I found myself in the position of having to apply for public assistance when my children's father would not pay the child support he was ordered to pay. I applied for food stamps and found the assistance to be invaluable. It was such a big help to know I would be able to feed my children no matter how much I was able to work. After 6 months I had to reapply. I turned in all required paperwork by the due date of Nov. 22, 2008. I received nothing from the Department of Job and Family Services saying that I was approved or denied. Nor did I receive anything saying that they had not received all of the required paperwork. I checked my Ohio Direction Card on the 1st of December and it had a $0 balance. I called the call center and was informed that it was still pending. I have called everyday since then just to be informed that it is still pending. I have received a multitude of excuses ranging from the case worker's have huge caseloads to your case worker has been reassigned to it can take up to 30 days to process your paperwork to your case worker has 5 days to review your case. I am so frustrated. Here it is the the 12th of December, I have done my part, my kids are hungry and I do not get paid until next week. Why does this process take so long sometimes. The first time I applied I had money on my card with 5 days and now I have been waiting 2 weeks. If it is normal to take this long then why didn't my reapplication appointment, which they scheduled for Nov. 12, happen sooner so I would not have hungry children. There has to be a better way.