Court Orders Injunctive Relief for Vulnerable Alaskans in Federal SNAP Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 3, 2025
CONTACT:
- Patrick Fowler, Communications Strategist, NCLEJ | fowler@nclej.org
- Saima Akhtar, Senior Attorney, NCLEJ | Akhtar@nclej.org
- Nick Feronti, Northern Justice Project | nferonti@njp-law.com
ALASKA – In a win for vulnerable Alaskans who rely on SNAP benefits, a District Court Judge has granted the Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction against the State of Alaska in litigation challenging the State’s SNAP processing delays.
A preliminary injunction is an order issued by a judge to stop the defendant from continuing their allegedly harmful actions, or to preserve the status quo before final judgement in situations where irreparable harm could otherwise occur.
The Court has directed the Alaska Department of Health to:
- Promptly process SNAP applications and recertifications within legal timeframes.
- Provide written notice and opportunity to request a fair hearing for SNAP applicants and recipients whose cases were not processed within legal timeframes.
- Provide monthly status reports to the Court beginning February 1, 2025 regarding the Department of Health’s timely processing rates for SNAP; efforts to update and phase in a new computer system slated to be operational by July 2025; staffing changes and recruitment and retention efforts taking place at the division, department, or state level; and updates regarding the implementation of Broad Based Categorical Eligibility.
- Continue to allow members of the Untimely Eligibility Class to seek informal relief when their applications have been pending beyond statutory deadlines.
“We applaud the Court’s decision to order injunctive relief to ensure vulnerable Alaskans get access to SNAP benefits while our litigation continues,” said Saima Akhtar, Senior Attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. “Food benefits granted late do not remedy past hunger. We will continue to hold the State accountable for their failures to administer SNAP.”
“We are thrilled by this decision,” said Nick Feronti, Attorney with the Northern Justice Project. “This injunctive relief will help provide food benefits to vulnerable Alaskans while we continue our fight in the Courts.”
NCLEJ and Northern Justice Projected first filed the class action lawsuit in January 2023. Following this action, Alaska became the first state to receive a sharp warning from the federal government over their processing delays, reflecting the seriousness of their failure to administer SNAP. In May 2023, parties agreed to put litigation on hold temporarily in exchange for the Department of Health to halve its SNAP backlog within 6 months. The State cleared its backlog by the end of September 2023, issuing approximately $6.6 million in SNAP benefits because of NCLEJ and Northern Justice Project intervention. Unfortunately, the progress was fleeting and the State developed another backlog of more recently filed cases, demonstrating a continued need for court intervention.
Alaska’s SNAP processing delays remain ongoing. Recent data from Fiscal Year 2025 shows a timely processing rate of 70% for non-expedited applications and 75% for expedited applications – far short of the 95% or above rate considered by the federal government for states to be in compliance with legally mandated timeframes.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) advances racial and economic justice for low-income families, individuals, and communities across the country through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. Founded in 1965, NCLEJ protects access to critical benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, and childcare; empowers low-wage workers, advocates for people with disabilities; and fights unlawful debt collection.
The Northern Justice Project represents Alaskans in complex lawsuits against the State and Federal Governments, and large corporations. They have a proven track record of significant victories for their clients. From Medicaid, to Native American rights, to Special Education access, to tenants’ rights and more, they have successfully won many cases that have made an incredible difference for people living in their communities.
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