County To Launch Automated Benefits System
Fresno County on Wednesday will roll out a computerized benefits system for nearly 280,000 low-income residents to help streamline the eligibility determination process for public assistance programs and Medi-Cal, the Fresno Bee reports.
The CalWORKs Information Network, or CalWIN, will allow residents to receive benefits the day they apply, instead of taking several weeks under the previous paper-based system.
Fresno County has been preparing to transition to CalWIN for five years and is the last of 18 counties to implement the system. The county's share of CalWIN's cost for fiscal year 2006-2007 is about $250,000. CalWIN receives local, state and federal funding (Ginis, Fresno Bee, 7/3).