Author: Michael McAlpin

Big News in Hunger for Seniors and Adults With Disabilities!

April 30, 2019

For the first time since 1974, SSI recipients in California are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits. That’s 40,000 people in San Francisco and 3,000 neighbors in Marin – seniors and people with disabilities – who will be newly eligible for food stamp benefits.

With CalFresh benefits for a one-person household averaging $130 a month, this change can make a huge difference for someone in need. And, participating in CalFresh will not reduce SSI benefit amounts in any way.

Boosting food access and the local economy

Even conservative estimates suggest that connecting SSI recipients with CalFresh will result in many millions of dollars a year for low-income seniors and people with disabilities to spend on groceries. This won’t just improve the lives of SSI recipients, but the local economy gets a boost too. Every $1 spent in CalFresh benefits generates $1.79 in economic activity!

It took years of dedicated advocacy efforts by our Food Bank and our partners to achieve this historic change, which will improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable neighbors.  It wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of our donors and coalition partners. Thank you!

In the coming weeks and months, the Food Bank’s Policy & Advocacy team and CalFresh Outreach team will work closely with the state, our counties, and other local partners to share this exciting news and assist hundreds of neighbors with CalFresh enrollment.

Learn More

  • This fact sheet from Californians for SSI provides a simple summary of the changes to CalFresh eligibility for SSI recipients

Take Action!

Are you an SSI recipient interested in applying for CalFresh benefits?

  • CLICK: Apply online: GetCalFresh.org
  • CALL: Call our hotline to get application assistance in English, Spanish, or Chinese: 415-549-7021
  • COME IN: Walk into a county office to apply in person: Locations are listed on the Human Services Agency website

Are you a community-based organization interested in helping your clients enroll? 

  1. The Food Bank provides CalFresh Outreach and Application Assistance training for agencies who work closely with SSI recipients. For San Francisco-based agencies, contact Ada Lai at 415-282-1907 x258 or alai@sfmfoodbank.org. For Marin organizations, contact Alexandra Danino at 415-282-1907 x014 or adanino@sfmfoodbank.org
  2. Check out the San Francisco Human Services Agency Partner Toolkit, which includes helpful resources and outreach materials
  3. Another helpful resource is the California Department of Social Services Outreach Tool Kit for Partners
  4. Download informational flyers to hand out and post at your organization:

Want to get engaged with Food Bank’s Advocacy efforts like this?

This historic victory was made possible through the advocacy of the Californians for SSI Coalition (CA4SSI). As a partner and ally in improving the lives of SSI recipients, we want to invite you to join us on one of our CA4SSI membership conference calls every other Tuesday at 11:30am to share updates and discuss strategy. Why stop at CalFresh? Please join us as we advocate to increase the grants to people on SSI!

Check out this video of our listening session with SSI recipients on how hard it is to make ends meet on SSI: www.youtube.com/SSI

Click here to sign up for our eNewsletter and follow us on Twitter @SFMFoodBank

Advocacy in Action | Improving CalFresh by Streamlining Data Systems

February 15, 2019

Our Policy & Advocacy team is comprised of two data specialists, which sets us up perfectly to understand and effectively advocate for changes to systems that directly impact hungry Californians. We have been lending our expertise as part of an alliance of advocates advising the state on an upcoming change to how human services program data is managed. We have written a White Paper based on our research to share data-driven recommendations with leadership at the California Department of Social Services.

We love this stuff, but it can get pretty wonky, so we’re here to help break it down for you!

The Problem

California has three separate data systems to support the health and human services programs that serve more than 13 million Californians. Called “Statewide Automated Welfare Systems” (SAWS), these data systems are used primarily at the county level to handle enrollment and eligibility for several programs, including CalFresh (food stamps, also known as SNAP).

Having three distinct systems has resulted in inconsistent data, inefficient data access, and wide variability in the ability of counties to analyze the data they have. This has a direct impact on the experience of people applying for health and human services benefits like CalFresh. These challenges play a role in California’s terrible CalFresh participation rate – we rank 4th worst in the nation, and dead last among seniors. (Only 21% of eligible seniors currently get CalFresh!)

The Solution: From Three Systems to One by 2023

In 2012, the Federal Nutrition Service mandated that California start to move toward a single SAWS system by the end of 2020. In response, the state has begun the complex process of migrating these three SAWS into one centralized system, referred to as “CalSAWS.” The goal is to transition all 58 counties into the new CalSAWS system by 2023.

This undertaking, which will cost more than a billion dollars, offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine the strengths and limitations of the current SAWS to optimize the new system to best serve California’s most vulnerable individuals and households.

Food Bank Advocates at the Table

Starting in 2018, our Policy & Advocacy team has worked closely with other advocates to advise the state agencies responsible for this transition. We are fighting for a CalSAWS system that makes life easier for people applying for or already participating in human services programs, as well as for the workers who help them access the programs they need. Our goal is to ensure that CalSAWS supports an efficient and user-friendly CalFresh program that can continuously improve on program participation and consumer experience over time.

In practice, this can mean that a working person seeking CalFresh could now be able to call into a contact center that could call her back when there was a long wait time, rather than having to wait on the line for her required interview. We know that the enrollment process can be burdensome, and people get discouraged at many stages throughout the process. Our hope is that an integrated CalSAWS system will take down some of those barriers to participation by putting the human experience at the center of the development.

Research to Drive Improvement

To support this goal, we developed a white paper outlining the essential components for a strong CalSAWS data system.  The paper hones in on three key areas we want California Department of Social Services to prioritize in this process:

  1. Support county and state program staff in identifying opportunities for increased efficiencies for both clients and eligibility workers,
  2. Allow sufficient time and resources for analysis of the effectiveness and uniformity of implementation of policies and procedures,
  3. Identify inequities in outcomes across populations since CalFresh access has historically been particularly burdensome for seniors, non-English Speakers, and the working poor.

To read more our detailed recommendations for improving data systems that support CalFresh program improvement, download the white paper.

If you’re interested in learning more about the work of our Policy & Advocacy team, sign up for our mailing list to get Advocacy Alerts so you can help us spread our message at critical moments. You can also stay engaged and get instant updates by following us on Twitter at @SFMFoodBank and @SFMFB_Advocacy

 

Photo: Jeremiah Carter

Acknowledgements: Research support from Claudia Page, Consultant