(Washington, DC) The Department of Human Services (DHS) developed and released for public use a new, simplified “Combined Application for Medical, Food Stamp, and Cash Assistance” to make it easier for District residents to apply for these services, and to streamline the eligibility process. The new application is also available in Spanish and the cover page features messages in Amharic, Chinese and Vietnamese.
 
“Our Income Maintenance Administration has done a great job developing the new combined application, which will allow us to better serve District residents in need of medical, food, and cash assistance. One application allows one-stop action for all three assistance programs and it achieves Mayor Williams’ goal of continuous quality improvement in customer service,” said DHS Director Yvonne Gilchrist.
 
Income Maintenance Administration (IMA) Administrator Kate Jesberg emphasized that IMA has fully trained its eligibility workers on how to use the new combined application and to assist the public in doing so. Jesberg added that IMA has already begun distributing the new application to its seven Service Centers throughout the District. 
 
The IMA Combined Application for Medical, Food Stamp, and Cash Assistance allows District residents with less than $1,000 in the bank to self-declare their bank assets. This helps low-income residents avoid incurring a bank fee to get a bank statement to apply for IMA benefits. The new application also highlights the availability of retroactive Medicaid benefits, which help pay for recent medical bills that may otherwise prove catastrophic to low-income families. Retroactive Medicaid pays medical bills for eligible District residents up to three past months.
 
For more information, contact DHS IMA Customer Service at (202) 724-5506.