Sept. 7, 2007 — Staff members from the Department of Human Services held their heads high Friday as territorial and federal officials showered them with praise for ranking second in the nation for accuracy in administering the Food Stamp Program.
In a ceremony at Government House, Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Human Services Commissioner Chris Finch received a bonus check of $148,643 from federal officials as an award for the integrity of the territory’s food stamp program, which serves some 17,000 Virgin Islanders.
The Food Stamp Program (FSP) employees have earned federal recognition for their job performance in four of the last five years.
“I’m so very proud of my staff,” Finch said. “To not only successfully comply, but to be able to beat everyone else year after year is really remarkable.”
The FSP’s payment error rate in fiscal 2006 stood at 1.93 percent, the second lowest in the nation, where the average is 5.99 percent. The error rate is based on federal monitoring that measures how accurately agencies follow the guidelines for disseminating food stamps.
Finch praised the diligence of the FSP staff for mastering and carefully executing “confusing and myriad, ever-changing rules and regulations,” ensuring that people eligible to receive benefits got them and those who did not fit the criteria did not receive them. Finch, who assumed his post in March, also credited his predecessor,
Sedonie Halbert, for offering strong leadership that paved the way for Friday’s recognition.
Nancy Montanez Johner, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, also commended the territory’s FSP employees at the ceremony after visiting their St. Thomas office.
“I could feel and sense the energy and kindness and compassion in your office,” said Johner, who described those qualities as the “cornerstone” in successfully administering to the poor.
The governor praised the FSP employees as role models.
“Many times government employees don’t get the accolades they deserve, and this is a tremendous example to the rest of government in terms of what we can achieve,” deJongh said.
The award money will fund approximately $33,000 in renovations to FSP waiting rooms, with the balance to be divided on a sliding scale between 119 FSP staff members, from support staff to administrators.
The territory’s $20 million FSP budget serves 6,270 families, or an estimated 17,000 individuals, approximately half of the eligible population. The DHS plans an outreach program in the coming year to increase enrollment in the program in hopes of addressing the problem of poorly nourished — even hungry — low-income families in the Virgin Islands, Finch said.
To qualify for food stamps, households must have a monthly net income equal to or less than 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
To learn more about food stamp eligibility, call one of the following DHS Food Stamp Program offices: St. Thomas and St. John at 774-2399, Christiansted, St. Croix, at 773-2323 or Frederiksted, St. Croix, at 772-0085.
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