NCLEJ and Colleagues Achieve Even Speedier Payment of SNAP Benefits to Low-Income Hawaiians
NCLEJ and Colleagues Achieve Favorable Final Settlement in Hawaii SNAP Delay Case
On September 3, 2013 the U.S. District Court approved a settlement of this class action case challenging the Hawaii state agency’s failure to timely process SNAP applications within the federally required time frames. The settlement requires Defendant to comply fully with the federal time frames, with full compliance defined as at least 96% timely processing. The settlement requires Defendant to 1) provide detailed monthly reports and other monitoring to plaintiffs’ counsel; 2) provide an informal relief mechanism by which plaintiff’s counsel can seek relief in individual cases; and 3) post notices about timely processing requirements in multiple languages.
The Court’s jurisdiction continues for 12 months and plaintiff can seek an extension of the Court’s jurisdiction if Defendant’s performance falls below defined levels.
This case has resulted in substantial improvement in agency performance, resulting in thousands more low-income households receiving timely SNAP benefits.
See below for prior case developments.
Preliminary Injunction Order Entered January 23, 2012
Thousands of SNAP applicants can expect to receive SNAP benefits timely as a result of the the federal District Court’s January 23, 2012 preliminary injunction order in Booth v. McManaman. The January 23rd order came after the Court’s November 16, 2011 decision granting plaintiffs a preliminary injunction. Under the Court’s order, the state agency must improve its performance in processing SNAP applications by measurable steps over the course of the year, so that by December 31, 2012 the agency is processing all applications timely with a margin of error of 5%. The order also requires the state agency to:
1) provide monthly monitoring of its performance to plaintiffs’ counsel;
2) set up a mechanism for plaintiffs’ counsel to notify the agency of individual cases of delayed applications and get a response from the agency within 3 business days; and
3) post notices in five languages to inform applicants regarding their applications rights and timely processing rights.
Preliminary Injunction Motion Granted November 17, 2011
A copy of the preliminary injunction is posted here.
Federal Class Action Lawsuit Filed to Require the State to Provide Food Stamps within 30 days as required by Federal Law and Regulations
Honolulu, November 17, 2010 – Today a class of low-income Hawaii residents filed a federal lawsuit against the Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS) to correct the Department’s ongoing and persistent failure to process in timely manner applications for Hawaii’s poorest families who seek Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Defendant’s failure to appropriately process applications means that thousands of households are denied desperately needed assistance to help them feed their families and suffer hunger as a result.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as Food Stamps, are intended to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in low-income households by providing fully federally-funded benefits to help them purchase food. Participating states are required to comply with federal SNAP requirements, created by the US Department of Agriculture, which administers the program at the federal level. Under those requirements the Department must process and provide SNAP benefits within 30 days of the filing of applications by eligible applicants.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Lawyers for Equal Justice, a Hawaii nonprofit law firm, the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, a nonprofit law firm based in New York City and the Hawaii law firm of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing.
“Over the past several months, the delay in properly processing food stamp applications has been the subject of legislative hearings and media attention, nevertheless the Department’s performance has continued to deteriorate” said Victor Geminiani, the Executive Director of the Lawyers for Equal Justice. “It is time for the Department to make the improvements necessary to effectively operate this critical program.”
The lawsuit comes amid the economic downturn at a time when more residents of Hawaii are seeking assistance, especially food stamps. As of last May, there were 139,816 people on food stamps throughout the state which represents an 18 percent increase in participation over the previous year. According to the Department, as of last May only 79.8 percent of food stamp applicants statewide were processed in a timely manner. That is down from 87 percent in July, 2009. The increase in untimely dispositions is particularly pronounced on the Islands of Oahu, parts of the Big Island and Maui. From October 2009 to February 2010, untimely processing of all SNAP application increased from 10.42% to 15% on Oahu, 47.28% to 52.8% on Maui, and 20.39% to 38.4% in Kona.
Plaintiffs include all Hawaii residents who applied for SNAP benefits that have filed application in Hawaii since August 8th, 2008 and have not had their applications processed within 30 days. The lawsuit requests that the federal court require the state to develop and implement a corrective action plan that will ensure that all SNAP applications are processed and SNAP benefits provided to all eligible individuals within the 30 day time frame required by federal law.
