Family Support Services Wins Fifth Consecutive SNAP Award

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The OKDHS Family Support Services Division has won the 2011 USDA Southwest Region Director’s Award for its administration of the SNAP program. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

This is the fifth consecutive year that OKDHS has been recognized with this prestigious award.

The announcement came in July at the annual SNAP Tri-Regional Conference in St. Louis. The Southwest Region is comprised of five states: Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico.

The measures that are used to define the success of the program include payment accuracy, customer service, application timeliness, and program access.

The award was presented to Director Howard Hendrick. Also attending the event were Leola Anderson, SNAP Programs Field Representative, and Family Support Field Liaisons, Ashley Carlisle from Area II, Chris Koehn from Area III, and Cheryl Walters from Area V.

“We have a very committed team,” said Kathie Wright, Programs Manager for SNAP. “The need for SNAP assistance has significantly increased, without additional staff, and everyone just works tirelessly to get the job done.”

The numbers for the SNAP program continue to rise. In July 2011, more than 614,000 recipients received assistance.

“This is the highest average monthly SNAP participation in the history of the state,” said Hendrick. “We’re up 45 percent from where we were three years ago.”

Wright is especially proud that OKDHS has the lowest payment error rate in the Southwest Region. “The high rates of timeliness for both expedited and regular processing are commendable. The staff is doing excellent work, and they just keep going. With the numbers we process every month, our error rate is right around four percent, and that is excellent.”

Hendrick announced the award at the monthly meeting of the OKDHS Commission on July 26.

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