The Cumberland County Department of Social Services is developing self-service kiosks to improve residents’ experiences applying for benefits and other social services.
The kiosks will let residents drop off documents and apply or recertify for benefits like Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Services (also called SNAP or food stamps) without staff help.
The department hopes the kiosks will reduce residents’ wait time when seeking department services, especially for walk-ins. Instead of waiting for staff to process their information, residents can use the kiosks to fill out benefit applications and recertification forms on their own.
With fewer applications to fill out, Brenda Jackson, director of the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, said caseworkers can spend more time helping residents on their caseloads.
“The kiosks, once established, will help streamline the intake and follow-up process by automating data entry, reducing the need for staff to manually input the information,” Jackson said. “With routine tasks offloaded to the kiosks, staff should be able to dedicate more time to case management and processing applications, as well as problem-solving complex cases.”
The department will install four kiosks, located on its first, second and third floors. In total, the department is spending $9,978.88 on the kiosks. The funds come from allocations in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 towards the federal food assistance program (SNAP), which also recently paid for interpretation services at the department.
The final design and functionality of the department’s self-service kiosks are still under development. The economic services and information technology services divisions are working together to develop the best design to serve residents.
“Our goal is to ultimately give customers a convenient option to drop off documents, apply or recertify their benefits without the need for caseworker assistance once this project is finalized and implemented,” Jackson said.
Outdoor information
In addition to the kiosks inside the social services department, other county agencies will also have large kiosks outside each building for visitors to look up information about their services, departments, and dates and times for public meetings and events.
Two kiosks will be outside the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Courthouse at Dick Street, one in front of the Cumberland County Department of Public Health at Ramsey Street, and another at the social services department’s north entrance at Ramsey Street will be available for residents starting this summer.
The county is still developing the final rendering for what the outdoor kiosks will look like. According to the county’s webpage about the kiosk project, a likely option is the Meridian Pulse Outdoor Kiosk, built by North Carolina-based self-service company Meridian Kiosks.
According to the company, the Meridian Pulse Outdoor Kiosk is about 90 inches tall, 32 inches wide and 14 inches deep. It features a 55-inch touchscreen that can be coated with a polarized film for easier reading with sunglasses.
Besides providing these measurements, Donnie Perry, the county social services department’s business operations division director, told the Social Services Board that the kiosks will have a 55-inch tamper-proof touchscreen on each side, allowing multiple people to use them simultaneously. They will also have open Wi-Fi connections.
Perry told the board the kiosks will be accessible to those with disabilities. The kiosks will have speakers so residents who can’t see or read the information on the screens can still receive it. Meridian Kiosks also offers an optional accessibility panel for its kiosks that includes braille, an audio jack, a 911 call button, a navigation pad and a telephone keypad.
The kiosks are part of the CumberlandONE program, which uses technology to streamline county government services and communications delivery.
“CumberlandONE, Our Neighbor Experience, is an innovative countywide program dedicated to transforming the digital government experience, fostering seamless communication and expanding access to essential governmental services for all residents,” Keith Todd, the county’s chief information services director, told CityView.
The county is using its general funds to pay for the outdoor kiosks. Each costs $43,000, with the total project costing $172,000.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.
