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The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) recently released a special statement calling for administrative relief for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) agencies.

With an election around the corner, economic assistance programs—especially the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid—and integrated eligibility systems have come under major public scrutiny.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there that leads people to ask questions based on false assumptions. For example, aren’t most people who receive assistance inappropriately taking advantage of the system? Don’t these programs discourage work? Do people receiving benefits really need them?

As a former job and family services worker in Ohio, it is safe to say I have a lot of stories. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, not all of them are good ones. It’s a hard job and you often do not get to see the result of your work. However, there is one story that has stuck with me through the years.

Human beings make mistakes. Period. And even though we’re big believers that social workers and caseworkers are super heroes, we know they make mistakes sometimes too.

Ever lost or misplaced a document? Skipped a step when scanning it into the system? Filed it in the wrong place? Overlooked a key piece of information when reviewing a case file?

Mistakes happen. While it may not be likely to eliminate errors completely, there are many changes a human services agency can make to reduce the possibility of errors being made. It all starts with simplifying processes—and in doing so, creating less opportunity for errors to occur.