Human Resources: Voucher systems require enough volunteers or paid staff to manage vouchers for the consumer base that lives nearby. Vouchers may be organized on a county level or city level. Human resource include one or more paid or volunteer staff who are able to:

• work part or full time
• complete a four hour training on site management 
• be available to print and mail vouchers on a routine basis 
• answer driver or consumer questions by phone 
• perform or access secretarial or book keeping services 
• coordinate an audit by a funding source

Voucher site managers should be prepared to answer routine questions about changes of address, voucher type and requirements, documentation etc. In addition,  they will often get questions from consumers about program eligibility requirements. GRIT software provides information about program eligibility rules.

Physical Resources: Physical resources needed are those of any small business or service agency and may include but are not limited to:  

• Phone
• Office space
• File cabinet
• Office supplies Files
• Computer
• Printer
• Mailing address 

Financial Resources:  It is difficult to estimate the amount of financial resources needed to start a voucher system. Factors which may influence  costs include the consumer base for the voucher programs, buy-in from service agencies and the cost of doing business in your state. Consider these costs in planning and decide which may apply to your agency or community:

• Building rental
• Funds to pay drivers until reimbursement from funding sources arrive
• Business registration and licenses costs
• Overhead for heat, cooling, lights, electricity, phone

Voucher systems have been started with as little as $3,000. A larger system will require more.

Rationale: Voucher programs are designed to be run by service agencies, organizations or government entities. It is assumed that personnel may have other duties, be volunteers or work only part time. The number of personnel needed is directly related to the number of consumers accessing the voucher system. A multi-county program with several funding sources will need more staff than a small community or scarcely populated county. Some voucher providers have estimated that .20 FTE would be needed at a minimum and one FTE would be needed for every 100 consumers. Specialized software is available to GRIT sites which allows them to manage a large consumer base and multiple funding sources in an easy, effective manner.

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