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The Department of Economic
Security administers four major welfare programs: the Jobs Program,
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamps, and Child Care
Assistance. The Jobs Program must be privatized by July 1, 2004, pending
current legislation that would delay that date to July 2005 or July 2006,
depending on when Congress reauthorizes TANF. DES should prepare for Jobs
Program privatization by providing training and developing plans to secure
information, monitor the contactor, and ensure data accuracy and
maintenance. Although the Department has significantly reduced Food Stamp
error rates since 1994, increased caseloads and reduced budgets are expected
to result in higher error rates. Additionally, although the Department has
significantly reduced its overpayment referral backlog, many potential
overpayment referrals are not being processed because the case file cannot
be located. Therefore, the Department should also improve management of the
Food Stamp eligibility and benefit overpayment referral processes through
better training, communication, and increased supervisory reviews. Finally,
the Department should continue efforts to implement an electronic
document-scanning system to manage its case files.
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