DENVER — Colorado is dealing with a backlog in processing applications for SNAP benefits, which is the program that helps feed low-income families.
Federal law requires these applications to be processed quickly, between seven and 30 days, so the federal government is requiring the state to come up with a plan to fix the problem.
The state said some counties don’t have enough workers to keep up with the large number of applications.
According to documents, the state is blaming low turnaround numbers on two counties, Jefferson and El Paso. The state said if those two counties can speed things up, Colorado would comply with the law.
After reviewing numbers from across the state, 9NEWS learned more counties in the metro area are also falling behind in processing applications for SNAP benefits, which has some folks turning to local food banks for help.
Brandon McKinley is with Metro Caring, an anti-hunger association in Denver. He said that just last week, 1,100 households stopped by the market to pick up food.
“Folks can make an appointment to shop for free here and pick whatever items they like,” said McKinley. “When I talk to people what they say is SNAP is their food budget and places like Metro Caring are kind of like their safety net.”
For some folks, that safety net is quickly becoming their only source of food.
"There are a lot of barriers to getting SNAP,” said McKinley. “Some of those are this long waiting period and Colorado being a state that right now we're struggling with getting folks through that process.”
The federal government said Colorado is not in compliance with SNAP application processing timeliness. It said anything under 95% is considered unacceptable. Last year, the state processed less than 85% of new applications on time, with some counties across the metro doing even worse.
“Sometimes it feels like some of the public benefits are leaving people behind,” said McKinley. The Colorado Department of Human Services reported that last year Jefferson and El Paso counties accounted for around 45% of the problem.
Processing times for renewed applications are also slow. The state said that Denver County got those done on time only 52% of the time in 2023. In Adams County, it was less than 67%. And in Jefferson County, the state said renewals were processed on time only 41% of the time.
“Hunger is becoming worse in our community and it's really hard for organizations like ours to be able to meet every single person's needs,” said McKinley.
In 2017, records show Colorado was one of the top five states processing applications on time. The state dropped to the bottom five in 2022.
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