GOLDEN A daunting 26-page application for government benefits like food stamps now takes just 8 pages a simplification that Gov. John Hickenlooper hopes will help more needy people get help.
Needy people have flooded into the state assistance system since the recession began, but many are turned away by cumbersome bureaucratic hurdles, state officials said at a Monday news conference.
Certainly theres never been, in my lifetime, a more challenging time for our safety net, Hickenlooper said.
Right now, 475,000 Coloradans are getting food assistance, up 80 percent in the last three years. At the same time, the Medicaid rolls have swelled by more than half to 600,000 Coloradans, Hickenlooper said.
For those people, government should become more efficient and elegant thanks to the redesigned application form, Hickenlooper said.
A key county official agreed.
For once, in government, something has been made more simple, said Lynn Johnson, director of the Jefferson County Department of Human Services, who was instrumental in rewriting the form.
Hickenlooper announced the change at Johnsons office Monday.
Usually someone walks in these doors scared, hungry, homeless and unemployed. They get to the office and take a number and then theyre told, Fill out this 25-page form, please. No mistakes. You want to talk about panic, desperation, fear, Johnson said.
State leaders also hope the shorter form will reduce bureaucratic delays. In January, just three out of four people got a decision on whether they qualify for benefits in a timely manner between seven and 45 days, depending on the type of service. By October, 94 percent of applicants got a decision in a reasonable time, said Reggie Bicha, executive director of the state Department of Human Services.
Fewer Coloradans who qualify for benefits actually receive them, compared to many other states, said Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services. Only 49 percent of eligible people are receiving assistance, but thats up from 42 percent a year ago, McDonough said.
Hickenlooper announced the changes Monday morning, although people in all 64 counties are already using the streamlined application.
The form covers a variety of benefits, including food assistance; Colorado Works (what used to be know as welfare payments); aid to the disabled; and medical care for children, the poor and the disabled.