The first checks from a recent extension of unemployment benefits have started going out to some Ohioans, but thousands of others will have to wait until at least Christmas week before getting any money.
The delay has left many scrambling to pay their bills during the holiday season, and frustrated callers are jamming unemployment telephone lines.
State officials said they acted as quickly as possible after President Barack Obama signed a bill in early November extending benefits for up to an additional 20 weeks.
In Ohio, checks for some started going out between Nov. 27 and 30. For the rest, the money will begin to be paid between Dec. 18 and 23, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
An estimated 100,000 out-of-work Ohioans qualify for additional benefits, said Sara Hall Phillips, chief policy adviser for the state agency.
They include those who already have exhausted state extended benefits, those who will exhaust state extended benefits by Dec. 26, and those who will exhaust Tier 2 federal emergency extended benefits by the same date.
As with past extensions, Phillips said, the state had to make programming changes to its computer system and run tests to work out any glitches before disbursements could begin.
"It takes time. It's like baking a cake," she said.
Those eligible for the additional benefits were notified by automated telephone calls before Thanksgiving. In recent days, state telephone lines have been swamped by frustrated callers trying to find out why their checks haven't arrived.
"Our call centers have been overwhelmed," said Brian Harter, agency spokesman.
Judy Conti, federal advocacy coordinator for the National Employment Law Project, said Ohio is not the only state where it is taking weeks to get benefits out.
"There are a number of states that got benefits out the door within two weeks, but there are a lot of states that are in the same position as Ohio," she said.
Conti said antiquated computer equipment and lack of adequate staff is causing delays: "They are trying to do a fairly impossible task with substandard resources."
States that got payments out quickly - including Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Oregon - started preparing before the legislation was signed into law, she said.
The Strickland administration directed the Department of Job and Family Services to get payments out as soon as possible.
"Gov. (Ted) Strickland understands this tough national recession hurts Ohio families all the more during the holiday season," said Amanda Wurst, the governor's spokeswoman.
Today, Strickland expanded unemployment compensation so that jobless Ohioans can still collect benefits if they are enrolled in full-time education or training programs.
Previously, recipients had to be looking for work, which might have discouraged many from going back to school.
"To build a robust economic recovery from the ground up, Ohio's working people must have every opportunity to get the education and training they need to land the new kinds of jobs our economy is creating," Strickland said. "This policy change will help those Ohioans hardest hit by the recession to obtain job-training skills without sacrificing their ability to continue providing for their families."
ccandisky@dispatch.com
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