Live Oak DCF office to close

Published 1:06 pm Friday, May 11, 2012

The Department of Children and Families announced that it will be closing the office in Live Oak by October 2012, according to the DCF Northeast Regional Driector David Abramowitz.

The closure of the building at 501 Demorest S.W. St. is because the office has become “less necessary”.

People needing to apply for food stamps, temporary cash assistance and Medicaid can apply online from any computer with Internet access. Since there are people that do not have Internet access at home, DCF partnered “with 22 community centers, food banks, churches and libraries within Suwannee County to provide computers for people to apply for economic assistance.”

The nine employees that work at the service center will not be affected by the changes. They will continue to work for DCF either by telecommuting, other service centers or partner sites.

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There are approximately 9,550 people in Suwannee County receiving food stamp assistance, which is roughly 23 percent of the population. The DCF press release states that number has been increasing annually by six percent, since 2000, but has slowed down recently in Suwannee County.

“The percentage of children in Suwannee County being helped by food stamps is 40.2 percent,” according to the most recent DCF report.

Agencies or organizations wishing to partner with DCF may contact Janet Bente Romero, at janet_romero@dcf.state.fl.us.