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| 3 | 3 | | LCO No. 4019 1 of 2 |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7123 |
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| 6 | 6 | | January Session, 2019 |
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| 7 | 7 | | LCO No. 4019 |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES |
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| 11 | 11 | | |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | Introduced by: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (HS) |
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| 15 | 15 | | |
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| 16 | 16 | | |
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| 17 | 17 | | |
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| 18 | 18 | | |
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| 19 | 19 | | AN ACT CONCERNING TE LEPHONE WAIT TIMES FOR PERSONS |
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| 20 | 20 | | CONTACTING THE DEPAR TMENT OF SOCIAL SERV ICES. |
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| 21 | 21 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General |
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| 22 | 22 | | Assembly convened: |
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| 23 | 23 | | |
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| 24 | 24 | | Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Social 1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Services shall deploy staff and resources as necessary to ensure that no 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | person contacting the Department of Social Services by telephone 3 |
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| 27 | 27 | | waits more than sixty minutes to speak with a department staff 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | member or receive a call back from a department staff member. The 5 |
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| 29 | 29 | | commissioner shall contract for and utilize advanced 6 |
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| 30 | 30 | | telecommunications technology that allows the department to (1) track 7 |
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| 31 | 31 | | incoming telephone calls by number, date and time; and (2) send an 8 |
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| 32 | 32 | | automated message to a caller every five minutes of time he or she is 9 |
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| 33 | 33 | | waiting on the telephone about the option of receiving a call back from 10 |
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| 34 | 34 | | department staff in an estimated amount of time not to exceed sixty 11 |
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| 35 | 35 | | minutes. No beneficiary of any assistance program administered by 12 |
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| 36 | 36 | | the department shall have benefits reduced or terminated for failure to 13 |
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| 37 | 37 | | provide information confirming eligibility if such telecommunications 14 |
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| 38 | 38 | | technology establishes such beneficiary placed a telephone call to the 15 |
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| 39 | 39 | | department but was unable to speak to a staff person within sixty 16 Raised Bill No. 7123 |
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| 40 | 40 | | |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LCO No. 4019 2 of 2 |
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| 44 | 44 | | |
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| 45 | 45 | | minutes of placing the call. 17 |
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| 46 | 46 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following |
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| 47 | 47 | | sections: |
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| 48 | 48 | | |
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| 49 | 49 | | Section 1 from passage New section |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | Statement of Purpose: |
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| 52 | 52 | | To reduce telephone wait times for persons contacting the Department |
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| 53 | 53 | | of Social Services to reach a staff member. |
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| 54 | 54 | | [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, |
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| 55 | 55 | | except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is |
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| 56 | 56 | | not underlined.] |
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| 57 | 57 | | |
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