ANDERSON — Amy Bond is not a state employee. She is not a social worker. And she isn’t trained to help people get food stamps.

But, according to Bond, she spends much of her time at St. Vincent Mercy Hospital in Elwood focused on Medicaid and food stamps.

“Over half of my day, almost every day,” Bond said, describing the amount of time she pours into helping local residents get state aid.

Food stamps and Medicaid, she said, are simply an added task in response to the recent modernization of the state welfare system. “The bulk of my time is subsequently spent with Medicaid because word gets out that somebody can help you.”

Bond’s story is echoed across the state as local service agencies participating in the state’s Voluntary Community Assistance Network, or V-CAN, field requests for help from welfare clients in response to welfare modernization.

The state underwent a modernization of the welfare system at the start of the year, rolling out the program in 12 pilot counties including Madison County.

Hoping to streamline applications processing, state officials instituted a 1-800 number and a Web site application process for those wishing to get food stamps, Medicaid and other welfare assistance.

IBM and Affiliated Computer Services were awarded a $1.16 billion contract to process applications over the next 10 years, effectively privatizing the state’s welfare system. The move was expected to save the state $500 million over the next decade.

On Wednesday, around one dozen local V-CAN representatives participated in a modernization tutorial hosted at Ivy Tech in Anderson. The session was aimed at helping them help others navigate the new welfare system.

Zach Main, director of the Division of Family Resources for the Indiana Family and Social Services Agency, or FSSA, said V-CAN was started as part of the rollout.

The idea, he said, was to create more access points for needy Hoosiers hoping to apply for state welfare assistance.

To date, there are 494 access points across the state where clients can access a phone, telephone or fax machine in order to send in or complete welfare applications, according to the FSSA.

Area agencies participating in the V-CAN include hospitals, township trustees, nursing homes, food pantries, homeless shelters, information and referral agencies, community centers, disability and mental health agencies and housing groups.

These groups provide assistance to those who cannot navigate the modernized system on their own.

Those providing access points and assistance to the state, however, are not being compensated for the time they spend working with clients, Main said. “The Voluntary Community Assistance Network is a volunteer network. The modernization system would still work if we didn’t build the V-CAN network.”