For a household struggling to keep the power on, applying for energy assistance is another task to manage during an already difficult week. For the agency answering the phone, that same application arrives alongside questions about missing documents, appointment availability and payments.
Improving intake for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program means making that journey easier on both sides: helping households complete the right steps and giving staff more time to review applications and resolve problems.
Across Fortell's interviews and customer case studies, several practical improvements emerge. Start with the experience of applying, follow the information into the agency's systems, and keep people informed until they know what happens next.
1. Understand what applying costs the household
In his Fortell podcast interview, Roger Pavey describes administrative burden as more than paperwork. It includes understanding the program, gathering evidence and the emotional difficulty of asking for help.
“You might not have to write a check, but you're going to do a lot of work”
An agency can begin by walking through its own application process. How many calls does it take? Can someone understand the document list without an explanation? What happens when they make a mistake? Can a person working during office hours complete the process?
Ask applicants and frontline staff where they get stuck. Those answers provide a practical starting point for improvement while preserving the checks needed to administer public funds.
2. Make access fit around people's lives
After-hours access can make a meaningful difference. In NADC's first month using its Fortell application experience, approximately 40% of applications were submitted after hours or on weekends. These are early results from one agency, but they show that households used the additional flexibility.
Give people a way to get information and start an application when they are available. Depending on the local process, that might mean an online application, telephone support, or the ability to arrange a callback.
Keep assisted access available too. Linda Huntspon describes how CAASTLC works with local libraries to help people submit documents and complete applications closer to where they live. She also highlights the barriers facing people without reliable access to devices — around 3:19-4:25 of her interview.
Flexible access should give residents more workable choices.
3. Make the application understandable from the start
Putting a form online does not automatically make it easy to use. In her interview, Anne Bacon describes families struggling with a state-provided application and IMPACT creating a simpler form that was easier for both applicants and staff to manage.
“sometimes we have to create workarounds to the systems we're forced to use.”
Review the questions and instructions that generate the most follow-up. Explain which household members and income periods the application covers, which documents the local program accepts, and how to provide a missing item. Use plain language, examples and consistent guidance across telephone, online and in-person services.
Where possible, identify missing information while the applicant is still engaged. A clear explanation at that point can prevent another round of calls and resubmissions.
4. Connect the application to the work behind it
The applicant's experience and the staff workflow need to work together. If staff must copy every answer into another system, a digital application can leave much of the administrative burden intact.
At NADC, application information and uploaded documents flow into CAP60, removing a separate manual re-entry step. Staff can then focus on reviewing and processing the application.
See how the NADC workflow operates →
Map the journey from submission to review. Identify where staff retype information, download and reattach documents, or search for the latest version. Prioritize improvements that deliver a complete, usable record to the person responsible for the next step.
5. Make status updates part of intake
Submitting an application should leave a household knowing whether it was received, whether anything is missing, and what to expect next.
SCHRA's published case study describes a rollout that includes LIHEAP guidance and application-status conversations. It illustrates an important design choice: support continues after the form is submitted. The case study does not yet report completed impact figures.
Provide confirmation through the applicant's agreed contact method. Make routine status information accessible after the appropriate identity checks. Clearly distinguish an application being received from one being approved, and explain how urgent circumstances should be raised with staff.
Reliable information gives households a clearer next step and can reduce the uncertainty that prompts repeated calls.
6. Measure whether assistance moves forward
OlyCAP's published case study reports that LIHEAP service dollars delivered increased from $300,000 in Q1 2025 to $375,000 in Q1 2026, alongside a reduction of two full-time-equivalent roles.
“We reduced FTEs by two… and productivity per person went up.”
That is an agency-reported outcome following changes to its service model, rather than a guarantee for another agency. It does, however, point to the measures worth tracking: completed applications, missing-document rates, processing time, repeat contacts, staff workload and assistance delivered.
Start with one recurring bottleneck. Establish a baseline, change the workflow and review whether households and staff experience an improvement. Include differences by language and access channel so that a better average does not conceal people being left behind.
Fortell helps agencies answer routine questions, guide intake and connect residents with the next step. If your LIHEAP team is spending too much time managing calls and paperwork, talk to Fortell about a workflow built around your agency.
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