Addressing Access Issues

Overcoming initial reluctance

Help potential applicants understand that:

• undocumented applicants realize that if they have children who are citizens, their children may qualify for Food Stamps.
• the reporting cycle for renewing Food Stamps is longer than before.
• some former felons are now eligible for Food Stamps.

Face-to-face interview waiver

The CAFB promotes the use of a Hardship Card, easy for applicants to fill out and mail to their county office. This standardizes the procedure for giving applicants flexbility in the application process.

Supporting documents

Language barriers

Mail-in procedures

It might help to clarify with counties that applicants do not need to make a visit to the county office if the only purpose of such a visit would be fingerprints.

More and more counties are adopting policies that will help families with hardships to apply by the mail and complete their interviews over the phone.  In order to do this, they are utilizing the flexibility provided by the state regulations: 

1. A county employee may decide to waive the face-to-face interview for a client that has a hardship.  Many counties are broadly defining this hardship.  See the attached "hardship card" that several counties have asked that their outreach partners add to applications so that clients can inform their worker if they would like to be considered for a hardship waiver of the face-to-face interview. 
2. If someone is not coming into the office, they will not be required only to come in for the finger image and may defer the finger image until the next time they come into the office.  This is helpful for people who are receiving the face-to-face interview waiver and makes it so that people can complete the application process without ever visiting the county office.

All counties should be prepared to handle mail in applications, because the state form is available online and needs to be accepted should someone download it and send it in.  Please ask your county what their procedure is for mail in applications.  The mail-in procedure seems to work best when the applications are sent to one person at the county who then dispatches them to the appropriate worker.  Attached are two documents that provide an outline for workers so that they understand this process.  You should feel free to share them with your county staff.  Likewise, if your county has a mail-in application procedure that you can share with others, please let CAFB know. 

Here is one example of a mail in procedure, from Alameda County. San Mateo County also has a very clear procedure for mail-in applications.

Customer service

There are many facets of customer service that may be improved to improve client access, from the speed of service to the convenience and appearance of the place of service. Congressional Hunger Center's Emerson Hunger Fellow (2003-2004) Rachel Lopez addresses some of these specific issues in her Hunger Free Community Report (see Research and Statistics). Additionally, click here for her list of potential areas for improvement; you can help tackle these problems as an Outreach Coordinator!

Reaching more potential applicants

Coordinators might consider teaming up with other outreach coordinators and social workers for other programs, such:

• Earned Income Tax Credit Outreach coordinators in your region (see description of the CBPP website in the Useful Websites section).
• Women and Infant Care (WIC) Program
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
• Summer Food
• Congregate Nutrition Services