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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- New software is being blamed for foul-ups in dispensing food vouchers for 67,000 low-income mothers and their children.
In March, the state health department began using new Windows software to run the federal Women, Infants and Children program. The software replaced a 10-year-old DOS-based system.
The old system "was in constant need of maintenance, and it was feared, headed for a crash," said Nan Streeter, Maternal and Child Health Bureau director.
The new system has resulted in frequent crashes, client data being lost and appointments being dropped, causing a "scheduling nightmare," said Utah County WIC director Doreen Bradford.
"With the old system we could give a full three months of vouchers. With this system, we have to bring them back in two months, which uses up appointment slots faster," Bradford said. "Also, the computer isn't saving appointments. We get doubled up and some days everyone comes at once."
The wait time for clients sometimes soared to four hours, but Streeter improvements have reduced the time it takes to get in and out to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The state has spent $6,000 to hire three groups of consultants to suggest fixes. Health officials still are waiting for one report and refuse to release the other two.
Streeter does not know how much the software has cost taxpayers in programming, training of staff and troubleshooting. Nor could she say how long it might take to work out all the kinks.
"We're asking people to be patient," Streeter said.
Low-income advocates say there is no way to tell whether scheduling delays have led to walkouts and a decline in the WIC caseload.
Utahns Against Hunger director Gina Cornia hopes local clinics have a way of following up with clients who slip through the cracks.
"Emergency food pantries rarely carry the kinds of food you can get with WIC vouchers, especially baby formula," she said.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
