Recertification Wins in LA County
LA County is doing something right about CalFresh Churn. Churn is technically defined as when a household exits SNAP and then re-enters the program within 4 months. For the past 2 years, LA County has consistently fallen below the state average, being 5 percent more effective than the statewide average when helping people keep their CalFresh benefits in a timely way.
I asked LA DPSS Director Antonia Jimenez what steps they are taking to help LA residents keep CalFresh. “We are continually working to ensure that our Los Angeles County CalFresh participants receive uninterrupted benefits to which they are entitled. One area we are focusing on is timely submissions and processing of recertifications, which is required from all participants.” Along with this, she also shared the following efforts to increase timely submissions of recertifications:
- Online submission of recertifications via “YourBenefitsNow!” (YBN);
- During Customer Service Center calls individuals are reminded of recertification due dates and times of interviews;
- Mailed notices of upcoming certification expiration; and
- Reminder calls by our eligibility staff to households of upcoming recertification due dates.
In the FNS SNAP Recertification Toolkit, it shares this among the best practices: “agencies are encouraged to attempt contact with the household through means other than the mail, such as telephone or email, to remind households of their recertification requirements in order to avoid a lapse in benefits.” Thus, LA County is winning on this score. In addition, clients who are engaging over the phone are very likely to get through on account of their very short hold times: under 2 minutes. It’s exciting to see this win in LA county and we look forward to continuing to document and share wins around the country in SNAP recertification and beyond.
Do you have a win in the SNAP arena that you would like to share with your colleagues in federal, state and county agencies? E-mail us at wins@mrelief.com.
