Columbia County Application Delay Lawsuit Settles

November 10, 2011

Author: Susan C. Antos

Earlier this year, the Empire Justice Center and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of those who had applied or attempted to apply for public assistance, food stamps and Medicaid in Columbia County against the Columbia County Department of Social Services.  The case, entitled, Travis v. Mossman, 11-CV-374, was brought in federal court, in the Northern District of New York. The complaint alleged a number of violations of state and federal law, including the County’s failure to comply with federal and state application processing timeframes and the county’s practice of deterring, discouraging and preventing persons from filing applications for food stamps, Medicaid, cash assistance and emergency assistance.

Prior to bringing the litigation, counsel for the plaintiffs filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to obtain WINR 1240 and 4113 reports for Columbia County. These reports provide information on local district compliance with the application processing timeframes that are required by law. These reports showed that in the seven month period before litigation was commenced, 39%-51% of all Food Stamp applications in Columbia County were delayed beyond the 30 day statutory requirement and between 35%-49% of all family assistance applications were delayed beyond the required 30 day time frame.
   
 The matter was settled in its entirety on August 25, 2011 when Judge David Hurd signed a stipulation and order of settlement.  Among other things, the order requires Columbia County to comply with federal and state law when processing cash assistance, food stamp and Medicaid applications.  To assure that the Defendant complies with the law, the County will remain under the Court’s jurisdiction until the end of 2014.  During that time, the Defendant will post a “know your rights” poster and make a palm card version of the poster, designed by plaintiff’s counsel available by the intake window in the waiting room.

The Defendant will provide the plaintiff’s counsel with detailed monthly reports regarding all delayed cases and allow plaintiff’s counsel an opportunity to inspect these files.  Counsel for the plaintiff’s and the defendants will meet on a quarterly basis to discuss the progress of defendant’s compliance or resolve issues regarding compliance.

The pleadings and orders are available in the Benefits Law Database at http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/welcome.asp?index=Welcome .  For more information, contact Susan Antos at the Empire Justice Center, santos@empirejustice.org