A state taxpayer watchdog group is out with an independent analysis of how the state of Florida administers federal safety net programs.
Florida TaxWatch’s new report, The Aftermath of COVID-19: Rethinking How the State Delivers Services to Floridians In Need, identifies several inefficiencies within Florida’s Reemployment Assistance program known as CONNECT.
FTW examines issues with federal regulation restricting the use of contract employees to administer key functions of federal programs and the limited flexibility and opportunities that these regulations create: https://t.co/P20F95AIem #FloridaTaxWatch pic.twitter.com/YVjzZMtE2u
— Florida TaxWatch (@FloridaTaxWatch) November 12, 2020
Florida TaxWatch made several recommendations as a result of its analysis.
FTW Recommendations to Improve Delivery of State-Administered Safety Net Programs
- Implement more flexible staffing provisions to help states respond more quickly and effectively to crises.
- Florida’s congressional delegation should lead the charge to make permanent the temporary provisions in the CARES Act (Section 2106) that provide additional emergency flexibility to hire temporary staff or to take other temporary actions to quickly process unemployment assistance applications and claims. States should not be required to hire private contractors to more quickly process safety net program applications and claims, but they should have that option if that is deemed to be the most efficient way to deliver safety net services.
- Enhance service delivery through enrollment efficiencies and the reprioritization of benefit verification.
- Eliminating denials based on red tape and bureaucratic requirements;
- Authorizing safety net program benefits first and then verifying program eligibility. State and federal agencies have considerable resources (e.g., Internal Revenue Service) to identify and recover improper benefit payments;
- Relaxing requirements (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly reporting of employment status, in-person interviews, etc.) to reduce administrative burdens and free up more time to process applications and claims;
- Borrowing best practices from other federal programs, such as Social Security, that deliver benefits with minimal administrative burdens and fraud; and
- Using administrative data from one safety net program (e.g., SNAP or TANF) to make enrollment in other safety net programs (e.g., reemployment assistance) easier and faster.
- Stop trying to “fix” the outdated and obsolete CONNECT website.
- Through proper outsourcing, a private contractor can apply “best-of-breed” technologies as needed to improve business processes and overall customer outcomes. Having state employee data stored in the cloud helps to ensure that it is backed up and more secure.
- Outsource business processes to help overcome delays caused by burdensome public hiring processes and requirements.
- Reform the state’s procurement system to improve transparency, open competition, and enhance the planning and contracting of large-scale IT projects.
Cox Media Group