Illinois’ Automated Phone
System Interview
Waiver
FNS granted a waiver of the face-to-face
interview requirement and authorized us to
use the Phone System Interview for
recertifications.
FNS approved the script prior to initial
project approval and has requested
accuracy information and other data for us
to renew each year.
Project History
 Implemented July, 2007 – to households
with earnings
 Expanded July, 2008 to include non-
assistance households
 Expanded December, 2009 to Family
Medical Cases
Simplified Reporting
In Illinois we use 6 month certification periods
(as opposed to 12 month certification periods
with an interim report at 6 months)
One recertification is a face to face interview –
regulations require a face to face interview every
year
One recertification is a mail in
PSI Process
Central Notice that benefits are expiring
has invite to use PSI and includes:
– Special Codes to Access System
– Worksheet to follow along with the call
– Dates PSI is available
Behind the Scenes
Our system sends a daily file of data for
every customer that is eligible to call in to
our vendor
--data includes- details about people in the
case, income, housing costs
Our vendor sends call data – responses to
the questions back to our system
Customer Calls
IVR System available 24/7
English/Spanish
Speech recognition
Can switch to keypad
PSI Interview Script
8-10 minute interview
Considered their "signature" when they
access system using special codes
provided in the notice
First ask to confirm accuracy of case
name and address (if they say no, they are
locked out and cannot use PSI system)
PSI Interview Script (cont)
Questions continue about:
Household members, student eligibility
Income
All deductions - shelter, child support
deduction, dependent care
Change in health insurance
Optional survey contains racial/ethnic
PSI Interview Script (cont)
System asks customer to confirm
accuracy of each answer
If system doesn't understand, it will ask
again sometimes in a different way
If system doesn't understand 3 times, it will
disconnect
“Partial” Calls
If a caller hangs up or gets disconnected, they
can call back same day and script continues
where they left off
If they hang up and call back another day, it
starts over
If they call and don't finish, we send a notice
The notice tells them they didn't complete and
the date they need to reapply for benefits to
continue to be timely
Complete Call
When customer gets completion number –
interview/application is complete
If verifications are needed, central notice
for verification is generated
Complete Call (cont)
System registers the application with a special
designator of “P”
Appears on office/caseload pending list the
following day
Call data also transfers to legacy system called
Automated Case Management (ACM)
Caseworker Tools
Questions asked and customer responses
from the call transfer electronically to a
web based system called Caseworker
Tools that worker can see immediately
Verifications needed are highlighted for
the worker
Complete Call (con’t)
Once verifications are received, worker
processes the application
Number of Recertifications
With the IL SNAP caseload at 860,000
cases, we send an average of 120,000
notice of expirations each month
73% are invited to use PSI as a way to
reapply.
Fast Facts – # of Complete Calls
Most recent quarter – we received
average of 31,000 complete calls per
month
35.4% of those offered opted to used PSI
Fast Facts – After Hours Calls
37.6% of complete calls are done after
work hours or on weekends
Fast Facts – Partial Calls
Over the last 3 months, we sent an
average of 5000 notices each month to
callers who started a PSI interview and
didn’t finish it the same day.
Customer Survey Results
For June, 2011 of over 8800 callers who
opted to take the survey:
– 97.4% said the interview was convenient and
easy to use
– 97.9% said the questions were easy to
understand
– 98.6% said they would use PSI again
Accuracy
Quality Control
** For first half of FY 2010 sample, we had 36
reviews done on cases that used PSI for their
recertification.
**3 cases had errors resulting in an error rate of
.2%, 12.7% of the total 1.58% state reported
error rate.
Accuracy (continued)
ACE reviews - (includes process &
documentation errors)
PSI Cases reviewed 823 - accuracy rate
83.5%
Non PSI cases reviewed – 4608 accuracy rate 87.5%
Lessons Learned
Develop the script you think you want
before your vendor comes on board gives you a starting point
Make sure you have a test system
Decide up front the reports you need
Think about what success looks like
Ongoing Costs
Telecom Bill for the last 3 months for the
toll free lines for PSI averaged $12,000
each month
Questions?
Contact:
Jan Freeman, Manager
Illinois SNAP Director
Bureau of Policy Development
Illinois Department of Human Services
Jan.Freeman@illinois.gov
217-782-1239