Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division (BESSD)
BESSD is the largest division in the Department of Human Services. Staff and administrators provide a continuum of services, through nine programs that serve different populations, aimed at providing clients with monthly benefits to assist them with such essentials as food, shelter, and child care, as well as employment support and work-training and dependency diversion and prevention. BESSD Accomplishments 2010-2014
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Temporary Assistance for Other Needy Families (TAONF) TANF Brochure (REV 04-2022)
- First-To-Work (FTW)
- Employment and Training (E&T)
- Child Care Program Office
- General Assistance (GA)
- Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (AABD)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as the Food Stamp Program
- Hawaii Financial and Food Stamp Benefits Rights and Responsibilities
- Hawaii Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program
- Homeless Programs (HP) & Information
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP)
- The Public Assistance Information System (PAIS) has a nation-wide toll-free number (1-855-643-1643) available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for help with SNAP and Financial Assistance. The PAIS website https://pais.dhs.hawaii.gov is also accessible 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The phone line and website provide basic information on a variety of assistance programs offered through DHS. For a step-by-step guide to accessing PAIS, click on the following link to view an informational brochure: SNAP & Financial Assistance – 3 Ways to Connect (English). The brochure is also available in the following languages: Cebuan, Chuukese, Hawaiian, Ilokano, Japanese, Korean, Marshallese, Samoan, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Tongan, and Vietnamese.
- Financial Assistance Advisory Council (FAAC)
- Assistance for Refugees
- TEXT SCAM ALERT ABOUT P-EBT BENEFITS (June 2022) – Click here for more information
