DEPARTMENT: Employment and Economic Assistance
FILE TYPE: Consent Action
TITLE
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Ratification Of USDA SNAP Fiscal Year 2022 Process And Technology Improvement Grant Application, And Authorization To Accept Grant Funds, Execute Grant Agreement And Related Contracts, And Amend 2022 Employment And Economic Assistance Budget
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PURPOSE/ACTION REQUESTED
Ratify application for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Fiscal Year 2022 Process and Technology Improvement grant, and authorize acceptance of USDA grant funds in the amount awarded, execution of USDA grant agreement and related contracts for the period of September 30, 2022 through September 30, 2025, and amendment to the 2022 Employment And Economic Assistance (E&EA) budget.
SUMMARY
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Dakota County's E&EA department to move quickly to provide services in virtual and flexible ways. While these process changes have been successful and more clients are being served via remote means, the systems used to serve clients in this way are inflexible and inefficient. Since the move to provide more services in a virtual or telephonic way, lobby visits have decreased by 60 percent, even though the E&EA caseload has increased by 30 percent; the workload has increased, while the need/demand for in-person visits has decreased. E&EA is serving more people than ever and serving them in completely new ways. The current systems used to serve clients remotely are old and inflexible, requiring inefficient workarounds that make extra work for both clients and staff. In this grant application, E&EA sought to fund a project that aims to modernize and expand E&EA's self-service and communication options for clients.
E&EA submitted an application and was awarded the full amount of $623,950 for the period of September 30, 2022 through September 30, 2025. The USDA SNAP Process and Technology Improvement grant will f...
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