Schmidt Sends Letter, Demands Accountability from Director Henderson

COLUMBUS – State Representative Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Twp.) yesterday sent a letter to the Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Kimberly Henderson. Schmidt’s letter included the following language:

“Director Henderson: 

I appreciate the important work that you and your staff are doing during these challenging and unprecedented times.  I am writing to express several concerns about unemployment benefits for our fellow Ohioans.  

While I understand that record amounts of our fellow citizens have been requesting benefits from the department, we are nearly one year into this global pandemic.  One year later, Ohioans are still hurting and many are having extreme difficulty in getting answers from the department regarding their claims.  My office continues to receive calls and emails regarding their experiences – and it is disappointing. I know that these problems are complex and each case is different, however, my constituents continue to tell me they are waiting weeks and sometimes months on answers, if they ever get one at all.  In other cases, there are technical difficulties and other issues that let our constituents fall deeper in bureaucratic nonsense.  We must do better.  

I would also like to see increased communication regarding casework issues and the department.  As you know, when a legislative office submits an inquiry with the department, there is no follow-up with the inquiring lawmaker.  I have heard positive reports on JFS following up quickly when these inquiries are launched, but mixed results on actually solving the problem at hand.  

While I served in Congress, my casework staff handled thousands of constituent issues throughout Southern Ohio.  One of the keys of successful casework is being able to follow the status of a case from start to finish.  For example, when my office launched a congressional inquiry, we worked with a dedicated liaison at each federal agency.  We could follow the movements of a case and would receive regular updates.  At the conclusion of a case, our office would receive a letter in writing from the agency informing us of the outcome, favorable or unfavorable. 

In the coming weeks, I would like to see the department begin to follow-up with each legislative office on each case.  Doing so would ensure accountability of your department and would allow lawmakers to better communicate with the people that we serve.  With approximately 2,400 employees at the department, I believe that you should use existing staff to reform your casework management system.  This should be done without delay.  

Director Henderson, Ohioans expect excellent customer service from their government.  In light of the pandemic, many state agencies have fallen short when it comes to offering prompt and efficient service.  While I understand that your agency has been working around the clock for months to provide assistance to Ohioans in need, the department hasn’t risen to the occasion.  

The panel that was recently announced by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services should have been launched months ago.  If a failure of this magnitude had occurred in the private sector, I’m confident that top leadership of that organization would have been removed.  The time for excuses has ended.  It is time for accountability.  

Director, I believe in offering solutions to problems rather than just complaining about them.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you with regard to how the department will address these concerns and I would be more than happy to discuss my experiences with casework management. 

Sincerely, 

Jean Schmidt”