DHS cuts become a reality Thursday

Marc Baty hopes technology will enable the Department of Human Services to deliver help to Eastern Iowans despite a smaller staff covering a larger area.

“There is a lot of stuff citizens don't see, and if we do our jobs well, we'll manage the impact on the people who use our services,” said Baty, DHS service area manager. “But it's a working hypothesis as to whether we're going to be able to do that.”

Financial reality has forced a reorganization that, beginning Thursday, reduces the number of Iowa counties with full-time DHS offices to 42. The other 57 counties have part-time offices that are open fewer hours each week, and Iowans needing services will have to make appointments or go online.

DHS Director Charles Krogmeier also closed regional offices in Ames, Dubuque and Sioux City and consolidated the work at offices, staffed by fewer employees, in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines and Waterloo. He consolidated eight child-abuse intake units into one in Des Moines, while cutting 10 employees involved in evaluating allegations of child or dependent-adult abuse.

Baty's situation illustrates the challenges. On Thursday, Tama, Poweshiek and Jasper counties join the 14 he already manages from the Cedar Rapids office.

That's about another 7,200 food stamp, medical assistance and income maintenance cases and nearly 500 more child-protection cases - based on those three counties' average caseloads over the past six months.

The new DHS organization - the first major restructuring for the agency of 5,470 employees that administers federal and state programs approaching $4.5 billion - has been designed to preserve essential services in a more efficient manner, Krogmeier said. With more than 600 DHS workers taking early retirement in June and about half the vacant positions being refilled over the next year, the revamped format is designed to protect front-line workers who administer the state's main benefits system, such as food assistance, Medicaid, child-welfare and foster-care services.

“The biggest impact will be on our own people,” said DHS spokesman Roger Munns.

The early retirements, staff shifts and 15 layoffs that have taken place likely will mean at least 200 fewer DHS field workers over the next 18 months. That change has forced the agency to group employees in clusters based upon geography, client traffic and population to operate more efficiently.

“Coverage is going to be a significant issue for us as we transition, because we don't have staff to cover all the work,” Baty said.

Seven counties in Baty's service area - Tama, Poweshiek, Keokuk, Washington, Jones, Monroe and Appanoose - will see the most immediate change as their full-time DHS offices are closed.

“There's not going to be a DHS office in Jones County that a citizen can walk in,” Baty said.

County officials are disappointed.

“I believe it's going to be very detrimental,” said Andy McKean of Anamosa, chairman of the Jones County Board of Supervisors. “It's unfortunate that we're going to have to cut service.”

Victor Elias of the Child & Family Policy Center said the new system likely will mean more inconvenience, slower response times and greater distances to travel for people needing DHS services. Those are offset by more online-based information and services, he said, but oftentimes people most in need of state assistance don't have access to or skills with a computer.

“It's just going to make it more difficult to access services of the DHS,” Elias said.

Baty said clients for income-maintenance services may make an appointment to meet their caseworkers, who have been reassigned to offices in neighboring counties. He and DHS planners hope enrollment, documentation and ongoing case management can be done online. A call center in Council Bluffs will field inquiries and help keep cases current.

Changes in the way DHS performs its other major function, the protection of children and vulnerable adults, shouldn't be as apparent. Child protection workers in outlying counties will continue to work out of their homes, calls to the agency's child-welfare hot line will be answered and the response to critical cases won't change, Baty said.

“If there's a belief that a child is in danger, we're going to respond within an hour,” he said.

Child protection workers meet at least monthly with the 30 to 40 children in their caseload, Baty said.

Marc Baty hopes technology will enable the Department of Human Services to deliver help to Eastern Iowans despite a smaller staff covering a larger area.

“There is a lot of stuff citizens don't see, and if we do our jobs well, we'll manage the impact on the people who use our services,” said Baty, DHS service area manager. “But it's a working hypothesis as to whether we're going to be able to do that.”

Financial reality has forced a reorganization that, beginning Thursday, reduces the number of Iowa counties with full-time DHS offices to 42. The other 57 counties have part-time offices that are open fewer hours each week, and Iowans needing services will have to make appointments or go online.

DHS Director Charles Krogmeier also closed regional offices in Ames, Dubuque and Sioux City and consolidated the work at offices, staffed by fewer employees, in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines and Waterloo. He consolidated eight child-abuse intake units into one in Des Moines, while cutting 10 employees involved in evaluating allegations of child or dependent-adult abuse.

Baty's situation illustrates the challenges. On Thursday, Tama, Poweshiek and Jasper counties join the 14 he already manages from the Cedar Rapids office.

That's about another 7,200 food stamp, medical assistance and income maintenance cases and nearly 500 more child-protection cases - based on those three counties' average caseloads over the past six months.

The new DHS organization - the first major restructuring for the agency of 5,470 employees that administers federal and state programs approaching $4.5 billion - has been designed to preserve essential services in a more efficient manner, Krogmeier said. With more than 600 DHS workers taking early retirement in June and about half the vacant positions being refilled over the next year, the revamped format is designed to protect front-line workers who administer the state's main benefits system, such as food assistance, Medicaid, child-welfare and foster-care services.

“The biggest impact will be on our own people,” said DHS spokesman Roger Munns.

The early retirements, staff shifts and 15 layoffs that have taken place likely will mean at least 200 fewer DHS field workers over the next 18 months. That change has forced the agency to group employees in clusters based upon geography, client traffic and population to operate more efficiently.

“Coverage is going to be a significant issue for us as we transition, because we don't have staff to cover all the work,” Baty said.

Seven counties in Baty's service area - Tama, Poweshiek, Keokuk, Washington, Jones, Monroe and Appanoose - will see the most immediate change as their full-time DHS offices are closed.

“There's not going to be a DHS office in Jones County that a citizen can walk in,” Baty said.

County officials are disappointed.

“I believe it's going to be very detrimental,” said Andy McKean of Anamosa, chairman of the Jones County Board of Supervisors. “It's unfortunate that we're going to have to cut service.”

Victor Elias of the Child & Family Policy Center said the new system likely will mean more inconvenience, slower response times and greater distances to travel for people needing DHS services. Those are offset by more online-based information and services, he said, but oftentimes people most in need of state assistance don't have access to or skills with a computer.

“It's just going to make it more difficult to access services of the DHS,” Elias said.

Baty said clients for income-maintenance services may make an appointment to meet their caseworkers, who have been reassigned to offices in neighboring counties. He and DHS planners hope enrollment, documentation and ongoing case management can be done online. A call center in Council Bluffs will field inquiries and help keep cases current.

Changes in the way DHS performs its other major function, the protection of children and vulnerable adults, shouldn't be as apparent. Child protection workers in outlying counties will continue to work out of their homes, calls to the agency's child-welfare hot line will be answered and the response to critical cases won't change, Baty said.

“If there's a belief that a child is in danger, we're going to respond within an hour,” he said.

Child protection workers meet at least monthly with the 30 to 40 children in their caseload, Baty said.