Promising Practices - New Mexico

New Mexico – At the Socorro Income Support Division Office, each worker is trained in all programs to act as a resource to the community and the individual. Some of the initiatives in place to accomplish this are their use of a 1-800 number to accommodate rural clients, the use of phone interviews for clients who travel four or more hours for benefits, and the use of community partnerships – food banks, churches, other local organizations - for effective referral and application process. Through a focus on caring customer service and outreach assistance from community partners, the Socorro office serves a high per capita number of recipients in the State, and at the same time, has a high quality control accuracy rate. For more information, contact: Joseph Mascarena, County Office Manager, Socorro New Mexico Human Services Department, 505-835-0342, extension 23.

New Mexico – FNS has participated as an active partner with the Human Services Department in the “Together We Can Initiative” since 2003. This initiative brought together representatives from throughout the State from all sectors, including government and business, to help end hunger. Part of “Together We Can” for 2004 is the collaboration between DHS and the New Mexico Association of Food Banks. For more information, contact Anne Snell, FNS Southwestern Regional office, 214-290-9900, snell.a@fns.usda.gov.

Last modified: 04/30/2009