by KATIE DAVIS, NBC 10 NEWS

Rhode Islands troubled Department of Human Services is making progress in clearing a backlog of social service cases, state officials said Friday, June 9, 2017. (WJAR)

Rhode Islands troubled Department of Human Services is making progress in clearing a backlog of social service cases, state officials said Friday.

The total number of pending cases now stands at 8,117, which is down from a high of more than 14,000 earlier this year, DHS spokesperson Alisha Pina told the NBC 10 I-Team.

Each case represents a person or family waiting for services like food stamps, healthcare, child care subsidies or income assistance.

The problems began in September, when the state launched the new computer system, known as UHIP, which was created by vendor Deloitte Consulting. Thousands of Rhode Islanders saw benefits cut off or delayed for months following the botched roll-out.

Gov. Gina Raimondo subsequently replaced the department heads responsible for the transition and withheld millions in payments from Deloitte.

Weve made significant progress, said Eric Beane, who took over as Secretary of Health and Human Services following the resignation of Elizabeth Roberts earlier this year amid the UHIP debacle.

A closer look at the data released Friday by DHS shows more than half of the 8,000-plus pending cases 4,143 in all -- are overdue and awaiting action from DHS. Another 919 overdue cases are waiting on clients.

The NBC 10 I-Team continues to hear from viewers who say theyre still stuck in the system. One woman said she was on hold with DHS for more than five hours this week, without getting a response.

I cant get in touch with a person for the life of me, she wrote in an email.

Another woman said she turned in all of her paperwork but is still waiting for help on her case.

Im almost out of food for my family, she wrote in an email. These wait times are ridiculous.

New managers said they expect to have the backlog of cases under control by September, marking a full year after the new computer system was first launched. Pina, the DHS spokesperson, said the department would release updated numbers once a month.

We know there is much more work to be done, and the Turnaround Team and staff remain committed to getting timely benefits to our neighbors in need, Beane said.

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