Alaskans suing state over food assistance delays ask judge to order faster application processing

Packaged nutrient sits connected shelves astatine Sitka’s Salvation Army nutrient pantry successful 2018. (Photo by Emily Kwong/KCAW)

Alaskans who sued nan authorities past twelvemonth complete agelong hold times for nutrient assistance are asking a national judge to bid nan authorities to velocity up processing.

The state’s Division of Public Assistance has struggled successful caller years to support up pinch pending applications for nan Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, amended known arsenic SNAP aliases nutrient stamps. At times, much than 14,000 Alaskans were near waiting for benefits. And nan authorities must act, said Saima Akhtar, a elder lawyer pinch nan National Center for Law and Economic Justice.

“This is simply a very, very important crisis,” she said. “I person done a number of cases related to timeliness litigation, and I person not benignant of seen a situation of nan proportionality that we person seen successful Alaska.”

Akhtar and a conjugation of attorneys sued nan state connected behalf of quiet Alaskans past year. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason revived nan class-action suit successful February aft nan parties initially agreed to put it connected clasp while nan authorities worked to reside nan backlog. 

Now, attorneys successful nan lawsuit are asking nan judge for a preliminary injunction that would bid nan authorities to process applications successful statement pinch national requirements. That’s 30 days successful astir cases and 7 days for expedited applications. 

A tribunal bid could thief nan authorities get waivers from national requirements that whitethorn slow processing down, Akhtar said. The authorities could besides instrumentality thing known arsenic broad-based categorical eligibility, which she said would streamline exertion processing.

“When there’s a tribunal bid and nan authorities is looking astatine whether aliases not they can, benignant of, return exceptional measures internally, a tribunal bid is thing that will awesome and supply a a logic to spell nan other mile and return exceptional steps,” she said.

But nan head of nan state’s Division of Public Assistance, Deb Etheridge, said that complete nan past fewer months, nan business has improved considerably. Etheridge says arsenic of March, nan authorities was processing astir 90% of its applications by national deadlines. As of early May, she said location were conscionable 50 SNAP applications aliases recertifications lingering beyond nan 30-day deadline.

“But each 50 of those cases person been worked, and they’re successful a pend[ing] position for 1 logic aliases another,” Etheridge said successful a telephone interview. “Some of nan reasons could beryllium further information, aliases they could beryllium a petition for adjacent hearing.”

Etheridge pointed to nan state’s determination to region federally required interviews pinch applicants arsenic 1 logic for nan improvement. Though nan national Food and Nutrition Service initially warned nan state that pausing interviews put national SNAP backing astatine risk, Etheridge said nan authorities now has a waiver done June. Additionally, she said nan section has now trained its unit connected champion practices for interviews to debar much delays erstwhile nan waiver expires.

“I conjecture what I’m saying is that we’re not waiting for immoderate tribunal actions to beryllium identified,” she said. “We’re being very proactive to find efficiencies, and we’re doing our champion to put them into action successful bid to get benefits to Alaskans who suffice for them arsenic quickly arsenic possible.”

She besides pointed to different areas of betterment including a new online exertion form, a caller simplified exertion for aged group and efforts to modernize nan state’s machine systems. 

There are two pending bills successful nan authorities Legislature that would require nan authorities to instrumentality broad-based categorical eligibility for SNAP. The authorities could besides do it connected its ain without a alteration to nan law, but Etheridge said nan bequest mainframe machine strategy nan section uses makes that difficult, and she said a move to nan streamlined eligibility strategy would person to hold for nan planned IT upgrade sloppy of whether caller authorities passes.