On Thursday June 30th, Alaska will receive a performance bonus award of $205,000 from the USDA as the state with the most improved Food Stamp Program payment accuracy in the nation. This is a great accomplishment you've helped us achieve. When we started our Better than Average campaign in October 2003 we had the dubious distinction of the highest error rate in the nation. We set ambitious goals for work quality improvement, and you've reached them, earning Alaska positive recognition and financial reward. This is no small feat, for it is rare for a state to make such marked inprovement in a single year.
Many things brought us here. The Division and Department emphasis on the importance of work quality helped set goals and expectations, yet your individual day to day focus on accuracy is at the heart of our success. Semi-annual reporting, extensive case reviews, learning summits, the supporting roles of so many helpful staff and our Quality Assessment Review Committee process all contributed signicantly to attaining our goal. Congratulations, you are winners all!
We aim to use this money for direct recognition of your good work, and for projects to help us sustain and support further work quality improvement.
FFY 2005 Accuracy Campaign Status
Our quest for work quality and the goal of beating the national payment accuracy average goes on. Our food stamp payment accuracy goal for the FFY 2005 campaign is 94%. QA staff have completed more than half of this year's quality control sample, and we now stand at 92.9% accuracy. It's harder to nudge our accuracy figures higher as we get closer to the end of the sample year. Still, every correct case takes us closer. We can hit this target. Keep it up.
I'd like to recognize the work of the Southeast Region staff. Their Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka offices have had just one small food stamp payment error in the past 18 months! Way Good!
The Bethel office is also doing a great job this year with 94.5% accuracy. Their office represents 18% of the dollars issued in our sample this year, so they're strong performance really contributes to reaching our goal.
The Northern Region is moving closer to our goal, posting 93.1% accuracy so far this year.
The Gambell Office in Central Region currently has an outstanding accuracy rate of 99.2%!
To see how your office is doing, check out the latest payment accuracy results.
http://dpaweb.hss.state.ak.us/main/fs/fs_district_report_05.pdf
Another current high note is our positively great findings from the Negative sample. This quality control sample looks at the correctness of our decisions to deny applications or to close cases. This is a new bonus award category for the Food Stamp Program. Alaska now ranks number one in the nation with 100% accuracy! This is a tough category to win, yet with our perfect start we're in the hunt.