Category: Meeting Basic Needs Highlights

Good news from Missouri: Plaintiffs have started receiving SNAP benefits

Plaintiffs in our lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Social Services have received interviews and started receiving benefits after months of being unable to get through to the State Agency’s failing call center— a barrier that has caused thousands of eligible households to be…

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Missouri sued over long wait times at ‘nonfunctional’ call center for food benefits

See excerpt from an article in the Kansas City Star Attorneys from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York joined the lawsuit. Katharine Deabler-Meadows, an attorney from that organization, said the state’s reliance on…

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Lawsuit Exposes Missouri’s Failure to Provide SNAP Benefits, Denying Food Aid to Thousands

MISSOURI — The National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, and Stinson LLP filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Empower Missouri and two low-income Missourians against the state’s Department of Social…

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Let Students Eat: How States Are Leaving Money (Food) On the Table

States are abandoning the pandemic electronic benefits transfer, or P-EBT. The P-EBT allows students who rely on the federal school lunch program to access meals when schools are closed.   With the declaration of emergency continuing through at…

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MLK Call to Action: We demand an economic floor

The demand for an economic floor is at the root of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final book, “Where do we go from here?”, which makes a case for universal basic income as a starting point for a vibrant…

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Connecticut has emerged as a national leader in getting SNAP benefits to low-income people on time.  

Imagine not being able to get food on your table because your state has problems processing benefits in a timely fashion. These delays could mean that families, including those with children, may not be able to meet their basic needs.   Until recently, Connecticut ranked last…

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Celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act on the 31st Anniversary

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990, following years of advocacy by the disability community, advocates, and allies. While tremendous wins have been achieved over the…

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NCLEJ Lawsuit Exposes Louisiana’s Broken Unemployment System

NCLEJ partnered with attorneys Wendy Manard and Ellyn Clevenger to address major violations in Louisiana’s unemployment insurance benefits system that are costing Louisianans their unemployment checks. “Louisiana’s unemployment system is so confusing that people are losing benefits –…

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NCLEJ protects SSP for disabled and elderly in New York State

NCLEJ submitted comments in opposition to proposed regulatory changes in the New York State Supplement Program (“SSP”). SSP provides a modest additional payment to recipients of federal Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”), for indigent people who are elderly or…

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NCLEJ Opposes Budget Cuts That Threaten Georgia’s SNAP Program

Yesterday, NCLEJ sent a letter to Georgia state legislators strongly opposing proposed cuts to the Georgia Department of Human Services. If enacted, the budget cuts will cause serious harm to Georgians who are already struggling to survive a…

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