Approximately 3.4 million state agency letters intended for Pennsylvania residents \u2014 including some detailing whether they are eligible for health benefits or food assistance, or need to renew them \u2014 were not delivered to residents from Nov. 3 through Dec. 3, officials said Friday.<\/p>\n
Late last week, Pennsylvania state officials discovered that a month\u2019s worth of mail had never been sent<\/a> to residents by a government-contracted vendor, resulting in a pileup of millions of unsent state communications. Once the issue was discovered, the state fired the vendor, Harrisburg-based Capitol Presort Services<\/a>, and hired another vendor for a $1 million emergency contract to work through the backlog.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, officials estimated 2.7 million agency letters, mainly from the Department of Transportation and Department of Human Services,<\/a> went unsent due to the lapse. But by Friday, the state said that number had grown, totaling 3.4 million.<\/p>\n Now, the state says 1.7 million letters sent by DHS, which oversees the care of Pennsylvania\u2019s most vulnerable residents and the delivery of critical public benefits, were not delivered because of the vendor issue, said spokesperson Brandon Cwalina.<\/p>\n Residents may not have received letters detailing whether they need to renew their health benefits or if they are required to submit additional information to continue receiving SNAP food assistance, Cwalina confirmed. Administrative hearing notices \u2014 which could determine someone\u2019s eligibility for public benefits, appeals about alleged elder abuse, or approvals of new foster homes \u2014 as well as child abuse clearances were also among the affected mail, he said.<\/p>\n Cwalina said the contents of some of the letters were also communicated to some intended recipients virtually, if they had opted to receive email or text notifications. Child abuse clearances are available online<\/a>. <\/p>\n