Southern Arizonans applying for federal assistance are struggling to find work and make ends meet, while the Arizona Department of Economic Security makes its way through a backlog of applications.
The Department of Economic Security is expecting waitlists to begin shortening in coming weeks as a result of a $6.4 million investment from Gov. Katie Hobbs from December. Brett Bezio with DES communications said the funds have allowed for technology upgrades, overtime opportunities for staff and the hiring of 127 new employees. The department had been reeling from a 500 person staffing shortage that it said was prompted by President Donald Trump’s administration’s funding cuts to state agencies.
Now, Bezio said, “processing delays are driven in large part by the requirements in H.R.1, passed in July 2025, that made significant changes to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) eligibility and imposed new quality review requirements on states.”
H.R.1, the Trump-championed “big beautiful bill,” added requirements to SNAP eligibility last summer. The work requirement of at least 80 hours per month now applies to adults up to 63 years old, extending the previous age requirement by 10 years. The legislation also removed veterans and former foster youth as work-exempt applicants.
Several people walking out of the DES office on Fort Lowell Road last week reported wait times of one to two hours. One applicant, Daniel Vasquez, said he opted for this location because the wait time was 90 minutes rather than three hours, something he experienced at the DES Alvernon Road location.
“Last time I spoke to someone at that office, they told me the paperwork was backed up about two months right now,” Vasquez said.
While his wait time at the Fort Lowell Road office was tolerable, Vasquez told AZPM that “it’s been a mess” trying to get on Medicaid — administered locally as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS — for nearly four months.
He said he’s been to DES offices across town about five times this year to get a status update, but every time he tries, agents say his paperwork is pending. He gets a similar response over the phone and online.
Vasquez is a Type 2 diabetic and had his toe amputated last September. He’s recently had four surgeries, spent 36 days in the hospital and said he owes almost half a million dollars in medical bills. His debt is now handled by a collection agency.
Denise Anderson was at the DES office on Fort Lowell Road reapplying for food stamps when another woman in line told her about a job opportunity. Anderson was ecstatic.
“Oh girl, I have been looking for work! I’ve been in behavioral health 28 years,” she told the woman.
Earlier this year, Anderson’s paychecks increased after her employer tasked her with overtime work, she said. It seemed like a good thing at the onset, but soon after she lost her federal food aid and her disability benefits because she was making too much money to qualify — but still not enough to afford basic necessities. Anderson said she was then fired and is now reapplying for government assistance.
According to DES data, SNAP was issued to about 147,000 fewer families — totaling about 322,000 people — this January than in September 2025, when cases began dropping significantly month by month.
Despite the trouble finding work, Anderson was in and out of the DES office within about one hour. She felt she had success; she was told to await a phone call or text regarding her interview status.
“There was room to sit, the staff was pleasant and the flow was pretty good. It was a comfortable experience for me,” she said.
Peter Wainwright, however, was not thrilled about the wait time. He uses a mobility scooter and the advanced arthritis in his legs causes him to have muscle spasms. His goal for the office visit was to learn whether or not he was eligible for SNAP.
“And they could have answered that question to have me out of here in two minutes but that requires making things convenient. We know better than that,” Wainwright said, laughing.
He instead dropped off his initial paperwork to apply and said he was told to expect a call back in five days.
“I’m not holding my breath because I realize if you’re just swamped on the processing side, it may take longer. But I’m up for the challenge,” he said, acknowledging the backlog of applications at DES.
While he is exempt from the new SNAP work requirement, the 65-year-old has still been searching for work as a computer technician. He said his pension and social security benefits are not enough to sustain a comfortable life, especially with his health expenses.
Several times, Wainwright pointed to how common applying for assistance has become among ordinary Americans.
“I was surprised at the people who were coming in. Some of them were employed. There was one woman, she was a nurse, and she's wearing her scrubs and she's trying to get food stamps on her way to work,” he said. “These are the people who, right now, are being squeezed.”
“We acknowledge that many families are awaiting critical assistance, and our teams remain committed to finding every possible solution to minimize the elevated wait times,” said DES spokesperson Bezio in a written statement to AZPM.
New work requirements for Medicaid are set to be fully implemented in all states by January 2027. For more than a year, however, Arizona has been trying to [amend] its AHCCCS Medicaid policy to impose a five-year limit on coverage for able-bodied adults who are subject to the work requirements, among other changes.
