Aspects of the state’s public-assistance computer system have improved since it debuted 15 months ago, but other areas – particularly Medicaid – continue to bedevil county workers, state agencies and clients.
Exacerbating the situation are more applications for assistance pouring in as glitches in the Colorado Benefits Management System are unkinked.
“It’s gotten better, but our lobby is still full,” said Sherri Almond, executive director of the Jefferson County Human Services Division.
John Witwer, appointed in May as CBMS director, acknowledged issues still exist, but he said that through the work of county caseworkers and state agency employees, “there aren’t large numbers of people not getting benefits.”
“On simple cases, we’re achieving an accuracy of 95 percent plus,” Witwer said. “On complex cases where a family has multiple programs or multiple people in the family, we’re still working out the bugs on those.”
The Colorado Center on Law and Policy filed a lawsuit last year on behalf on welfare recipients; the state was ordered to set goals and set up emergency benefit processing. That lawsuit is still active.
“People are still being impacted by failures of the system,” said center lawyer Elizabeth Arenalles. “Where is the global plan and where is the urgency in getting that implemented?”
Counties continue to spend millions of dollars to ensure timely benefits to clients by using temporary workers and paying overtime. For example, Arapahoe County spent nearly $1 million last year on CBMS.
The state has sought to ease CBMS woes by giving counties $16 million to contend with the balky $200 million system.
The most recent assistance came in mid-December from the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, which promised an additional $2.8 million.
At that meeting, JBC members learned the federal government is demanding the state return more than $1 million in food-stamp payments that were improperly issued last year due to CBMS. The state has appealed the request.
In addition, the federal government is requesting payment of unspecified funds for other CBMS overpayments and for money used to develop the system.
Officials at the Jeffco Action Center believe CBMS problems have helped to boost their client load from about 120 households per day a year ago to the current 180 households per day.
“Something is broken somewhere,” said center spokeswoman Mag Strittmatter.
Witwer noted that CBMS is “a very extensive and ambitious system” that determines eligibility and authorizes payments to 290,000 cases, which represent about a half-million clients (each case represents a household, and people receive more than one type of assistance).
On Oct. 28, the Metro Area County Commissioners sent a letter to Gov. Bill Owens praising Witwer’s work. The group said some problems have been fixed, but CBMS “continues to operate well below minimal expectations.”
The group cited concerns about providers’ computers denying eligibility after CBMS says clients are eligible, increased workload, multiple and conflicting notices mailed to clients, duplicate payments and county costs.
Witwer said the state is working on the delay in letting providers know clients are eligible for benefits, and a program to solve overnoticing of clients will be completed in February.
“I feel very positive about the system,” Witwer said. “This is going to get straightened out, and it’s going to be an example for the rest of the country. We’ve got our growing pains, and we’re moving ahead.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
