We are pleased to announce a new and improved online Food Stamp Manual!

The PDF version of the Food Stamp Manual currently on DPAweb will be phased out in six months after everyone is up to speed on this new manual.

Here are some basic instructions for how to use the manual. A group of 21 "test drivers" representing every office statewide and the Policy and Program Development section recently gave the manual their enthusiastic stamp of approval. The response was so positive, we are going to convert our other manuals to this new technology. Watch for the next installment, the new APA-related and Long Term Care Medicaid Manual, scheduled to appear this September.

When this month's DPA star isn't sailing on his boat in Mexico, you'll probably find him knee-deep in meetings or flying back and forth between Juneau and Anchorage. This star has a resume of helping those in need and he will soon be helping them from the Commissioner's Office. He has degrees from UAF and Willamette Law School, and while people joke that lawyers are long-winded, this DPA star gets right to the point. He's taken a pie in the face for our division, but rumor has it he much prefers chocolate. Who is our DPA star?

Currently, all DPA jobs on Workplace Alaska are posted on the DPAweb intranet under "DPA Recruitment" on the right side menu column. To improve the division's ability to announce employment opportunities within the division, these openings will also be posted on the DPA Recruitment page of DPAweb. The broadcast method may still be used to draw attention to specific employment opportunities, but DPAweb will now be a one-stop location for job or transfer opportunities.

On May 19, the Urban Institute released a new brief, Recent Trends in Food Stamp Participation: Have New Policies Made a Difference? Using data from the 1997, 1999, and 2002 rounds of the National Survey of America’s Families, the report attributes increasing Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation rates to recent changes in FSP policies.

Katherine Farnham has been appointed Director of the DHSS Division of Public Assistance, filling the vacancy created by my appointment to Deputy Commissioner. Katherine joins DHSS from the State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, where she has served as Director of the Division of Business Partnerships and as Executive Director of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board.