Int. No. 1382-A

By Council Members Rosenthal, Levin, Lander, Adams, Richards, the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams), Reynoso, Ayala, Salamanca, Gibson, Kallos, Constantinides, Cohen, Ampry-Samuel, Rose and Barron

A Local Law in relation to auditing department of social services/human resources administration job centers and SNAP centers

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Audit of job centers and SNAP centers. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Appointment. The term “appointment” means a meeting between a department employee and a visitor at a job center or SNAP center to apply or recertify for public assistance or to make an inquiry with respect to an open or closed public assistance case or any other meeting for which a ticket is issued.

Department. The term “department” means the department of social services.

Job center. The term “job center” means any location designated by the department as a job center where individuals can complete an application for cash assistance in person.

Public assistance. The term “public assistance” means all forms of public benefits administered by the department and provided by the federal government, the state of New York, or the city of New York for which an individual may apply through the department, including but not limited to: cash assistance; medicaid; and the supplemental nutrition assistance program.

SNAP center. The term “SNAP center” means any location designated by the department as a SNAP center where individuals can complete an application for the supplemental nutrition assistance program in person.

Ticket Issued. The term “ticket issued” means that a visitor has made contact with the department at a job center or SNAP center, either through a self-service kiosk or with a staff member responsible for keeping track of visitors, and has made such contact so that the department has a record, either written or electronic, of such visitor’s time of arrival at such center and the reason for the visit.

Total current wait time. The term “total current wait time” means the amount of time a visitor spends waiting at a job center or SNAP center. Total current wait time includes wait time for each ticket a client receives while at the center.

Visitor. The term “visitor” means any individual who, by scheduled appointment or walk-in, enters a job center or SNAP center to apply or recertify for public assistance, to make an inquiry with respect to an open or closed public assistance case or for any other appointment for which a ticket is issued.

Wait time. The term “wait time” means the amount of time a visitor spends waiting to be called to begin an appointment after such visitor has been issued a ticket at a job center or a SNAP center. Wait time begins when the visitor has been issued a ticket or, for appointments scheduled prior to the visitor’s arrival at the center, the scheduled appointment time, whichever is later, and ends when such visitor is called to begin an appointment.

b. The department shall conduct an audit and consult with and respond to recommendations made by at least five organizations that have experience working with visitors. The audit will focus on operations, policies, and procedures at job centers and SNAP centers, with the goal of increasing operational efficiency at such centers. Such audit shall be limited to the data reasonably available to the department. The audit shall include an analysis of data from the prior calendar year concerning:

1. The current wait times at each job center and SNAP center for each ticket regardless of ticket type;

2. The total current wait times at each job center and SNAP center for each visitor combining all ticket types;

3. The current wait times at each job center and SNAP center for each ticket, disaggregated by the type of ticket by queue;

4. The total time a visitor spends at each job center and SNAP center beginning when a ticket is issued and ending when the visitor’s last ticket of the day is closed;

5. The number of visitors who are issued more than one ticket at job centers or SNAP centers on the same day;

6. For each job center and SNAP center, the number of cases and persons served and the number of applications received, disaggregated by whether such cases or applications are recurring or non-recurring;

7. For each job center and SNAP center, the average case size, the number of adults and children served by the center’s caseload and the percentage of applications accepted;

8. The number of recertifications scheduled at each job center and SNAP center;

9. The number of staff assigned to each job center and SNAP center, disaggregated by title;  

10. The number of SNAP applications submitted through ACCESSHRA accounts or any similar successor technology;

11. The number of SNAP recertifications submitted through ACCESSHRA accounts or any similar successor technology;

12. The number of on-demand telephone calls completed;

13. The efficiency and ease of use of the department’s phone lines;

14. Visitors’ access to technology in job centers and SNAP centers;

15. Monthly reports submitted to the commissioner of social services pursuant to subdivision c of section 21-142.2;

16. Issues regarding operations, policies, and procedures at job centers and SNAP centers raised by the organizations that have experience working with visitors; and

17. Recommendations to address issues regarding operations, policies and procedures at job centers and SNAP centers received from the organizations that have experience working with visitors.

c. No later than March 1, 2020, the department shall post on the department’s website and submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a report of the findings from such audit including the outcome of consultations with the organizations that have experience working with visitors conducted pursuant to subdivision b of this section.

d. No later than March 1, 2020, the department shall post on the department’s website and submit to the mayor and speaker of the council a plan to improve the client experience at job centers and SNAP centers in response to findings from the audit. Such plan shall include actions to address complaints received pursuant to subdivision b of section 21-142.2, to the extent that such complaints relate to the client experience at job centers and SNAP centers. Such plan shall include a response to each recommendation received pursuant to paragraph 17 of subdivision b of this section. The responses shall indicate whether the department will implement such recommendations, and if the department does not intend to implement the recommendations, the reason(s) for such determination.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately and expires and is deemed repealed on May 1, 2027 or the day after submission of the reports required by a local law in relation to implementation of a plan based on findings of the audit of department of social services/human resources administration job centers and SNAP centers, as proposed in introduction number 1350-A for the year 2019, whichever is later.

ACK/AM

LS 9459/LS 9474

8/6/19 4:00pm