Here's what they said in the lead editorial on February 3, 2010:
EDITORIAL
Still lagging on state welfare system
Five years after Colorado launched an expensive computerized benefits system, the state is still struggling with problems and far too many needy people are still waiting unreasonably long stretches before getting aid. The problems with processing applications for food stamps and Medicaid have spanned the administrations of two governors and were the subject of a lawsuit against Colorado.
State officials, who have been working hard to untangle computer and process problems, promise the situation will get much better by summer. We plan to hold them to it.
William Browning, director of Colorado Benefits Management System, and Mike Locatis, the state's chief information officer, promise that significant system improvements are in the offing that will be game-changers. We look forward to seeing their implementation.
There is no doubt they inherited a mess, and they've made some positive changes. But it is also clear that they must do better for Coloradans struggling in this foundering economy, and they know it. Locatis and Browning told us Tuesday that improvements slated to take effect in coming weeks and months will significantly reduce application processing time.
We hope so, because the state cannot expect to continue to fail so miserably in providing timely service.
It is unacceptable, for instance, that in October 2009, 28 percent of expedited requests for food stamps in Colorado exceeded processing time frames agreed upon in a lawsuit settlement. We're talking about emergency aid for broke, needy people.
A story in Monday's Denver Post by reporter Allison Sherry said about half the food-stamp reauthorization requests statewide are late in being processed. Those applicants are supposed to get benefits no later than one month after their last food-stamp allotment.
Advocates for the poor, who have held the state accountable for processing delays, are scheduled to meet with the state today to discuss the situation.
They have warned officials at the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, along with the Department of Human Services, that they believe Colorado is out of compliance with a settlement of a 2004 lawsuit over delivery of benefits. It's apparent the state has been working on the issue — but working on it and resolving it are two different matters.
We realize the administration of Gov. Bill Ritter inherited a host of computer problems, but even as he prepares to leave office in a year, having chosen not to run for re-election, it seems the problems will remain for the next governor to fully solve. And Coloradans must demand that of their government.
The time has come for the state to register significant improvements in timely delivery of benefits. We look forward to seeing the promised progress.
Right. "Working on it and resolving it are two different matters." It's been broken for going on to six years, after all. If anyone out there is aware of a computer system that has been dysfunctional for this long, please let me know. I can't help but think that one of the reasons the systems has not received prompt attention and resolution is because the constituents it is supposed to serve are poor and have no voice or political power of their own. We're grateful for those noble but too few advocates who work on their behalf. We should be outraged at the lack of concern on the part of State officials.