--- advertisement ---

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, October 30, 2006

Assisting Applicants at the Department of Children and Families

The office is located on 15th Street at Florida Avenue in Panama City.
We paid a visit and checked out the application process with Bay County Director Bo Hill in this Problem Solver report.  Below is part of News 13’s conversation with Hill:

“We got a...what we call a self service lobby.  And we have incorporated the new technology.  So when they come in the door they see this welcome sign...with the different categories like applying the first time or whatever.  Exactly, they will sit down at a computer.on our system.  This is our online application...it’s about 25 very elementary screens.  Now, at this point, let’s say a person comes in and is computer illiterate. How are they assisted?  We have staff members assigned to this lobby all eight hours that we are open that will sit down with that person if they need a question answered or like you say are computer illiterate and will go screen by screen, question by question, explaining and helping them thru the process.  One thing you point out though… in this world of computers...and how it saves the time...once someone has established in the first visit...if they need to make a change...if they have access to a computer at home...they can do it without coming back....that’s right.  If they can’t come in, transportation problems, illness, we can mail them a paper application take whatever steps to meet their needs….we don’t want anybody falling through the cracks.  Ninety percent of the people who apply with us apply online now at our office or at home on the internet.  How are you evaluated by the people you serve?  They love it. Change is sometimes hard but we have an online computer survey.  They finished rating this process. Over eighty percent of the people love this new process because they can come in anytime they want or apply from home.”

Bo Hill says the Bay County office is the second busiest in the district.
He also feels his staff of 26 people seems to be adequate to get the job done of helping applicants.

To apply with the Department of Children and Families or get more information, just click http://www.myflorida.com/accessflorida. 



Problem Solver • (1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page 1 of 1 pages