Food Stamp Program Corrective Action Plan - DPAweb - Alaska ...

III. CORRECTIVE ACTIONSAlaska remains committed to Food Stamp Program payment accuracy. Over the years,DHSS has implemented processes that we believe contribute to lowering the error rate.Examples include: implementation of the statewide Case Review Tool, adoption ofSemi Annual Reporting, prospective budgeting, the Quality Assessment ReviewCommittee (QARC), a process to ensure that QC errors found in the QARC process arebeing corrected, Local Quality Councils comprised of staff who strive to develop processimprovements at the office level, regularly updated on-line policy manuals, regionalcase reviewer positions, standardized case notes (CANOs), increased involvement bysupervisors in leadership meetings and in training and mentoring staff, annual statewidetraining workshops, DPA employee web site home page with constant focus on FoodStamp accuracy, and the DPA eNews. In the current federal fiscal year Alaska isconducting a statewide workload analysis study to gather relevant data to accuratelymeasure the work burden and help assess the effectiveness of existing work processesand staff resource deployment.This section focuses on the most common errors, examines progress made incorrecting these errors, and identifies initiatives and improvements. We believe thetools described in this section are our best means of reducing the food stamp error rate.One of the most significant payment accuracy initiatives has been the QualityAssessment Review Committee (QARC). Begun in 2003, it is the main forum forreviewing all quality control errors, whether active or negative. All errors are thoroughlyexamined within our Quality Assessment Unit, but the QARC provides a final evaluationof each error to determine if all policies were correctly applied. In addition, thesubstance of each error is reviewed to determine trends, system changes, trainingneeds, and other corrective action needed to prevent future occurrences of the sametype of error. Discussions of case errors at the QARC are also a primary source forarticles for the Division’s electronic newsletter DPA ENews. The committee reviewserror cases from other programs as well, which can lead to beneficial changes that alsoaffect the Food Stamp Program.Another initiative involves the adoption of standardized case note (CANO) formats inour Eligibility Information System to help eligibility workers reduce the instances ofoverlooked eligibility criteria. This also helps workers document their actions andfindings consistently statewide and helps prevent errors when cases are transferredbetween local offices.A common theme throughout all error elements is the prevalence of agency-causederrors. Workers not knowing what action to take, and workers not taking any action onthe reported information most commonly cause these errors. Training addresses thefirst problem, as the purpose of training is to teach people what action needs to betaken and how to do so correctly. The second issue is more difficult. QualityAssessment and supervisory staff will be working with eligibility staff to identify criticalpoints in the process. This information, combined with the results of the workloadanalysis study, will be used to identify and recommend needed improvements.12/18/2006 13