Current Weather

San Diego
Current: 76°
Clear
High: 76°
Low: 57°
Wind: 5 MPH
Pressure: 29.83
Humidity: 47 %

Local News

Study Shows: San Diego Food Stamp Process Not Working

Tools

By San Diego 6 News Reporters

Story Published: Feb 8, 2012 at 11:25 PM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 9, 2012 at 12:23 AM PDT

A new study shows what a lot of San Diegans already knew, that the process to get food stamps in this county is basically broken.

But the good news is the study also offers solutions that the county says it is committed to implementing.

The reports shows that five of every six calls made to the San Diego County phone network to get food stamps and other benefits, don't get through. Those that do, face an average wait of 30 minutes.

Joni Halpern of supportive parents information network says many of her clients seeking food stamps, eventually just give up.

The study reports 350,000 calls a month don't get answered because the agency has not hired enough workers or phone lines. Only about 68-thousand calls do get picked up by a county employee.

San Diego County is ranked last among 22 urban regions across the country for eligible residents signing up for the program. As a result San Diego loses out on millions of dollars of funding.

"I think San Diego's low participation of food stamps which has been a problem year in and year out is directly related to the problems in this process," said Halpern.

The County says it will follow the recommendations of the report and add more staff members in the call center and more phone lines.

The study was commissioned by the County and was written by InTelegy, a Northern California consultancy firm that builds and designs call centers.

　

 

 

 
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
Stay Up-to-Date
with San Diego 6 News Facebook Twitter X

Privacy Statement   |Terms of Use  |   © 2012 Bay City