Jul 3, 2009 12:10 pm US/Pacific
Newsom Launches Online SF Medi-Cal Resource
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally against cutting funding to San Francisco public safety workers.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom launched a new online resource Thursday that allows city residents to use an online application to see if they are eligible for Medi-Cal and food stamps.
The Web site,
www.benefitsSF.org, allows people to apply for assistance from home, a local library or a community resource center instead of having to set up an office interview.
"With the technology that exists today, there is no reason that people should still have to dedicate an entire day and suffer through long lines just to access government services," Newsom said in a statement.
"This is a way to streamline government by eliminating waste, becoming more efficient, and making it easier for those in need to get help," Newsom said.
Funding for the Web site came from a $1 million grant awarded to the San Francisco Human Services Agency by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make a site where people can apply for benefits 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
Joe Arellano, a spokesman for Newsom, said residents can fill out the application and sign it electronically at any hour, and then set up a phone or webcam interview with an agency official during normal business hours to determine eligibility.
To work out any possible problems, the Web site was tested for a month before its official launch today with an event at Wu Yee Children's Services, a community-based organization.
City officials plan to begin the next phase of the Web site, which will include applications for school lunches and earned income tax credits, within the next 3-6 months, Arellano said.
San Francisco is also partnering with the California Department of Social Services and 17 other counties in the state, including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties that will possibly use federal stimulus funding to replicate the Web site.
"We'll be the leader in disseminating the information in the hopes of integrating the entire state welfare system," Arellano said.
The city's human services agency is also in the process of working with the San Francisco Food Bank to increase the number of community-based organizations that will make the Web site available to their customers.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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