Contracting jobs out of state the wrong answer for Alaska

Alaska Department of Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg speaks during a bill signing by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, right, on Aug. 30, 2024. (Alaska Department of Health photo)

The following editorial was published by the Wrangell Sentinel.

The Alaska Division of Public Assistance has been behind — far, far behind — in processing applications and reviews for food stamp benefits since 2022.

Alaskans who need help the most have not gotten the help they need.

And despite well-intentioned efforts of division staff and the commissioner at the Department of Health, which oversees division, the wait times for benefit determinations and case reviews still are embarrassingly late and out of compliance with federal standards.

The division has suffered under a chronic shortage of employees for several years, starting when Gov. Mike Dunleavy used his budget authority and veto pen in 2021 to cut more than 100 jobs — nearly a quarter of people responsible for processing the applications. He said the remaining staff could get the work done.

The Food Bank of Alaska warned that the cuts would make it harder for Alaskans to access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. They were right, the governor was wrong. And being wrong has hurt many of the nearly 70,000 Alaskans who rely on SNAP for food assistance.

Advocates for foodless families have pushed the state to solve the problem and judges have ordered the state to do better, but the delays persist. According to a report submitted to state and federal courts earlier this month, Alaska had a backlog of 3,067 applications as of August, the Anchorage Daily News reported. That’s down from a peak backlog of more than 15,000 in 2023, but it’s nothing to brag about.

The Dunleavy administration’s latest “solution” is to give the review work to an out-of-state contractor. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state’s request to use existing contract staff who are working a virtual call center for the Division of Public Assistance, allowing the workers to take on the added job of conducting SNAP eligibility interviews.

As of last month, Public Consulting Group, the Boston-based firm, had 128 people living in the Lower 48 and working for its call center operations, fielding questions from Alaskans. They now will take on more work for the state of Alaska.

Adding to the out-of-state contract “is a short-term bridge to compliance and faster service, not a shift toward employing more contractors,” Division of Public Assistance Director Deb Etheridge said in a Sept. 5 statement to the Anchorage Daily News.

Until that short-term bridge is pulled up, the state will be sending money out of state to perform work that should be done in state by Alaska residents for Alaska residents.

Decimating the public employee workforce and giving the jobs — and the money — to an out-of-state contractor is another reminder that the next governor needs to think before making decisions. And maybe listen to the Food Bank next time.