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Q&A

Staffing levels for key benefit programs

2:39:19

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Council Member Diana Ayala inquires about budgeted positions and staffing levels for SNAP, cash assistance, Medicaid, and rental assistance programs. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park provides detailed information on budgeted positions and addresses questions about vacancies and overtime use.

Specific budgeted position numbers provided for each program
No immediate information available on vacancy rates
Strategic use of overtime while meeting budget constraints
Confirmation that current staffing levels are meeting application processing needs

Diana Ayala

2:39:19

We would like to get a better understanding of the budgeted and actual staffing levels for key benefit programs.

2:39:24

How many budgeted positions are there for roles that support the administration of each of the following programs?

2:39:30

SNAP, cash assistance, Medicaid, and rental assistance.

Molly Wasow Park

2:39:34

For SNAP, it's twelve twenty five.

2:39:39

For cash assistance, 2,342.

2:39:43

For Medicaid, it's nine fifty five.

2:39:47

That's specifically around Medicaid eligibility and administration.

2:39:53

I will note the majority of Medicaid recipients in New York City are actually processed by the state, so we have a relatively small slice of the Medicaid population.

2:40:05

For rental assistance, it's a somewhat more challenging answer.

2:40:10

There's three forty eight budgeted positions specifically within the Homelessness Prevention Administration, but we really have people across the agency and across both DHS and HRA working on rental assistance.

2:40:26

So for example, Administrator Carter's staff that work on shelter administration are involved in the rental assistance process because we want to make sure that we are getting packages completed and processed before they ever get to HRA.

2:40:44

So as I say, there's three forty eight that are specifically within that rental assistance world, but it is a much broader universe of people that actually touch it.

Diana Ayala

2:40:57

Are there any vacancy rates in any of those units?

Molly Wasow Park

2:41:02

Sorry, I don't have those with me.

2:41:04

We can follow-up.

2:41:07

As I noted earlier particularly with Cash and Snap, OMB has been a very good partner.

2:41:12

We have been filling those positions aggressively and they are not subject to the one for two allocation process.

Diana Ayala

2:41:20

Would you say that the current need is greater than what is budgeted?

Molly Wasow Park

2:41:23

We are keeping up with our application processing and recertifications and so we are comfortable with where we are.

Diana Ayala

2:41:35

Is HRA currently using overtime to meet the demand?

Molly Wasow Park

2:41:40

We use overtime on a very strategic basis across the agency, but I will say we took a substantial peg last year on our overtime budget and we are meeting our peg or on track to meet our peg while still meeting all of our processing deadlines.

2:41:58

Processing deadlines.

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