| 12/20/2007 | Essex County Named 2007 Hunger Champion |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Lauren Shears ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES THAT THE ESSEX COUNTY DIVISION OF WELFARE HAS BEEN NAMED A 2007 HUNGER CHAMPION BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Mobile Office is Part of Aggressive Outreach Program to Enhance Accessibility and Improve Customer Service Newark, NJ - Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that the Essex County Division of Welfare has been named a 2007 Food Stamp Hunger Champion Honorable Mentor by the United States Department of Agriculture on Thursday, December 20th. The award recognizes the Division's use of the new Citizen Services Mobile Office to enhance community outreach and customer service. The state-of-the-art vehicle, the first in the State of New Jersey, is the newest tool in the Department of Citizen Services aggressive community outreach initiative to make programs and services more accessible to potential clients and improve customer service. Nominated by the Statewide Emergency Food & Anti-Hunger Network (SEFAN) of Bergen County, Essex County became one of only eight agencies to receive the Food Stamp Hunger Champion Honorable Mentor recognition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is our responsibility to be proactive to reach out and help our residents. Our mobile office has enabled our social workers to reach farther out into the community and meet potential clients right in their own neighborhood, DiVincenzo said. The mobile office provides an appropriate setting to assure the privacy for our clients and represents our commitment to providing the highest level of customer service to our clients, he added. The Food Stamp Hunger Champions Program was established to honor local food stamp offices that provide exemplary service in assisting eligible clients to obtain food stamps. Any individual, agency or organization who has worked, observed or has personal experience with a local food stamp office may nominate that office to be honored as a Hunger Champion. The USDA selection committee selects, as Hunger Champion Mentors or Honorable Mentors, the offices that best demonstrate the activities, processes and programs used to serve their communities. The Food and Nutrition Service is very pleased that the Essex County Division of Welfare has been able to increase access to the Food Stamp Program through its one-of-a-kind mobile van unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture Acting Food Stamp Director Bill Kluxen said. We congratulate the Division on receiving this award and we know that Essex County will continue to enhance its outreach efforts to serve an even greater amount of residents in the future, he added. The white, handicap accessible van, emblazoned with blue and yellow stripes and the Essex County Seal, was funded entirely through a federal grant totaling approximately $230,000 in 2006. The Essex County Department of Citizen Services received funding from the Food Stamp Bonus Award for having the highest accuracy rate for processing applications in New Jersey. The vehicle is equipped with four offices and state-of-the-art technology, including laptop computers, wireless computer connections and cell phones that enable County staff to expedite the application process. The Citizen Services employees who staff the van can submit applications for food stamps, general assistance and other programs on the spot and provide referrals to other social service agencies where clients may be eligible to receive additional services. Our mobile van allows us to reach out to those residents who for one reason or another may have a difficult time getting to our offices to apply for the assistance they need, Essex County Department of Citizen Services Director Anibal Ramos said. Having the only mobile van unit in New Jersey and extended office hours has made Essex County a model for other counties and the State, he added, noting that Citizen Service offices are open on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Since debuting in August 2006, the mobile office had serviced over 1,500 individuals and processed applications at 118 different sites. The van has visited non-profit organizations, grocery stores, shopping centers, senior centers, and housing complexes in 12 Essex County municipalities. The mobile office had an immediate positive impact. In its first five months, from August to December 2006, 560 clients received services. In 2007, the number of clients has nearly doubled, rising to 1,047 in just 11 months, from January until November. Under the leadership of our County Executive, Essex County has made a commitment to be involved in the community. It is our goal to ensure that all eligible families, seniors and the working poor are able to access Food Stamp benefits, Essex County Division of Welfare Director Bruce Nigro said. We are grateful for our partnerships with several community based organizations. Having our van at neighborhood sites enables us to target specific population groups that can benefit from our assistance programs, he added. "The Essex County Division of Welfare has been at the forefront of community outreach initiatives. The outreach administered through this office is phenomenal, not only by the mobile unit, which is the only one of its kind in New Jersey, but by extending office hours, facilitating prisoner re-entry programs and training community groups on basic eligibility rules, Statewide Emergency Food & Anti-Hunger Network Director Adele LaTourette said. Because of their efforts, Essex County stands as a shining example of innovation in the delivery of critical human services programs in New Jersey," she added. We service 800 clients daily at our facility and through this exemplary partnership with Essex County Division of Welfare, we are able to provide access to Food Stamp and other assistance in addition to the services at our facility, Ironbound Community Center Executive Director Joseph Della Fave said. We are soon to open our second center in Newark and we look forward to the opportunity to partner with Essex County to reach more people, he added. I applaud the work being done in Essex County. The way to increase participation is through partnerships between government and community organizations, State Division of Family Development Director Jeanette Page-Hawkins said. This is my home County and I am proud that Essex is being honored for this innovative initiative, she added. The Mobile Citizen Service Office is just one initiative by Essex to enhance customer service. In August 2004, the Department of Citizen Services expanded its office hours to make applying for services more accessible. The Essex County Division of Welfare offices at 18 Rector Street in Newark currently have extended office hours on Wednesdays from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12:45. In 2006, the Division of Welfare kicked off a pilot program in which employees voluntarily participated in Spanish language classes to improve communication with non-English speaking customers. The program was conducted in conjunction with Communication Workers of America Local 1081, the union that represents County social workers. For more information about the Essex County Mobile Citizen Services Office schedule, please call 973-733-3320. |