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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2020)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020 | 3B Oregon Employment Department reports on processing claims ODE has paid a record number of claims but still dealing with lag time for many Oregonians Oregon is facing un- precedented unemploy- ment and hundreds of thousands of Oregon families are counting on unemployment bene- fits to pay for their basic needs. While the Oregon Em- ployment Department (OED) has paid a re- cord number of Orego- nians within two to three weeks, for many Orego- nians their claims are in a backlog. The OED is launching Project Focus 100. The goal is straightfor- ward: to process 100 per- cent of the 38,000-claim backlog as quickly as possible and get Orego- nians the relief they need. The department will use four successful strat- egies: 1. Continue surge hir- ing. The department has made good progress get- ting the staff it needs to process claims quickly, increasing by six times the number of people processing claims than were in place before COVID-19 closures be- gan. “We continue hiring and training new em- ployees to ensure every Oregonian gets the ben- efits they’re owed in a timely fashion,” said OED Director Kay Erickson. 2. Further focus its ex- perienced professionals on the oldest and most complex claims. For two weeks, from May 29 to June 12, OED will in- crease its outbound calls to resolve claims for those that have been waiting the longest. To do this, the most experienced employees will take time away from answering the phones. OED will also tempo- rarily reassign job center employees to take incom- ing calls to help resolve questions, in all languag- es, relating to: • Address/Phone num- ber changes • Looking up customer ID (CID) numbers • Re-setting PIN num- bers • Issues with claiming a week of benefits online, including taking weekly certifications • Filing a new claim or processing an internet initial claim (except those with military, federal, or out-of-state wages) • Re-starting a claim • Checking the status of a claim (if unable to use the online claim sys- tem) 3. Increase proactive contact and communi- cation. OED us piloting new ways of contacting Oregonians to let them know where their claims are in the system and to solve problems. It now has pre-record- ed phone messages and emails that confirm that OED has received a PUA claim. The department is also working to add a customer service chat bot to the website. 4. Use technology to close gaps and improve service. “We have identified strategies that move claims out of processing traps that can hang them up,” Erickson said. “That has already moved thou- sands of claims through processing. We will con- tinue using these strate- gies to speed up process- ing and get Oregonians whose claims have been stuck the benefits they’re owed.” People with questions about their unemploy- ment benefits should go to www.oregon.gov/em- ploy/unemployment/. There, OED continues to add new metrics to the online dashboard so that Oregonians can watch its progress. “We’ll continue to be transparent about where we are and our progress toward our goals,” Erick- son said. “Navigating this crisis is a collective effort, and Oregonians know how to work together to overcome hard challeng- es. We’ll get through this together.” Equal Opportunity program — auxiliary aids and services available upon request to indiv- id-uals with disabilities. Call 503-947-1794. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, call 711 Telecommunica- tions Relay Services. United Way invests over $300,000 in short-term COVID-19 response Two months after launching its COVID-19 Community Response Fund, United Way of Lane County has ing on the frontlines of now granted a total of the COVID-19 pandem- $309,040 to Lane Coun- ic. ty-area nonprofits work- Last week, United Way announced the recipi- ents of its fourth and fi- nal round of “response” funding: 34 programs will receive a total of Richard Beaudro $77,195 this week. Principal Broker Among those is Boy 541 991-6677 & Girls Club of Western Lane County, DevNW 1240 Xylo St – Central lo- and St. Vincent de Paul cation in town, large fenced backyard, low maintenance of Lane County, who landscaping. Roomy interior each will receive $2,500 with separate family room area, and large kitchen and in response funds. dining. Home will need some TLC, but there’s lots to like Similar to previous here. $260,000. #3066- rounds of funding, 20148310 United Way grant dol- lars will help meet the 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 Get Results...List With Richard. is the permanent, clog-free gutter solution!* immediate, short-term needs of nonprofits and those whom they serve, providing food boxes, rental assistance, family supports, and more. However, the short- term needs are not di- minishing, and the need for longer-term solutions and systemic change is clear. “While many in Lane County may be expe- riencing some relief in our community begin- ning to open back up, there is a vast portion of our community, often unseen, who are still in precarious situations — fearful for their health, their housing and their overall ability to weath- er the many struggles that have been exac- erbated by this pan- demic,” said Noreen J. Dunnells, United Way of Lane County’s Presi- dent and CEO. Given this, United Way of Lane County is expanding its current fund to become the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. WLCF from 1B Applications can be obtained on the WLCF Dollars raised moving forward will be invested in the community’s most urgent and immediate needs, as well as efforts to address health, edu- cational, and economic inequities. These grants will be larger in scope than the original re- sponse fund grants and will still be directed to- ward nonprofits serving the needs of those most impacted by the pan- demic. This new phase of funding is possible thanks to a partnership with the newly formed Lane Community Health Council — which not only contributed to the original response fund but is also making a significant investment in the expanded response and recovery fund. “We know that when it comes to health, ac- cess to care is only one factor in determining outcomes for our com- munity,” said Rhonda Busek, Lane Communi- ty Health Council’s Ex- ecutive Director. “Lane Community Health Council is committed to investing in the many other vital supports nec- essary for the health of our community — af- fordable housing, access to food, and more — all of which have become increasingly urgent amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “United Way of Lane County is a trusted lead- er in this work, and we are thrilled to partner with them in this way.” More details about this new fund and how nonprofits can apply will be released on June 16, when United Way kicks off LIVE UNITED Week, an online event featuring series of vid- eos and stores about the strength and passion of our community. Those interested in contributing to Unit- ed Way’s COVID-19 Response and Recover Fund can do so at www. unitedwaylane.org/ covid-19-fund. website: www.wlcfon- line.org. Application packets may be submit- ted online, or by mail at PO Box 1589, Florence, OR 97439. Th e deadline for post-mark or receipt is June 30. 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Our FINAL weigh-in will be WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD at the Siuslaw News. Weigh in will be held at the Siuslaw News June 3rd 7:30am-9:00am and 3:00pm-5:00pm or by appointment. To schedule an appoint- ment please call 541-902-3524. We ask that you practice Social Distancing and wear a protective mask. Staff will be wearing protective masks and we will be wiping down the scale be- tween each use. Most of all, stay safe and healthy friends. We will see you again soon! VOICE YOUR OPINION! — Write a Letter to the Editor today: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com