By KRWG News
Texas – Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs has asked for more than 1,500 new eligibility workers to deal with anticipated higher demand for food stamps.
The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday that the state currently has more than 8,300 eligibility workers, processing in excess of 2.6 million cases. Suehs says that by 2013 the program could have nearly 3.1 million cases.
The 2009 Legislature passed a bill ordering the commission to identify how many workers it would need to eliminate processing delays and errors.
Suehs last week submitted the staffing analysis to Gov. Rick Perry and other legislative leaders as Texas faces a projected budget shortfall going into the 2011 legislative session.
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Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.