ATLANTA — Georgia state officials and the federal government are working to resolve a backlog of SNAP renewals that is impacting more than 50,000 people.
11Alive's Liza Lucas reported on the backlog earlier this week, with people reaching out in recent weeks to report that the critical benefits have been held up.
Officials with Georgia's Department of Human Services (DHS) and the federal USDA Food Nutrition Service met on June 2, according to the USDA. The agency told 11Alive representatives from both agencies met again on Thursday, June 15.
"FNS met with GA DFCS officials and discussed the current status of the backlog and the plan to resolve it as soon as possible," a statement said.
One of the main sticking points is Georgia's request for waivers that would allow it to tweak some of the renewal processes. DHS said that three waiver requests have already been approved and one denied and that they're still waiting on three more.
The Georgia officials believe that if they get those waivers granted, they can much more efficiently clear the backlog. According to the state, the waivers include:
- Using attended bots (i.e., bots operated by a human user) to automate processes without caseworker interaction;
- Approval for ex-parte renewals (a term that describes an automatic renewal without any input from the SNAP recipient) when "necessary information is already known and sufficient";
- And review of standard medical deduction information for potential updates to support customers and case processing.
Those pending waivers "are still under FNS review," the USDA told 11Alive. The state says, "we've communicated with our federal counterparts frequently and urged them to grant these waivers multiple times, but many of them have remained pending for about a year."
Georgia DHS also has a staffing shortage of caseworkers, though the agency says it has hired 693 new economic support specialists since July of last year, "with more continuing through the onboarding process." Those specialists also handle cases for other benefit programs such as Medicaid and TANF.
The state says there are 52,269 SNAP cases that qualify as "over the standard of promptness" as of June 13 - meaning 30 days to process an application.
The USDA, meanwhile, told 11Alive this week it would "continue to monitor, provide technical assistance, and follow-up with the State on this issue."
It says the Food Nutrition Service provided two recommendations to Georgia in dealing with the backlog: "delay processing SNAP change requests not related to the April/May renewal backlog until the next recertification, allowing State staff the opportunity to prioritize SNAP renewals; and waive the SNAP interview for the Elderly/Disabled portion of the State’s SNAP caseload when GA’s current waiver expires."
The USDA clarified that would be a longer-term help because Georgia already has a waiver allowing the state to waive SNAP interviews for any type of case through September 30.
FNS said the of the other waiver requests Georgia has pending, "The other waiver also includes technology to perform a portion of the SNAP process. FNS is currently reviewing this waiver and is also developing additional guidance for use by States to determine if additional technology requests are allowable."
Currently, there is no timeline for when cases in the backlog exactly can be cleared.
"Keeping the number of pending applications/renewals down is an all-hands-on-deck effort that includes assistance from managers and others who do not typically carry a caseload," a spokesperson for DHS said earlier this week. "We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work through their cases."
Officials say families can check their application status on the Georgia Gateway website. The agency said families that need help securing food are encouraged to seek community resources and connect with their local food bank.
Other options, such as the Seamless Summer Option and Happy Helpings, can assist in feeding children during the summer months.
"To find a SSO near you, visit foodfinder.us. Use DECAL’s Nutrition Program Search tool - decal.ga.gov/Nutrition/Search.aspx - to find a Happy Helpings meal site near you," officials said.
11Alive viewers who want to speak with a reporter about the delays can email the newsroom.