NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of Tennessee families are having trouble putting food on the table with SNAP benefits due to technology problems and staffing issues at the Tennessee Department of Human Services.
Throughout 2023, families who qualify for food assistance have been cut off from food benefits they rely on, and some are having a hard time accessing first-time aid during a time of need.
The Tennessee Department of Human Services has released a statement regarding those impacted by the SNAP benefit backlog.
According to TDHS, the issues stem from the new Eligibility Benefits Management System that launched this summer.
"This year, the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) experienced its largest technology transition since 1992," the department stated. "In June, TDHS launched a new Eligibility Benefits Management System (EBMS) as a part of the department’s broader modernization efforts to provide a single platform for the management of Family Assistance programs (SNAP and Families First) as well as other TDHS programs and services to better serve our customers and streamline case processing for TDHS team members."
They stated that as they transition to the new system, there has been a "temporary increase" in processing times.
The department said they are working to recruit and train staff to process SNAP applications.
There's no timeline for when the technology issues will be fixed or when the staffing issues will be resolved, so the possibility is families could be left without benefits well into the new year.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
