Floridians are applying for food stamps at record-breaking rates, and the Department of Children and Families needs more money for more workers to keep up with the pace.
“These are people who have never been on benefits before,” DCF Secretary George Sheldon said Thursday. “It’s a big, strong blow to their psyche.”
The department wants the Legislature to approve an additional $6.5 million, along with $5 million in federal funds, to hire 288 full-time workers to help handle the increased load.
Some of the state money could come from a $5.4 million bonus awarded to Florida by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, extra money for the most-improved error rate in the nation.
Already, the Legislature has approved giving DCF $2.5 million more for employees to work overtime processing food-stamp applications.
In the last year Florida has added more than 408,835 new food-stamp recipients, a 29-percent increase.
Source: tallahassee.com
