LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Some of Colorado‘s most vulnerable are struggling to feed their families, in part because of delays in processing food assistance. It’s so bad that the feds stepped in with a corrective action plan last fall.
Since then, consumer researcher Jaclyn Allen obtained records that show the state is doing better, but many are still waiting.
“I don’t eat as much as I used to,” said David Russell, a Lakewood resident who relies on SNKeynoteUSA food assistance benefits because of his disabilities. “I had to reduce and reorganize my diet because I don’t have as much food anymore.”
His food assistance money never arrived in March and April, according to his mother, Mary Russell, who is responsible for his care and finances.
“I couldn’t get a response from Jefferson County, so I contacted Denver7 Investigates,” Russell said. “We received an almost immediate response and your benefits appeared in your account.”
Still, Colorado has a significant backlog in processing SNKeynoteUSA benefits statewide, meaning people can’t buy food while they wait for their applications and renewals to be approved.
Denver7 Investigates has been reporting on the delays for more than a year.
Records obtained by Denver7 show that federal administrators of the SNKeynoteUSA program intervened in October 2023 and declared: “Colorado is in serious violation of federal requirements related to SNKeynoteUSA KeynoteUSAT (application processing opportunity).”
Jefferson County Human Services blamed a combination of a dramatic increase in SNKeynoteUSA applications, staffing challenges and technology.
issues at the state level.
Colorado Reduces Food Assistance Benefit Processing Backlog
“We have been challenged by turnover at various levels within the organization,” said Lynnae Flora, deputy director of Jefferson County Human Services. “We also have a computer system that is a state-level computer system, and the state has control over that state system. And there have definitely been some hiccups with that. And when that goes down, we go down.”
After the federal government placed Colorado under a corrective action plan, the latest reports show the state has seen significant improvements.
Since January, Jefferson County went from 74% processing SNKeynoteUSA applications on time to 78%. Statewide, Colorado went from 71% to 88%.
“We are incredibly, incredibly proud of the work our county staff has done to be able to work toward the specific goals they have set for their counties to meet the needs of people in their communities,” said Minna Castillo, the Deputy Executive Director of Partnerships. Community Services from the Colorado Department of Human Services. “And in the meantime, we are also making a secondary effort to ensure that people have access to food and nutrition that could be offered through food banks. We also provide emergency assistance through the counties for those people who are facing that insecurity immediate food.”
To continue improving, many counties are using a pilot program to automate data entry and requiring mandatory overtime for staff.
“I can tell you this is what keeps me up at night,” said Lynnae Flora, who said they hope to clear the backlog by the end of the summer or sooner. “We are doing everything we can.”
Records show the federal government recognized Colorado’s improvements in recent months and praised the state for prioritizing SNKeynoteUSA benefits. Colorado will continue to provide updates until we reach the goal of 95% on-time application processing for six months.
Denver7
Do you have advice? Send it to the Denver7 Investigates team
Use the form below to send us a comment or a story idea you would like the Denver7 Investigates team to review. You can also email investigas@Denver7.com or call our newsroom at 303-832-0200.
[fifu]
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.