Fairbanks News Miner Nov. 4, 2003
by Spc. George Kyriakeas, 20th Public Affairs Detachment

FAIRBANKS -- A reservist deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and State of Alaska employee presented to his employer a certificate of appreciation from the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve Program Friday.

Capt. Michael Pauling, who works with the Adult Public Assistance Office of Fairbanks Division of Public Assistance gave a "My Boss is a Patriot Award" to his supervisor, Mary Lou Jorrisen.

Click here for the DHSS Human Resources Contact List (this list has been added to the Human Resouces menu at right)

The Human Resource Integration has transpired. The Department of Health and Social Services has a Management Consultant Services Team and a Technical Services Center assigned to the department. The Juneau offices are located on the 1st floor of the Alaska Office Building, the Anchorage Technical Service Center is located on the 5th floor of the Frontier Building, and the Anchorage Management Consultant Services Team will be located in the Atwood Building the week of November 10th. Attached a list of employees and the functions they perform, in order to assist you in finding the service that you need. There will be changes as the integration is further defined; we appreciate you working with us as these changes occur.

A new report titled "FY04 Work Servicess Standards and YTD Performance Summary" was posted on the Performance Measures website. We will update this report monthly with year-to-date performance.

Campaign starts September 29, 2003 and ends December 12, 2003. (Late donations are always welcome)

The SHARE Campaign is an annual event for support of voluntary community programs that meet established criteria and provides a method by which voluntary financial support from State of Alaska personnel may be achieved through the state payroll system.

Over the past several months, the division has been considering the Food Stamp Program's simplified reporting option that was introduced in the Farm Bill. We have been talking with staff around the state to hear feedback regarding this option, as well as communicating with states that have implemented this change.

Based on communications with staff and other states, we have decided to move forward with a Simplified Reporting option. In using the FY 03 QA data, we estimate our FS accuracy rate may improve by as much as 2.5% overall. This policy option benefits FS recipients in that it stabilizes benefits, and has shown a marked improvement in accuracy rates in the 20+ states that have adopted the policy.