Gov. Mike Dunleavy added $9 million to his budget this week to address a backlog in the Division of Public Assistance that’s left thousands of Alaskans waiting for food stamps and Medicaid. The money will be spent on hiring contract workers to help state employees get through the backlog so they are prepared for upcoming Medicaid recertifications.
Dunleavy called the increase “significant” and said it would be used to fund more than 100 temporary and contract positions. There’s also an additional $54 million in the capital budget for improved computer systems in the division.
Democratic Representative Andy Josephson says he fought staff cuts to the division of public assistance last session. Now he credits the governor with being responsive to the crisis.
“We’ll just have to see how it plays out,” he said. “And it still begs the question of how we got here. And I think that there are many questions that remain about that.”
Unaffiliated minority leader Calvin Schrage said he thinks the contract workers and additional funding will address the food stamp backlog and get benefits to Alaskans. But he said he has some concerns, such as whether contract workers will replace state employees.
“Also we’ve heard reports that some of this is a result of understaffing in prior years,” he said. “And so, making sure that we have adequate staffing moving forward, that this isn’t just a one-time boost to get past a difficult decision and then go back to slower or dysfunctional service.”
Department of Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg says the budget calls for contract workers because the division does not need more staff.
“We’re going to always continue to reevaluate, but we believe that our permanent positions are sufficient,” she said.
But the union that represents state workers disagrees. It rallied on the capitol steps last week to ask for more staff for the division. It has filed a grievance against the state because it says the contract labor violates its collective bargaining agreement.
