8:35 p.m.: FSSA disputes claims of failure

By Brandi Watters

March 29, 2008 08:35 pm

— Jason Shawhan cannot work. The 32-year-old Elwood man and his 20-year-old wife are both mentally disabled and have relied on the welfare system for food and health care for the majority of their adult lives. Today, Shawhan is unable to visit the doctor or refill his prescriptions and the balance on his food stamp LINK card is at zero because after 12 years of being on welfare, Shawhan has been found ineligible for services.
His mother, Phyllis Shawhan, spoke up for her son on Friday, saying that the new privatized welfare system is to blame for his troubles.
Roughly one year ago, a pilot program was launched by the Indiana Family Social Services Administration in hopes of revamping the state’s welfare system to correct issues of fraud and autonomy at the county level. Twelve counties, including Madison County, were chosen to be part of the pilot program.
Rep. Terri Austin, D-36 says the program is having a negative impact on those she serves. “I can tell you that I am getting an increasing number of phone calls from constituents who are either being denied benefits or when they’re eligible are receiving notices that they are no longer eligible.”
Austin says her constituents are being harmed by the new system. “They are taking months for people to receive their benefits and they’re not getting calls back. They’re told to call an 800 number every day to see if they’ve been processed.”
FSSA Director Mitch Roob says the state needed to overhaul its welfare system. “When I became the secretary, Indiana was first in child deaths and last in welfare-to-work. We had the highest rate of child death in America on a per capita basis. We had a system that was rampant with fraud.”
Last year, the state awarded IBM a contract to provide data management services for FSSA’s welfare system. This meant that Hoosiers would not longer consult a county social worker to apply for benefits. Instead, needy residents within the new system now call an 800 number or fill out an application online.
This, Roob says, is due to inconsistencies in the old county-based system. “The agency intentionally ran things at least 92 different ways in each of the 92 different counties.”
“This is not the new and improved FSSA that we were promised,” Austin says. “It’s a complete lack of responsiveness and concern for some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Austin says she’s received numerous calls from area residents who claim to be suffering under the new system. “I actually had one person who waited for three months. He actually let me know he was going to Pay Less to the dumpsters to find groceries that he could use.”
A handful of representatives from local advocacy groups met at the Statehouse on March 11 to discuss failings in the new system, arguing that the process of streamlining welfare has only led to more problems.
Problems piling up
John Cardwell of the Indiana Home Care Task Force says area advocates are being inundated with stories of lost paperwork, denied benefits and months without food stamps and Medicaid.
“The volunteers who’ve been out there have come across families with no food in their houses. They’ve come across people with very high medical needs who were scheduled to be terminated from Medicaid and were having those needs met by agencies outside the welfare system. They just knew there was a human tragedy unfolding here.”
On March 24, FSSA rolled out an additional 27 counties into the new system. As the rollout takes place, area residents under the original pilot program are speaking out about life under the new privatized system with one singular cry — the system is broken.
Cardwell was joined March 11 at the Statehouse by representatives from United Senior Action of Indiana and the Indiana Alliance for Retired Americans. On March 12, representatives from the three senior advocacy groups sent a letter to Gov. Mitch Daniels asking him to delay the March 24 rollout date. “We asked the governor to immediately intervene to see if people were being harmed in the 12 counties.”
Phyllis Shawhan says there’s no question about whether or not people in the pilot counties are being harmed. Her son’s Medicaid and food stamps were canceled early this year when he was trying to get recertified for benefits.
“Back in December, my son and his wife had an over-the-phone interview and then what happened was they were denied in January on their food stamps. At the end of February, he lost his Medicaid.”
Phyllis says that when Jason and his wife lost their benefits, the burden fell on her to ensure that the disabled couple was fed. “They went to go get groceries in January and the card was denied. We were feeding them because when they would be without groceries, my husband and I would take them to get groceries. They haven’t been to the doctor because of no insurance now. He had enough prescription that he hasn’t had to refill it yet. When he does have to refill, it will be over $100 to fill.”
The Shawhan family has since re-applied for benefits and are awaiting a response from the state. Phyllis says the new system does not serve the people it was designed to assist. “I’ve been working all my life and I’m a taxpayer and I feel like I pay into those taxes and even as long as I’m paying into those taxes, I should be able to help those that need it. There may be a lot of people on welfare that don’t really need, but there are a lot that really do need.”
Since her son has a clear need for welfare benefits with a 12 year history of eligibility, Phyllis is frustrated that the new system found him to be ineligible. “I would like to see that they would check into the system a lot more before they do deny somebody, especially for somebody that’s been on it for that long.”
Anti-fraud system
Roob says FSSA has not received a significant volume of complaints to suggest that the system is broken.
With so-called autonomous county welfare offices, Roob says the system was plagued by fraud and criminal activity. “What we found was throughout Indiana, including in Madison County, we had those caseworkers who were creating identities of eligible people and pocketing the benefits for themselves. We’ve indicted dozens of FSSA employees. It is not a mistake that you have to talk to two people today. It’s an anti-fraud system.”
On Monday, a former FSSA employee admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars by using false identities just as Roob reported. Natasha L. Wilson of Fort Wayne could serve up to two years in prison and pay $30,000 in restitution for forging documents and pocketing welfare benefits.
Under the new system, Roob says Hoosiers needing food stamps, Medicaid and other welfare benefits, will be given full attention. The new system of checks and balances are also in place to prevent fraud.
Despite the outcry of advocacy groups, Roob says the system has not been an issue for Hoosiers. “We don’t think it’s more difficult.”
In changing the welfare system, FSSA pulled child welfare out and formed a separate division to handle cases involving child abuse and neglect. “We split off child welfare from the rest of the eligibility intake process. It used to be that the county director was both in charge of children abused and neglected and with welfare and with eligibility for food stamps. Where do you think they spent most of their time? Child welfare.”
Cardwell says changing the program is not the issue, so long as it serves the people.
“If you’re going to change that system, the change needs to be an improvement for the people who the system was created to assist. What we’re apparently finding is that the changes that are underway, the so called modernization changes, may or may not be improving things, they may in fact be making things worse for people. If those changes are causing people to be blocked from Medicaid even if they are eligible or blocks people from getting food stamps, than this process needs an immediate review.”
“Almost every system has a random error,” Roob argued.
Cardwell says the welfare of Indiana’s needy shouldn’t be risked on a new system. “They simply cannot afford to be subject to a government experiment that is failing. We’ve called for an immediate review by the governor and for an immediate review by the general assembly.”
Austin worries that the issues of job outsourcing and alleged failings of the FSSA could soon collide to cause a massive problem for local residents. “Many of these are families who find themselves without means. You look at our former General Motors employees; they’re without income. When the benefits run out, they’re going to need help. I am worried sick about what’s going to happen to these folks.”
Denny Lanane of the Indiana Home care task force says Madison County residents needing assistance navigating the system will find help next month.
On April 22, an open meeting will be held at the UAW Union Hall in Anderson. The event, scheduled for 1 p.m., may bring those in the welfare system face to face with legislators who can address the issues at the State House.
“We’re going to try and have some legislators there and people who want to ask questions about their benefits,” Lanane said.
Roob invites all Hoosiers experiencing difficulty under the new system to call the FSSA complaint line but says specific details are needed to provide assistance. “Call with specifics. Vague innuendo is not helpful to improve the system. We need the time you called, the person you talked to. We can go back and run to ground all this stuff. We have a pilot to figure out what’s going wrong and what’s not going wrong.”
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For questions or complaints about FSSA’s new privatized welfare system, call (800) 555-6424.

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