"You Have to See the Look in Their Eyes"

After 25 years since the first EBT programs were promulgated in Ramsey County, MN and Reading PA, the USA now has all 50 states and 5 territories “wired” for at least the electronic delivery of food stamps, now called SNAP.

Arguably, we could have gotten to this point sooner, cheaper and easier and new indications from Washington D.C., signal an accelerated movement on other benefit programs such as unemployment and WIC. The lessons of the EBT past and the applicability to new programs will be handled by many, but regardless of these efforts, one thing continues to drive the effort: the needs of the recipient.

Is it not the numerous intangible benefits that we need to consider along with the efficiencies, fraud reduction, ease of use, audit capabilities, etc. as we continue to look at new and improve programs and delivery? Here is a scene from around 1989/1990 that illustrates the importance of these programs.

In or around 1989/1990 when many states were just beginning to examine and roll-out programs for food stamp automation and moving to electronic delivery, I set-up
live, user group sessions—one-way mirrors and all. The comments speak for themselves:

“Look, I have a new ATM card like everybody else!”

“I don’t have to dig and find those stamps anymore.”

“I didn’t have to find that SIGN over the one aisle where I could use my stamps.”

“My neighbors don’t look at me funny in the grocer anymore.”

As I heard these and many other comments, all one had to do was see the look in their eyes. One of acceptance, attitudinal shift, and a true feeling of inclusiveness. If we could but bottle these looks and distribute them to the various industry players as we move into more and diverse programs, perhaps a new spirit of working across and breaking down program barriers would develop.

We can only hope to remember to “look for the look in their eyes” before we leap into expensive and potentially unworkable solutions and forgetting one of the key needs of the recipient: removing the Scarlet “W” off their foreheads.