Officials in the state’s Department of Human Services are reporting some progress with its online public assistance system known as UHIP.
Last year, the troubled rollout of the system caused a total backlog of almost 14,000 applications for benefits like food stamps. This March, that total dropped to 10,579.
The department points to other signs of improvement like a 50 percent decrease in non-medical applications – leaving an estimated 2,800 pending applications. March also averaged the lowest lobby wait times of 75 minutes for people seeking in-person assistance. No significant system outages have taken place since mid-February.
The state is also said to be on track to fill the 143 staff openings, created to handle the backlogs, by mid-May, with 115 jobs already filled.
The department continues to work with Deloitte, the firm charged with creating the IT system, with the goal of eliminating “major outstanding issues” in five to 10 months.
