Audit Report On The Expedited Processing Of Food Stamp Applications By The Human Resources Administration

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

Through the Food Stamp Program, the Human Resources Administration (HRA) provides food support to low-income New Yorkers, including working families, the elderly, and the disabled, to increase their ability to purchase food. As part of the program, HRA offers Expedited Food Stamp (EFS) processing for those clients who are in immediate need of food stamp benefits, which may result in the expedited issuance of benefits for eligible applicants. The number of people receiving food stamp benefits increased by 15 percent from 1,502,400 during Fiscal Year 2009 to 1,731,900 during Fiscal Year 2010. In addition, 207,233 applicants received EFS processing from July 2009 to May 2010. Moreover, during Fiscal Year 2010, $43 million was issued in expedited food stamp benefits.

This audit determined whether HRA ensured that the expedited processing of food stamp applications was carried out in accordance with applicable guidelines. Our audit focused solely on the food stamp applications filed at the Non-Cash Assistance (NCA) Centers 1 . The audit did not test any aspects of the processing of applications at Job Centers.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

Our review found that HRA ensured that Non-Cash Assistance Centers followed established guidelines in the expedited processing of food stamp applications. Specifically, our review of the randomly selected files found that the screening for EFS processing, the eligibility interviews, and the issuance of food stamp benefits were done in a timely manner, and the eligibility determinations for EFS processing and benefits were accurate. In addition, HRA has adequate controls to (1) prevent it from improperly providing benefits when an applicant does not submit all of the required documents and (2) process applications when the computer system malfunctions.

However, we found minor discrepancies with the way the Human Resources Administration processed eight (27 percent) of our 30 cases, all of which are attributable to lack of oversight and computer errors. We also found that the Human Resources Administration is not accurately coding the eligibility determinations for applicants who were not fully verified and identified one applicant who received a one-time duplicate benefit.

Audit Recommendations

To address these issues, we make three recommendations. HRA should:

• Stress to its NCA staff the importance of complying with all of the details relevant to the EFS processing criteria.
• Implement edits into the system so as to ensure that Eligibility Specialists cannot process ongoing benefits until all eligibility factors are fully resolved.
• Enhance training to ensure that employees are thoroughly familiar with all program rules, including re-applications.

Agency Response

HRA officials agreed with the audit’s findings and its three recommendations.