phone number extension therefore staff can answer calls from any location.  

Have telecommunicating guide (on NAPIPM website) 100 pages and telecommunicating agreement

Requires leadership buy-in

Requires investment in software.  Chat capabilities with program policy specialists monitoring.  Called Virtual Policy Consultant.  10 year old off the shelf program.  Virtual meeting room.

Adobe product log-in behind agency firewall.

Policy staff man the Chat and if they are in office, they can discuss among themselves before answering. Or they can work from home as solo policy expert.

Virtual Pre-Service classes for new staff development.  Remotely trains new employees.  New staff do not sit at home and train.  Come into an office location.  There for about a year before they can become virtual.

Virtual In-Service - training available to seasoned staff.  Allows for consistency. Training library accessible to all staff for any brush-ups they may need.   

Document Imaging System - Staff able to access documents from any location.  2 hour timeframe for submission to availability.  Handle 600,000 documents monthly via fax, upload through My Account, scanned or mailed. 

Disaster plan will deal with paper documents initially with scanning and indexing follow-up.

Workers can set-up courtesy notifications which will alert them when documents come in.

Staffing started  at 166 plus.  Now at 140 indexers.  All are contracted staff with pay for performance depending on quality and productivity of their work.  

Fax numbers statewide are directed to one central server. 

Managing in a Virtual Environment - real time service system allows monitoring of staff productivity.  Captures numbers of all activity.  Staff and supervisor have a work due report.  Utilizes instant messaging as virtual white board.  Utilizes virtual conferencing for training and meetings.  

Disconnects can occur as supervisors lose the "human"aspect of supervision.  Important to maintain contact.  Developed leadership curriculum using Passionate Education as platform. 

Passionate education involves sharing inspiration to others.  

Be a role model

Be visible (inspire) 

Be clear

Be transparent (open & honest)

Be accountable

Florida Active error rate '14 - 0.42%

Timeliness 98.5%

Retention depends on regions but around 50% have less than 2 years experience.  Salaries are a primary issue.  

Dashboard monitors staff productivity.  System records all keystrokes and supervisors can see all activity.  Also uses Skype to monitor staff.  Staff has to provide own internet access.  Broken equipment issues requires them to come into an office.  If placed on corrective action plan, they are called into an office.  Telecommuting is a staff option and is not required.  Staff opting into office environment are assigned a permanent work station.  If called back into an office, you work were space is available.