PUKALANI - A state Department of Human Services consolidation and modernization plan that would lead to dozens of benefit eligibility worker layoffs and the closure of all Maui County welfare offices has left staffers stunned and upset.
"It's not a pono plan for the state of Hawaii," Wailuku eligibility worker David Valencia said Thursday. "Granted, it is a nice idea for them, but to isolate Kauai and Maui (counties) without someone knowledgeable for face-to-face contact is ridiculous.
"In my opinion, our director is being negligent in our responsibility to our beneficiaries."
Earlier, department Deputy Director Henry Oliva had offered a rebuttal of Valencia's statements.
The new system would not impact negatively the delivery of services, such as health care, child and adult day care, food stamps and temporary financial assistance to families, Oliva told Gov. Linda Lingle's Council of Neighbor Island Advisors for Maui on Wednesday night at the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center.
He noted that the plan is just a cost-cutting proposal - at the moment - initiated by the governor to help combat the state's projected $1.2 billion budget deficit. The taxpayer savings would be substantial, Oliva said.
The plan would create a centralized DHS Eligibility Processing Operations Division, accessible to benefit applicants via a Web site, e-mail, phone and fax, said DHS private consultant Sandie Hoback. Only Honolulu and Hilo each would keep open an application office. Clients in those places could meet with their caseworkers in person, she said.
According to DHS, initiating the proposal would require closing 32 of 34 DHS offices statewide. The six Maui County eligibility offices are as follows:
* Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division, with three Wailuku sites at 1955 Main St., 54 High St. and 35 Lunalilo Building.
* Med-QUEST (Medicaid and Medicare) Division, with a Millyard Plaza office at 210 Imi Kala St., Wailuku.
* A Lanai eligibility subunit at 730 Lanai Ave.
* A Molokai eligibility unit at 55 Makaena Place, Kaunakakai.
Not surprisingly, the proposal has put the administration and Hawaii Government Employees Association union at loggerheads.
Department Director Lillian Koller informed the union about the consolidation idea in a Jan. 29 letter, but she neither made any public announcements nor had supervisors convene employees to inform them of the proposal until this week.
Meanwhile, HGEA officers took their complaints public at a legislative committee meeting last week.
The administration responded that the union has not agreed to a sit-down to discuss the proposal and, instead, has chosen to "wildly speculate" about the number of office closures and layoffs.
HGEA leaders estimated the Department of Human Services would lay off from 200 to 400 employees to implement its plan. HGEA spokeswoman Jodi Chai said Thursday she didn't know how many Maui County eligibility staffers soon could be laid off.
"There's just a lack of information from them (DHS)," Chai said.
When asked Wednesday how much money would be saved or how many Maui County jobs are at risk, Oliva said it's too early to say without union discussions. He repeated the department's request for HGEA to come to the bargaining table.
State-supported Maui medical clinics still will have staffers on hand to answer questions, Hoback said. She added that they could install at other state offices in Maui County phones with dedicated lines to the centralized centers.
Valencia said only the Valley Island has outreach clinics and then only two: at Hana Community Clinic and the new Community Clinic of Maui in Wailuku. Although outreach workers can help people fill out paperwork, they aren't trained to make any benefit determinations, he said.
"They just gather information," Valencia said. "It's a glorified clerk. They can't answer questions. They'll just put them on the phone to someone else."
Continuity would be lost, mistakes would be made and people would get hurt, Valencia said. He added he would not be surprised if a judge someday ordered the proposed system scrapped.
Hoback, who has run or consulted welfare systems in Oregon and Pennsylvania, said a centralized system reduced administrative costs in other states, as in Florida by 36 percent.
"All people care about is getting their benefits," Hoback said. "Under this system, they will just need to put in their application and will no longer have to go from place to place to place, which is a big problem for people who lack transportation."
A major time waster is the amount of time eligibility workers spend with walk-in clients, many of whom just want to talk story, Hoback told the governor's advisory council. A consolidated system would cut the time state workers spend with a client from one hour to 15 minutes on average, she said.
"The Eligibility Processing Operations Division will be as quick and as efficient as possible while saving money," Oliva said.
HGEA Maui Division Chief Alton Watanabe on Thursday referred questions to Valencia, who was at Wednesday's meeting in Pukalani.
The DHS plan doesn't make sense, Valencia asserted, especially since the mentally ill, poor and illiterate - in other words, many of the clients - will not or cannot access phones, faxes or computers. People who need help the most absolutely would be left behind, he said.
Valencia also said recent DHS budget cuts already have unfairly put staffers in an impossible position, where current inefficiencies were inevitable and difficult to defend. Valencia, who helps people get Medicare and Medicaid benefits, said he has nearly 1,400 clients, with up to 100 new applicants weekly.
"There aren't enough hours in the week for me to keep up," he said.
He said with the economy in the tank, state caseworkers have more clients than ever. Many clients are regular working folks and first-timers, who are ashamed they need public assistance. Talking with someone in person, to walk them through the dizzying process, helps alleviate the stress, he said.
Advisory panel member Kay Ghean suggested that a phone system would make applying more anonymous and thus easier, since people wouldn't worry about running into a neighbor or auntie at the benefits office.
"I'm glad to hear you're cutting costs. That's fantastic," said panel member John Henry.
Ghean said the proposal sounded like it might eliminate duplicated costs. Although unpleasant, layoffs are a possibility for everyone these days, she added.
Henry and Ghean are the Maui County Republican Party chairman and past chairwoman, respectively, and both are appointees by the GOP governor to the island advisory council.
"It's up to the union now to step up to the plate," Ghean said.
* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.
