Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 6, 1998
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke directs DSHS to correct food stamp error rate

OLYMPIA - In a terse message to the director of the Department of Social and Health Services, Gov. Gary Locke today directed the agency to take measures to improve the food stamp program errors.

Locke said the agency's "food stamp error rate of 14.8 percent is wholly unacceptable" and said the agency must take action to turn the error rate around.

Last week, DSHS was the target of a critical letter from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. Glickman said Washington's error rate for federal fiscal year 1997 was 14.8 percent. Nationally, the average state error rate was 9.9 percent. Overpayments to recipients in the Washington program amounted to $45 million.

Locke directed the agency to initiate several steps to lower the program's error rate, such as closer review of household circumstances in certain cases. Other steps include simplifying policies, increasing efforts to collect on overpayments, and using quality improvement approaches to improve processes and efficiency.

"I expect Washington to be at or below the national food stamp error rate average by the end of September 1998," Locke said in the letter.

He did, however, acknowledge the work of the agency in implementing WorkFirst, the state's response to national welfare reform. WorkFirst is designed to move families off public assistance into the work force.

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