Urgent Update from DHHS | Eastern NC Now

For Immediate Release

    This is an update on DHHS' most recent interaction with USDA. In this email you will find:

    The USDA letter dated January 23, 2014

    A letter dated January 24, 2014 from Wayne Black, director of DHHS' Division of Social Services, to county social services directors Charts of the most current recertification and application numbers from NC FAST, which show that:

    As of January 23, 2014 there were a total of 23,415 FNS applications and recertifications pending statewide. Of those, 11,011 were new regular applications that were considered untimely. There were 8,963 expedited applications considered untimely. And finally, there were 3,441 recertifications that were considered untimely. As comparison from January 14, 2014 there were 32,997 FNS applications and recertifications pending statewide.

    Our statement regarding the letter, as well as a response from the N.C. Association of County Directors of Social Services, are below. We have also provided background information on NC FAST.

    Statements:

    "We strongly disagree with the federal government's threat to withhold Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administrative funds, which could adversely impact counties' abilities to assist families in need. However, we are encouraged by positive conversations between Governor McCrory, Secretary Wos and the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack that resulted in a verbal agreement of our plan to clear up outstanding FNS applications and recertifications. We will continue working closely with our partners in county government to solve this problem." -Sherry Bradsher, Deputy Secretary for Human Services

    "The latest USDA letter poses a significant challenge to the county DSS offices. The Directors Association met with DHHS leadership today, and we have a multi-faceted plan to meet the February 10 and March 31 deadlines. We appreciate DHHS' commitment to working with the counties to meet these federal deadlines." - John Eller, Vice President of the N.C. Association of County Directors of Social Services

    Background:

   •  The issuance of food stamps (referenced as FNS in North Carolina, but known as SNAP in some other states) is a county administered program under state supervision. DHHS is working closely with our county partners to achieve compliance with the federal guidelines for processing FNS cases.

   •  Currently, NC FAST is being used for Food and Nutrition Services as well as Medicaid applications and recertifications.

   •  Since August, DHHS has hired more than 160 additional staff to provide support to county social services departments, both as over-the-shoulder support in county offices and in the NC FAST offices.

   •  In response to the USDA concerns, DHHS has implemented a Corrective Action Plan to resolve outstanding cases in the NC FAST system. One component of the plan is to identify duplicate applications that are still showing as "pending" in the system. Within the first week, more than 9,500 applications were positively identified as duplicates and were closed. NC FAST staff continues to flag potential duplicates for review by the counties.

   •  A software upgrade to NC FAST on July 15 to accommodate the October 1 deadline for the ACA-mandated Medicaid capability, complicated by a series of technical issues, caused significant FNS processing slowdowns for county social services departments. As a result, DHHS took the unprecedented step of processing recertifications on behalf of counties and has processed more than 25,500 cases to date.

   •  Because of its complexity, the original launch date for the Medicaid module in NC FAST was in 2017, but was expedited to meet the October 1, 2013 deadline for states to have electronic processing capability for Medicaid applications made through healthcare.gov as part of the Affordable Care Act.

   •  The statewide launch of the Medicaid module in NC FAST was done in six weeks, compared to a year-long rollout for the FNS module of NC FAST.

    Click here for January 23 USDA Follow Up to Advance Warning

    Click here for January 24 letter to DSS county directors

    Click here for FNS Recertification Daily Pending January 23, 2014

    Click here for FNS New and Expedited Apps Daily Pending January 23, 2014


    NC Department of Health and Human Services

    2001 Mail Service Center
     Raleigh, NC 27699-2001

     news@dhhs.nc.gov">dhhs.nc.gov  •  (919) 855-4840