QUESTION
What are the updates on Fair Fares enrolment, marketing effectiveness, coordination with MTA, and measures against EBT fraud?
1:54:01
·
8 min
Officials from the Department of Social Services (DSS) provide updates on Fair Fares enrolment, marketing strategies, MTA coordination, and efforts to combat EBT fraud.
- Over 317,300 New Yorkers have enrolled in Fair Fares as of the month's beginning, with marketing efforts aiming to increase this number.
- DSS has approved $21.6 million in replacement benefits for victims of EBT skimming, mainly for SNAP benefits, and is working on long-term solutions like chipped cards.
- Targeted outreach for Fair Fares involves reassessing ZIP codes for under-enrollment, using various languages, and partnering with MTA for enrollment events.
- A pilot transition to the Omni system for Fair Fares users is underway to ensure a smooth transition from MetroCard usage.
Diana I. Ayala
1:54:01
We will now hear from council member Brooks Powers followed by comes from member writing.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:54:07
Thank you, madam chair.
1:54:08
I'd just like to follow-up on the speakers' questions regarding Fairfares.
1:54:15
And I'll just ask them altogether, and then you can respond.
1:54:19
And then I have one regarding EBT fraud.
1:54:22
So as as it pertains to fair fair fairs, are you able to provide an update on what the current uptake rate for fair fairs is?
1:54:31
How many New Yorkers have signed up as of today in terms of eligible New Yorkers.
1:54:39
And then you mentioned $5,000,000 was spent in fiscal year 23 on marketing and staffing for fair fairs.
1:54:46
Have you studied which avenues of distribution are most effective as in?
1:54:51
What are the most effective ways to get people to sign up?
1:54:54
And do you believe that additional and also, I'm I'm just curious.
1:54:59
You mentioned that there's been some outreach done around that, but in particular, where the household income levels are lower, has it been done in a strategic way?
1:55:11
To reach those communities.
1:55:13
And I'm curious as to what particular outlets in terms of newspapers or radio stations have been invested in for that.
1:55:23
And then you talked about the coordination with MTA on Fairfares.
1:55:29
About an omni pilot and also the distribution at MTA's customer service centers.
1:55:35
Can you talk a little bit more about how DSS and the MTA coordinate on Fairfares?
1:55:41
What does that partnership look like?
1:55:43
Do you have any data on how successful the MTA's outreach?
1:55:47
At their service centers has been, and I'll close with the EBT fraud, as I mentioned.
1:55:53
So in Rockaway in particular, we've seen a spike in recent years in reports of welfare fraud.
1:56:00
New Yorkers are being victimized by skimming.
1:56:02
For example, their EBT card information is stolen and copied and then used by someone else.
1:56:10
Can you talk about how DSS is seeking to address EBT fraud what kind of outreach have been done to educate New Yorkers about EBT fraud.
1:56:20
And I will acknowledge that you have sent out communication in terms of trying to recoup some of those dollars.
1:56:27
I am interested in how successful has been.
1:56:29
Again, we've had uptick in terms of complaints about that.
1:56:35
And there have been concerns and complaints about the local office that's in Far Rockaway and the support that they're able or not able to get there.
1:56:43
Thank you.
Molly Wasow Park
1:56:44
Absolutely.
1:56:45
Let me start with the skimming questions and then between the team and I will answer the the fair fairs question.
1:56:53
So, I mean, skimming is just terrific.
1:56:56
People praying on the most vulnerable, really something that we should all be ashamed is happening at all.
1:57:04
Thanks to changes in state law.
1:57:06
We are able to do reimbursement now.
1:57:09
We have thus far approved a total of 21 point $6,000,000 in replacement benefits.
1:57:15
Majority of that is snap, but that includes some cash as well.
1:57:18
The deadline for making retroactive claims.
1:57:22
So this is before the change in state law has been extended to April 1st.
1:57:26
So there's still a little bit of time to submit those, and then people will still be able to do claims on an ongoing basis if they detect fraud.
1:57:37
We have been trying to communicate that as widely as possible.
