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Q&A
Client service experience and wait times for HRA services
3:04:21
ยท
3 min
Council Member Brewer raises concerns about client service experience, including wait times at HRA offices and for phone services. Commissioner Park and other officials provide information on current wait times and efforts to improve service delivery.
- Average in-person wait time for clients was 84 minutes in the first quarter of FY25
- Wait times for on-demand interviews are generally shorter: around 20 minutes for SNAP and up to an hour for cash assistance
- HRA has implemented a callback function to reduce time spent on hold
- 1,000 new hires for frontline programs since 2023
- Investments in technology and process changes to streamline services
- Majority of applications are now submitted online
Gale A. Brewer
3:04:21
Yes, I do.
3:04:23
Okay, client service experience.
3:04:25
An ongoing concern for many years has been a client service in centers, phone wait times, we heard about this earlier, the ability for clients to return missed calls from HRA and all the processing in an application and the overall client experience of benefits.
3:04:40
According to the PMMR, in the first fewer months of 02/05, first quarter, the average in person wait time for clients was eighty four minutes.
3:04:50
The PMMR attributed to increase in foot traffic at HRA offices and a higher volume of applications.
3:04:57
What's being done to address this?
3:04:59
We heard about this earlier from Councilmember Joseph a little bit.
Molly Wasow Park
3:05:04
So the wait times for on demand interviews are fairly brief.
3:05:12
And I have them, hold on.
3:05:17
Now I have them here.
3:05:24
So we did see in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic some uptick in wait times at the in person centers as more people transitioned back to going in person.
3:05:42
But we have the staff that we need.
3:05:45
We are able to process cases.
3:05:46
And what we are seeing is that the majority of people are applying online.
Judith Rosenfeld
3:05:54
Jesus, sorry.
Molly Wasow Park
3:05:59
I know I have this number someplace.
3:06:01
The specific wait times on the cash and on demand.
Gale A. Brewer
3:06:08
Right.
3:06:11
And how you're addressing it.
Molly Wasow Park
3:06:12
But with respect to addressing it, I think all of the steps that we took to eliminate the backlogs have really put us in a good place.
3:06:25
Going back to 2023, we've hired 1,000 people for our frontline programs.
3:06:31
We've invested in technology.
3:06:32
We've made a number of process changes so that we've been able to cut out some of the more challenging aspects of the process, and I think that that has really made a difference.
3:06:48
It has allowed us to really keep up with what we're seeing.
3:06:57
Sorry, I'm still looking for those wait times.
3:06:59
If I don't have them, we'll follow-up.
Scott French
3:07:00
We can follow-up with specifics.
3:07:02
Can't say on average, SNAP on demand wait time is probably around twenty minutes or so.
3:07:07
It's not long in cash.
3:07:08
In the last couple of months, it's been around an hour at maximum, but as
Molly Wasow Park
3:07:12
the commissioner said I just find it.
3:07:14
Yeah, it's January, it was fifty three minutes for cash.
Scott French
3:07:17
And we do have the callback function so people don't need to stay on the phone for that period of time, But we do everything we can to reduce those.
Gale A. Brewer
3:07:25
I just want to say the chair knows this.
3:07:27
I have a lot of people using your services living in my house right now.
3:07:30
A whole bunch of them.
3:07:31
And I have to say it's really pretty good.
3:07:33
I mean I do have everybody's cell number.
3:07:35
That helps.
3:07:36
But it's I just wanna say congratulations because I know it's hard, but they're getting services.
3:07:41
Thank you.
Molly Wasow Park
3:07:42
Thank you.