ALASKA — While Alaska’s state government has made headway in providing federal food stamps to more individuals, critics say the procedure for appealing state denials or delays is broken.
Federal food stamps are benefits administered by the state of Alaska, and there are deadlines for the state to provide the benefit to qualified applicants. Since last fall, the state has been taking an excessively long time to process most applications.
When the state takes too long to get federal food stamps or denies their application, citizens have the right to a legal hearing.
State law requires the Division of Public Assistance to refer fair hearing appeals to the Office of Administrative Hearings within 10 days, but activists say this is not occurring. As a result, fewer people are waiting for federal food stamps benefits, but those who remain do not receive legal due process.
According to Leigh Dickey, advocacy director for Alaska Legal Services Corp., a free civil legal services resource for low-income Alaskans, the division is once again breaking state law.
The state Department of Health confirmed that the number of delayed fair hearing referrals has increased. According to Shirley Sakaye, a department representative, this is due to personnel shortages and an increase in requests for fair hearings.
She also stated that most referrals for federal food stamps can be resolved without the need for a hearing, as the Division of Public Assistance frequently simply issues federal food stamps benefits.
The Division of Public Assistance is also in charge of the state’s Medicaid program. The COVID-19 freeze on Medicaid benefits expired this year, and Alaskans must re-enroll. According to Dickey of Alaska Legal Services, the delay in referrals for federal food stamps has her organization concerned that people who lose Medicaid coverage would face extended wait times and struggle to recover it until the division gets back on track.
Recently, activists have claimed that the appeals procedure for denied or delayed applications for federal food stamps is malfunctioning. The Alaska Legal Services Corporation advocates are assisting would-be federal food stamps recipients in court hearings, and they claim the state is still taking an unreasonably lengthy time to approve applications.
The state had blamed the delay on a cyberattack and a flood of applications near the end of the COVID pandemic’s proclaimed public health emergency. However, unidentified state employees told then-KTOO reporter Claire Stremple that budget cuts and understaffing had resulted in long lines for Alaskans in need of food.
Leave a Reply