Tens of thousands of low-income people in Minnesota will no longer need to navigate the frustrating maze of paperwork and bureaucracy to obtain food assistance, childcare support and other social safety net programs.

After two years of behind-the-scenes design and testing, the Minnesota Department of Public Services (DHS) this month launched a new online platform called MNbenefits, which enables poor families to apply for a wide range of public benefits and workplaces from their living rooms.

State officials said the simplified application platform should help prevent people from unnecessarily losing benefits and falling into deeper poverty because they fail to meet heavy paperwork requirements.

For the first time, people in Minnesota were able to simultaneously apply for most of Minnesota’s social safety net programs—including cash assistance and the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps—without having to mail or deliver dizzying documents To different government agencies. State officials said that eligible residents can upload documents to MNbenefits at work or at home and complete the application process in as little as 12 minutes.

"This is a big deal," said Chuck Johnson, deputy commissioner of human services. "This is the biggest change in this kind of front-door public assistance application in more than 30 years."

This change is part of a broader effort by Governor Tim Walz's government to reduce cumbersome paperwork requirements for families struggling to pay for food, rent, childcare, and other necessities.

Congress is considering a $1.85 trillion social safety net and climate bill that will expand childcare and health care subsidies for millions of Americans. Since 2018, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the large-scale but temporary expansion of public assistance has caused the country’s poverty population to plummet by 45%, a record high. Soaring prices are eroding consumption power.

Minnesota lawmakers this summer approved the largest health and public service budget in the state's history, including the long-term search for improvements to the state's family welfare program, the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP). As a result, approximately 30,000 families participating in MFIP began to receive increased monthly payments to reflect the cost of living. This is the first time in the program's 24-year history that MFIP has adjusted the cost of living, and it will continue in October each year.

Even if it increases, the maximum monthly benefit for a family of three in the MFIP plan is $641, which is less than half of the $1,300 fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the twin cities.

However, despite the historical expansion of aid during the pandemic, many low-income families still face complicated and overly bureaucratic procedures when applying for and renewing benefits.

For example, Minnesota requires households receiving MFIP to submit an eight-page "family report" form each month that shows income, family size, assets, and many other eligibility factors that don't usually change from month to month.

Many people receiving benefits submit the form by mail or send the form to the county office. In the chaos, files are sometimes lost, and people lose important benefits.

An in-depth study conducted by researchers from the Department of Homeland Security last year found that heavy paperwork requirements have led to a high level of "displacement" in the Minnesota Family Benefits Program and SNAP, in which families often rotate benefits even if they still qualify. Studies have found that this kind of loss brings additional pressure to poor families, and at the same time makes it difficult for them to obtain stable housing and get rid of poverty.

Indranie Singh said: “When residents are already in crisis and they need support now, this adds another layer of pressure, making them actually have to enter the [county office] and spend half a day or a few hours asking for help,” Senior Human Resources Representative of Hennepin County. She said that MNbenefits "have no pressure and can be done in their own environment."

Janesha Anderson, a 21-year-old mother with learning disabilities from northern Minneapolis, said that the traditional application system is the most difficult for people with disabilities and people who lack reliable transportation.

Once a month, Anderson delivers her MFIP welfare family report form to the Hennepin County office, which is often crowded with other low-income families. She doesn't have a car, so to get there, she must take a 20-minute bus ride with her 7-year-old son Jermel-a trip she would rather avoid during the pandemic.

Since moving to a new apartment last month, Anderson has been worried about whether the forms will be sent to her new address. Otherwise, her family's main source of income may be threatened.

"Tracking documents is not easy, and bus fares are not cheap. Every month is a source of anxiety," she said. "I'm glad I can go online now without having to deal with headaches."

MNbenefits was developed with the help of the technology non-profit organization Code for America. It started as a pilot project in 16 counties last year and has now been promoted across the state. It can be accessed through all browsers, computers, laptops and mobile phones, and does not require a login name or password-this is a common barrier to access.

The application combines registration forms for nine safety net programs, including food, childcare, and housing assistance.

Vicki Parchman of Fridley said she has "waited for years" for the state government to develop an easy-to-use website like MNbenefits. Patchman has been unable to work since a serious back injury 20 years ago, and she is relying on food stamps and disability benefits to survive this month. Every fall, she worries about whether her SNAP application will arrive on time or whether it will be lost in the mail. Without the $170 per month food stamp benefit, Pachman suspects that she would go hungry or have to rely on the community food bank to survive.

For 29 years, Patchman has been a volunteer coordinator for the regular community meals for the poor at Golgotha ​​Church in southern Minneapolis. She said the people she met were people who were homeless or had mental health problems, or people who simply couldn't complete the paperwork for submitting food stamps and other benefits. Many do not have a fixed address.

"Bureaucracy is the worst enemy of the poor," Patchman said. "Combining these [welfare] programs in one place should go a long way in enabling people to get the help they need."

Chris Serres is responsible for the social services of Star Tribune.

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