Last week, a malfunction in Colorado’s struggling technology system significantly impacted Jefferson County, resulting in a one-third reduction in processed applications for food assistance and other aid. This failure led to delays in aid for approximately 200 people in just this one county.
The situation is more dire on a larger scale. Colorado’s 11 largest counties collectively lose the ability to assist about 850 families for every 30 minutes that the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) is down. Over the span of 73 hours last year, the system failure resulted in delays for 124,000 families, according to estimates from Colorado Counties Inc. Such delays can leave some families without crucial food assistance for a month or more.
The technology issues that surfaced on August 22 have been particularly challenging for Jefferson County, which has seen a surge in food assistance applications over the last year, leading staff to work overtime to manage the increased workload. Last month, the county recorded the lowest percentage of new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications processed on time in Colorado, managing only 46%, which is well below federal expectations.
As a result of these ongoing processing challenges, Colorado is currently under a federal corrective action plan due to its food assistance processing times, which rank among the lowest in the nation. Households are expected to receive assistance within 30 days of application submission, and within seven days for expedited applications. Unfortunately, Colorado’s performance is only better than Kansas, Florida, New York, Georgia, as well as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C., based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture report for fiscal year 2023.
This situation is exacerbated by an influx of applicants since the pandemic and insufficient staffing levels. The Colorado Department of Human Services is attempting to address the backlog but faces continuous obstacles with the dysfunctional state computer system managing various government benefits, including Medicaid and child support.
Problems with CBMS have been a source of frustration for state workers for nearly two decades. Despite numerous attempts to fix issues, a comprehensive overhaul of the system has yet to occur. The state has allocated over $102 million for CBMS this year, covering vendor contracts and IT support. Initially launched in 2004, the system is supported by over 30 vendors and contains data for about 1.25 million Coloradans utilizing Medicaid, 599,000 receiving food assistance, and 17,000 beneficiaries of adult financial assistance.
When components of the system face malfunctions, it falls to the responsible vendors to resolve the issues. Recent years have seen a reduction in total downtime; system issues decreased from 317 hours in 2022 to 138 hours in 2023. However, there have already been 20 hours of outages in 2023, surpassing last year’s total.
The Colorado Counties Inc. has called for a third-party assessment of the system to determine whether it can be fixed or should be entirely replaced.
Recently, Colorado improved its processing of new food assistance applications to an average of 88%, with renewals at 87%, a notable increase from approximately 75% a year ago. However, this figure remains insufficient to exit the federal corrective action plan, which mandates a 95% compliance rate.
The statewide averages, however, do not reflect the struggles of some counties. For instance, San Juan County experienced a 0% success rate in processing new applications due to failing to meet the 30-day requirement, while Costilla County managed only 18.8% of new applications on time. Costilla’s challenges include ongoing issues with the state technology system, staff turnover, and increasing welfare requests.
In response to these issues, Jefferson County employees are now working an additional eight hours of overtime each month to clear the backlog. Currently, there are about 800 renewal applications and 100 new applications still pending from July.
The recent downtime of the CBMS hindered Jefferson County’s ability to process applications effectively, with productivity decreasing by one-third on the day of the malfunction.
To address staffing challenges, Adams County has offered significant raises for eligibility specialists and mental health support, decreasing its vacancy rate to 22%. El Paso County has also seen improvements in processing times after streamlining processes, including the introduction of automated data entry, leading to a 94% on-time processing rate for renewals.
Colorado operates a county-run, state-supervised food assistance program, resulting in varying performance across the state’s 64 counties. Authorities continue to prioritize improving access to nutritious food and ensuring that families maintain their benefits regardless of their county of residence.