BOSTON -- Sometimes praise comes in the form of a gold star. And sometimes it comes in the form of dollars. The latter is the case for the state Department of Transitional Assistance.
Yesterday morning, the Massachusetts DTA was awarded a $5.8 million bonus from the federal government for their efficient administration of the Food Stamp Program. Only five other states received bonuses.
Such bonuses are given to states across the nation for getting the right amount of food stamps to the right people without overpayment or underpayment.
States with error rates of 5.9 percent or less qualify for federal bonuses. States with rates greater than the national average of 9.22 percent can be penalized.
The Bay State claimed the highest bonus given out this year as a result of its size and its low error rate -- 4.69 percent.
That means that in slightly fewer than one case in 20, either an ineligible person got food stamps, or the wrong amount of stamps were given.
This is the third straight year Massachusetts has been awarded a bonus, but the state's program hasn't always been this efficient.
In 1990, Massachusetts had an error rate of nearly 13 percent, and it lost some federal money as a result.
Two years ago, the state had an error rate of 5.76 percent, and received a bonus of nearly $1 million. The following year, the state's error rate was 4.97 percent and the bonus was nearly $5.6 million.
Claire McIntire, Massachusetts DTA Commissioner, said a computer system the organization installed with federal bonus money deserves much of the credit for increasing the state's efficiency and accuracy.
The computer system constantly checks the names of food stamp recipients and applicants with tax, employment and bank records. It automatically alerts welfare workers if eligibility problems are found.
In addition, monthly staff meetings also helped the state turn its record around.
"We have a deep commitment to managing a food stamp program in a way that both the federal government and the state government and the tax payers can be proud of," McIntire said.
She hopes some of the money will go back into the program to increase its technological capabilities.
Approximately 340,000 Massachusetts residents get about $257 million in food stamps a year.
Hawaii, South Dakota, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Alabama will also receive monetary awards for low error rates.
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