Division Overview
The Division of Public Assistance (DPA) is one of eight divisions
within the Alaska Department of Health. The
division's activities and functions fall under eight major sections:
The Office of the Director, Field Services, Policy
Development,
Information Technology, and Program Integrity and Analysis, Children
Programs, Administrative Services, and Budget.
The Office of the Director
The Director oversees all the activities
of DPA and is responsible for coordinating the activities of DPA
with other divisions within the department and with partner agencies
that also provide services to public assistance applicants and
recipients.
It is the director's responsibility to guarantee that DPA meets
its mission and follows its guiding principles Staff in the director's
office provide a liaison with the legislature, are responsible for
public relations and communications, and help to administer and
manage DPA's budget.
Field Services
Staff in Field Services provide services and
aid directly to people who temporarily need public assistance
to
care for their families. Most Field Services staff are case workers
who may have to manage cases for up to/or over 100 families each.
They interview
clients to determine if they are eligible for aid and authorize
the payment of benefits. They help families to develop plans to
become self-sufficient and, whenever possible, help families to
get the support services, like child care, they need to become
independent.
Over 400 staff across the state work together to provide public
assistance and supportive services to almost 13,000 Alaskan families.
Many of these people are case workers who work with Fee Agents
to assist people in rural communities.
Field Services includes staff who support the case workers. They
provide training, conduct fraud investigations, collect claims,
and measure the performance of DPA's programs and staff.
Policy
The staff
involved in this function are responsible for developing the
rules for all of DPA's assistance
programs. They interpret state and federal laws to insure that
program policies treat people equally. They work closely with
Field Services
and System Operations to insure that program policies are understandable
and easy to implement.
Information Technology
Each month thousands of checks, medical coupons,
food stamp identification cards, and notices are issued automatically
by DPA's computer system,
the Eligibility Information System (EIS). Each case worker enters
thousands of bits of information into EIS every day. Staff in
System
Operations manage DPA's computer system and design ways to improve
it so it is faster and more accurate. Network Services is the unit
that maintains the division's computers and networks. The Communications
and Web Team is the unit that is in charge of communications efforts
including marketing campaigns, television/radio ads, films, print
publications, and media coordination. It is also in charge of web
development, including the public DOH divisional website, DPAweb
intranet, and many customized web applications, including the Food
Stamp Online Training Module project.
Children's Services
This section oversees child care assistance services and the Child
Care Assistance Program, which administers the PASS I, II, and
III child care
programs,
plus
child care
facility
licensing.
Program Integrity & Analysis Manager
This section provides
management oversight to Food Stamp Quality Assessment, Continuous
Improvement
Action Unit, Contract
Services Quality Assurance, Fraud, Benefit Recovery and the Research
Unit.
Budget Manager
This section
provides management oversight to budget staff and accounting
techs, including our new team at the Anchorage Childcare Program
Office.
Administrative Services Manager
This section manages our new Human Resources Unit, Grants
Administration, Training Coordination, and Procurement
The Office of the Director, program and policy development staff
and some units providing field services are located in Juneau.
The
Chief of Field Services, Information Technology and other units
providing field services are located in Anchorage.
DPA has regional offices located in Fairbanks, MatSu, Ketchikan, and Anchorage.
There are also district offices located in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks,
Bethel, Ketchikan, Kenai, Homer, Nome, Kotzebue, Sitka,
and Wasilla. In rural communities that do not have
district offices, DPA contracts with Fee Agents to help people
in their area apply for public assistance.