LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents shouldn't face as many obstacles when applying for certain public benefits under new reforms unveiled Monday.
State officials announced a series of user-friendly changes to the Women, Infants, and Children food benefit program, including paperless processing, extended office hours and a greater focus on face-time with clients.
The program provides healthy food, nutrition counseling and breastfeeding support to Nebraska families in need. A new computer system, dubbed WIC Journey, will serve local agencies that offer benefits to 37,000 residents statewide. It will replace an outdated system that was installed in 1997.
The new system was financed through $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Courtney Phillips, CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Phillips said the overhaul eliminated the need for 23 different paper forms that are used in clinics throughout the state.
"Some WIC clinics used to close on certain days just to complete paperwork," Phillips said at a Capitol news conference. "Now those clinics have replaced that time with actual face-to-face time with clients."
Department officials said they also have slashed the wait times to determine whether residents qualify for developmental disability services, from 69 days to an average of 14.
They did so by adding information about the services to an existing state benefits website known as ACCESSNebraska. They also simplified the application from 14 pages to three. The previous application included redundant questions that could be streamlined, said Courtney Miller, the state's developmental disabilities division director.
The upgrades will allow residents to apply directly online. Previously, applications had to be printed and signed and then sent to the department by mail, email or fax.
Gov. Pete Ricketts said the changes will allow the Department of Health and Human Services to concentrate more on its core mission of helping residents.
"One of the reasons I believe I was elected was to bring my private-sector experience to help the government run more like a business," said Ricketts, a former TD Ameritrade executive. "That means being more effective, more efficient and more customer-based."