PHOENIX — Governor Katie Hobbs has announced additional support to help reduce wait times for SNAP benefits and unemployment insurance.
Hobbs is investing $7.5 million to address staffing constraints for both programs.
“Programs like SNAP and unemployment insurance help families put food on the table and keep the lights on during times of economic uncertainty," said Hobbs. “I understand the frustration Arizonans feel with these delays. Families deserve stability, and I’m committed to ensuring they can access the support they need when they need it while protecting critical programs from further federal cuts.”
The governor's office reports federal budget cuts and new requirements from the federal budget led to staffing shortages at the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), resulting in delays for families seeking critical support.
ABC15 previously reported that DES had to cut staffing this past summer due to federal funding cuts, which created a backlog of applications for SNAP benefits.
Earlier this month, ABC15 learned DES was processing an estimated 54,000 new and renewal applications, with 18,000 of those over 30 days old.
The new funding aims to help improve the accuracy of SNAP payments by increasing capacity and enabling key process improvements, Hobbs announced.
The funding will add the following:
- Add 15 temporary staff to help resolve claims and assist callers, increase capacity for appeals and pre-authorization teams, and upskill customer service representatives.
- Expand vendor operating capacity by 100 FTE.
- Continue overtime opportunities for eligibility staff to enhance capacity, process applications and resolve reported changes.
- Enhance technology and third party verification, including:
- Streamlining and automating manual processes
- Helping to proactively identify eligibility issues for SNAP participants
- Providing user-friendly tools to assist SNAP participants in submitting required documentation
- Expanding income validation capacity
- Automating tools for eligibility workers
- Improving payment accuracy will reduce Arizona’s SNAP error rate. The SNAP error rate represents underpayments or overpayments made in the program from miscalculation, typically due to fluctuations in the recipient’s income. In FY24, Arizona’s error rate was 8.84%, well below the national average of 11%.
