I’m picking this thread back up after a week or so off to take care of my sick toddler who then gave me his cold. Anyway, I wanted to do a post with tips on dealing with foodstamps, Medicaid, SSA, and similar programs.

[+] Keep all your necessary documents in one folder. It will help when you have to bring in birth certificates, marriage certificates, copies of social security cards, copies of driver’s licenses, copies of your lease/mortgage, utility bill, or whatever else they require.

[+] Never give them original documents if you’re just dropping paperwork off. Believe me, you will never see said documentation again because they will lose it, especially if this is a document that is completely essential for your taxes. Your bank can print out copies of statements for various accounts and you can make copies of paystubs. Make two copies of everything so that you have another copy to submit after they lose all your documentation for the first time.

[+] Get the name of the person you meet with or talk to each time. I know that when I was fighting with the SSA last year, I would talk to a different person each time because my assigned person never answered her phone. I kept track of everyone I talked to and the time I spoke to them because it was ammo I could use when I requested a supervisor.

[+] If you aren’t satisfied, ask for a supervisor. My never-fail trick for getting stuff done is to call my case worker and then her supervisor and then her supervisor’s supervisor, adding a new level of supervisor each time I call and get nowhere. I’ve even left messages on all these peoples’ answering services twice a day if necessary. It might take a few days but eventually, you will get enough people irritated with your messages that they will do whatever you want in order to get you to leave them alone. 🙂

[+] In the process of making a nuisance of yourself, be polite to a fault. I’ve heard it said that if you haven’t been kicked out of your local SSA office, you aren’t trying hard enough. (This holds true for the Pomona office of the SSA.) Rather than ripping people a new one (which is totally understandable given the process and hoops one has to jump through), be insanely polite. Better yet, be passive-aggressively sweet when you leave voicemails telling people to get off their butts, when you explain that it has been two months and this is unacceptable, and when you explain that you have left messages on their supervisor’s voicemail telling them how incompetent said worker is. It makes it harder for them to say that you are being abusive and to make up excuses as to why they’re not playing ball.

[+] Remember that some of these workers are counting on you giving up before your benefits are approved. There are some genuinely wonderful social workers out there and I want to say that the majority of them really do give a crap about the people they help. The others, however, are of the opinion that the harder you make it, the less likely the person will make it through the gauntlet. As hard as it is to do, keep the pressure on your worker if they seem to be working against you. If you do indeed qualify for benefits, fight for them.

The thing that keeps me fighting and actually gives me hope is a talk given by a fellow pastor’s wife in Montana who works for the Department of Human Services in Great Falls. I think the best thing she said is that she explains to her clients that it could easily be her sitting in their chair. Her empathy struck me and it gives me faith when I have to deal with some form of social services.

OK… any other topics I should be covering with this? I’d love your feedback.