Washington Co. Division of Jobs and Household Providers completes verifications | Information, Sports activities, Jobs

By the numbers:

¯ Washington County ranked # 1 in the state for March wage reviews.

¯ The county has completed 100 percent of its reviews.

¯ The national average was 13.52 percent.

¯ More than 20 counties had verified less than 10 percent.

The two lowest-ranking counties were Hamilton with 0.53 percent and Hocking with no review.

¯ 964,550 alerts were generated nationwide, of which only 130,360 were completed within 45 days.

Source: Washington

County Department of Job and Family Services.

The Washington County Department of Job and Family Services completed 100 percent of its income checks in March.

This is the first time the county has completed 100 percent since moving to a new system in 2018.

JFS officials said this is in stark contrast to the Ohio DJFS rate, which is only 13.52 percent.

Washington County’s JFS director Flite Freimann said their systems generate alerts if state-provided revenue does not match customer-provided revenue.

“What this is basically … it’s our system that matches other government data like unemployment or any type of income that people might have who would generate a 1099 or a W-2.” said Chris Buchanan, public support administrator. “There is a government match, then this information is passed on to us to see if we are aware of this source of income for our customers.”

When an alert is generated for a customer, JFS has 45 days to review the income gap.

“It’s our very first line of defense against fraud.” Said Freimann.

Buchanan added that this is an income check for all JFS programs, including SNAP, Medicaid, and temporary aid to families in need.

Freimann found that not all income figures such as maintenance and child benefit count.

“One of our constant challenges … they are talking about the Benefit Cliff. We don’t want anyone to feel punished for their work. “ he explained. “If your employer calls you and says, ‘Hey, can you work a double shift this weekend? ” We want you to say yes and start building independence and autonomy. That is why these warnings are so important to us. “

He noted that this reduces fraud because if a person works a short number of hours for two pay periods and ranks payslips for that period, their case will be flagged when the state sees higher amounts on their regular pay slips.

“If we get these notifications, we’ll have to contact the customer again to make sure that the benefits have changed.” said Michelle Brown, Authorization Referrer supervisor. “If it’s a positive change, no big deal. Whenever the change is negative, it can affect its benefits. “

Freimann was happy when he first learned that the county was 100 percent verified because the state verified percentage is so low. More than 20 counties, including Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton, have checked less than 10 percent of their warnings.

“This makes me the least popular JFS director. I just think they are doing their clients a disservice.” he said. “It’s not illegal, but they are doing their customers a disservice. This is something the state asked us to do and we think it is real. We think that’s very important. “

Buchanan received an email after noticing the county had jumped from 66 percent to 100 percent.

The government notice said, ‘What did you do? Tell us what you are doing so we can share this with the other counties. “ Said Freimann.

He said the warnings also keep them in touch with customers.

“Sometimes people get lost. Each of these numbers represents a real person. And that is a person who has problems, who works and doesn’t make it, and needs benefits and help. “ he added. “So it gives us a window into their lives. It’s an opportunity for us to reach out to that person, talk to them, and tell them what’s wrong with your life. “

Michele Newbanks can be reached at [email protected].

Latest news and more in your inbox