UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Two Utica women are under arrest for getting into a brawl over who was going to be first in line for temporary assistance at the Oneida County Social Services Department. It happened Tuesday morning at the county office building.

One woman, Michelle Schipper, says she, her daughter and baby granddaughter were waiting in line in the freezing cold outside the Oneida County Office Building from around 6:30 in the morning in hopes of being seen today. She says they weren't alone, and that when security finally opened the building, it was chaos.

"As soon as the doors opened up at 8:30 everybody started rushing into the doors. I turned around to make sure my granddaughter and my daughter's OK and a girl punched me in the face; I'm standing there and I'm stunned," Schipper said.

Oneida County Social Services Commissioner Lucille Soldato says the office sees up to 700 walk-ins every week.

She is aware that people do line up outside the County Office Building by 8 a.m. in order to get a coveted interview slot at social services.

But she points out that emergencies are taken care of first, and people who don't have an emergency, such as lack of heat, shelter or food, might be asked to return the next day.

Commissioner Soldato says her office is exploring ways to accomodate more people each day.

"We're hoping to maybe go back to a different system where the person who interviews you then processes your case. If we make that change then it's possible we may be able to take another 5-6 interviews a day," says Soldato.

Soldato is also considering setting up a help desk for people who just need information.

Michelle Schipper and another woman, Ijeoma Isu, were arrested for disorderly conduct and issued appearance tickets for Utica City Court on December 2nd.