Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE RI_A federal judge on Wednesday declined to immediately issue a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit brought by the Rhode island American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice that accuses the state of failing to promptly process food stamp applications.

But Judge William Smith, during a nearly hour-long closed meeting in his chambers in U.S. District, said he would resume discussions with lawyers for the state and the two advocacy groups on July 30, according to Lynette Labinger, a volunteer lawyer the ACLU.

Neither she nor Marc Cohan, a lawyer for the National Center, would comment on the discussions in the judge's chamber. Lawyers representing the state Attorney General and the Department of Human Services were present.

The lawsuit filed on Monday, accuses the state of an "ongoing and persistent failure to timely process applications for Rhode Island's poorest families." That delay, it alleges, "means that thousands of households are denied desperately needed assistance to help them feed their families, and suffer hunger as a result."

Under federal law, states are required to process food stamp applications within 30 days and to provide expedited help to the poorest families within a week.

The suit, filed on behalf of all affected applicants, cites the case of Shalonda Spruill, a Warwick resident who lost her job in January. According to the complaint, Spruill applied for food stamps for herself and her 8-year-old daughter in mid-May. Because she had no income, no savings and no money for groceries, she should have been eligible for an expedited one-week processing. Instead, her application interview has been scheduled for July 15, a full two months after she applied.

 Tags  ACLU food stamps National Center for Law and Economic Justice

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