PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island has settled with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in a federal lawsuit over the troubled rollout of a new computer system that caused delays in getting food stamps and other benefits to thousands of residents.
The agreement, announced Friday by state and ACLU officials, was reached in the ACLU’s class-action lawsuit filed two months ago that alleges the state failed to process food stamp applications and issue those benefits within the time frames mandated by the federal government. A judge will have to approve the settlement.
Under the agreement, the state does not admit fault or liability but acknowledges its federal obligations to fix the computer system so the state can provide food stamps within 30 days after an eligible person applies for them and within a week for destitute families.
The agreement sets deadlines, starting in April and continuing through August, for the state to improve how quickly it can process applications.
“We have no doubt of the state’s good intentions and its determination to achieve the mandated benchmarks, but promises do not fill stomachs,” said Lynette Labinger, a volunteer attorney for the ACLU of Rhode Island. “If the state is unable to meet the standards that it has agreed to, this settlement establishes our right to return to court….”
The $364 million computer system, called the Unified Health Infrastructure Project, has been beset by problems since it launched in September. Secretary of Health and Human Services Elizabeth Roberts and two other top officials resigned over the problems this year and the state suspended further payment to contractor Deloitte Consulting.
Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo also has apologized for the problems, while saying she is holding Deloitte accountable for delivering a system that works. State legislators have held oversight hearings and the state auditor general is also looking into it.
Acting Human Services Director Eric Beane said Friday the state worked with the ACLU and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice to reach the agreement.
“Annually, more than 170,000 people rely on this federally funded program for vital food assistance, and the challenges they have faced since the rollout of UHIP are unacceptable,” Beane said in a written statement.
The agreement requires the state to notify everyone who has applied for food stamps that they may qualify for retroactive benefits. The state must also submit progress reports and pay for some plaintiff attorney fees.
If a judge approves the agreement, the court will continue monitoring the case through the year after the state reaches nearly full compliance.
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