As the pandemic wreaked havoc on Nevada's gaming and tourism-based economy, an unprecedented number of applications requesting food stamps, health insurance and direct cash aid began to flow through the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.

The sheer number of applications created a backlog of tasks five times what the division usually handles — a volume that Robert Thompson, the agency’s deputy administrator of program and field services, described as "overwhelming" during a Thursday meeting of a legislative budget subcommittee.

"We normally have anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 tasks in our queue waiting to be worked. And at this time, that backlog is reaching 50 to 60,000 tasks," Thompson said. "Our estimated times to approve ... cases have increased by almost 30 percent."

The increased caseloads prompted the division to petition for an additional 226 staffing positions to the field services section in the upcoming biennium. The new additions, consisting of 41 administrative assistants, 168 family services specialists, 15 family services supervisors and two social services managers, are projected to cost about $25 million over the biennium, according to the governor’s proposed budget.

Staff is serving 814,072 individuals or almost 1 in 4 Nevadans who participate in at least one of the division's three assistance programs. Those include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Thompson said. 

The number of clients generate an average of 192,280 unduplicated tasks each month, taking an average of about 41 minutes each to complete, and the new positions would allow the division to meet demand, officials said. 

The additions to the field services department would increase the total staffing of the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to around 2,285, not including other proposed positions. DHHS as a whole is projected to have 6,192 positions during fiscal year 2022.

Before the pandemic, the division had anticipated eliminating some positions during the upcoming legislative session as it had in the last two sessions, Thompson said. Now, the division expects an almost 14 percent increase in client actions over fiscal year 2020 from 2021 to 2022 and the same in fiscal year 2023.

Republican Assemblywoman Jill Tolles remarked that the presentation was a "stark story of what's happening in our state."

She asked what would happen to the 226 new hires once the economy improves and fewer people apply for assistance. 

The positions would be permanent, Steve Fisher, the administrator for the division, said.

“We're certainly way behind,” Fisher said, noting that the backlog of tasks and projects requiring attention necessitates the permanent hires. 

He added that the division would submit additional data and projections to the subcommittee for further review.