1:57:41
So really pushing that out.
1:57:43
But if you have other places where you think we should be engaging on that.
1:57:47
We're happy to collaborate.
1:57:50
We are processing those centrally at the through DSS rather than doing it at individual site offices.
1:57:58
We wanted to do it that way because we needed to be able to to walk on chew gum at the same time.
1:58:03
Right?
1:58:03
We had to make progress on our cash and snap backlogs, making sure we're getting benefits in people's hands, and we needed to be processing the skimming.
1:58:10
So we did a little bit of of dividing up on our work of labor.
1:58:14
But we have, I think, the the process this is done.
1:58:19
We've been able to move very quickly and with far less impact on other operations than I was originally anxious that we would I think the best option in terms of longer term solutions to skimming, because I I heard that as as part of your question as well, is making sure that the cards are chipped.
1:58:36
That is something that the state isn't the one actually issuing the cards.
1:58:40
So something more in conversations with OTA on, and I know that they're looking at.
1:58:46
On fair fairs.
1:58:46
Let me get it started, and I will pass off to colleagues.
1:58:49
As of the beginning of this month, we had 317,300 people enrolled in fair fairs.
1:58:57
So not all of them are using fair fairs on an a regular basis, but all of them have all of those people have access to it.
1:59:05
We've tried a lot of different things on the marketing, some of which we we talked about already.
1:59:11
We're we're partnering with but in addition to what we've already talked about, partnering with a slew of other agencies and training their staff so that whenever they are engaging with people in communities, that they are able to enroll people in fair fairs and to talk up the program.
1:59:29
That includes almost 100 DOE school based staff so that we're trying to really meet people where they are.
1:59:38
And marketing it as well within the various asylum facilities because immigration status is not a requirement for receiving the benefit.
1:59:49
We're distributing promotional materials and libraries.
1:59:53
ACS has shared out materials.
1:59:55
Right?
1:59:55
So we're really trying to go with a lot of different options, but Scott or Jelly, there are you electric?
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
2:00:02
And are you doing them in multiple languages as well?
Jill Berry
2:00:05
Absolutely.
2:00:05
Yes.
2:00:07
Yes.
2:00:08
Just a few more things on some of the targeted outreach we're doing and then the pilot with the MTI is we reassess every year before we start our marketing campaign.
2:00:18
Those ZIP codes where we know that there are people who are eligible and not enrolled and we target the outreach in those areas, the bus shelter ads and the community marketing.
2:00:31
In terms of community newspapers and all that we target those to those, specifically those ZIP codes where we know that there is under enrollment.
2:00:39
We have RoboK call and text and mailing outreach to those of our clients that we believe are eligible and not enrolled.
2:00:48
So we're targeting those specific individuals.
2:00:51
And where we have found a lot of success, the things that have been the most successful are those partnerships with the MTI.
2:00:59
So that's where we are meeting those people who are using public transportation.
2:01:04
And letting them know about Fair Fair.
2:01:06
So those transit talk events, those customer service event partnerships that we do with the MTA.
2:01:12
We generally see really good enrollment numbers after those.
2:01:16
We are working really closely with the MTA on the rollout to Omni.
2:01:21
We want this to go as smoothly as possible for the Fair Fair's population.
2:01:26
We're we started outreach to some of our Fair Fair's participants to participate in a a small pilot of about fifty people so that we can make sure that we are designing a transition and a and a system that works well for our clients and that none of our clients are left behind when we do the transition from metro card company.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
2:01:49
Thank you for that.
2:01:50
And commissioner, I will take your gonna offer in terms of collaborate, and there's a flyer about the EBT.
2:01:56
That we can share if you could send it to the council members.
2:01:59
And then I'll just close by us requesting a breakdown of the local ethnic media that you all are contracting with, in particular, for my district.
2:02:11
So we have, like, the Rockaway wave got where it's at media and a network of hyper local press.
2:02:19
I have not seen any advertisement about fair fairs in any of this.
2:02:24
So I'm just curious in terms of what that outreach looks where there's a lower household income.
