Iowa Department of Human Services Director Kevin Concannon announced today that Council Bluffs has been selected for the proposed location of the agency’s new customer call center.

“This is obviously good news for Council Bluffs, since there was keen competition for these jobs, but it is also good news for our own employees and especially for the many thousands of Iowans who are eligible for our state’s assistance programs,” Concannon said in a press release.

Des Moines and Marshalltown were among nine Iowa cities that vied for the call center, which will employ 48 “income maintenance” specialists who will field questions about food assistance, Medicaid, childcare assistance, and other programs. The specialists, whose positions have a beginning salary of $34,590, will also provide assistance in filling out applications, prepare applicants for interviews with DHS staff and process changes to existing cases.

Under the current system, these calls and updates are now primarily handled by income maintenance workers in the department’s offices in all 99 counties. The Legislature approved the call center, with an annual operating budget of $1.8 million, during its most recent session.

Roger Munns, a DHS spokesman, said there is no intent to close the local offices. The main role of the income maintenance specialists at those offices will be to determine eligibility of new applicants. Four existing positions, however, will be moved from the Des Moines food assistance center to the new call center. Munns said consultants for the state have concluded a centralized center will be less costly than hiring the 80 to 90 personnel that would otherwise be needed to augment local staffing.

Concannon said the call center will provide long-needed relief.

“Caseloads are growing and workers now carry an average of nearly 450 cases. It has been obvious for some time that we are under-resourced to adequately serve these cases, and to keep up with changes,” he said.

The department plans to lease space at the Omni Center in Council Bluffs to house the call center. It will take several months to hire and train the specialists, and no opening date has been selected.