June 1, 2022 by Natalie Cochran
LSLA Submits Appeal after Father Forced to Wait Over Eighty Days for Nutritional Benefits
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has 30 days to act on a client’s SNAP benefits application and 45 days to act on Medicaid cases. Jack was referred to Lone Star Legal Aid by BakerRipley and needed SNAP benefits for a household of four people. Jack submitted an initial SNAP application on February 8, 2022, and after 80 days, HHSC had not taken any action on his SNAP application.
HHSC informed LSLA Attorney Elizabeth Green that Jack needed to submit proof of income and other documents to determine eligibility for SNAP benefits. LSLA checked in every day for the 30-day review period to check if Jack and his family were approved, but there wasn’t an updated status. Green contacted a HHSC representative to inform them that they had violated their 30-day review policy.
The HHSC representative said they couldn’t find a SNAP application on file for Jack even though they asked for specific documents to speed up the approval process. Green filed an appeal for inaction by the agency on March 3, 2022, and two days later, Jack’s household was approved for $258 a month in SNAP benefits. Jack was extremely happy as he had waited so long for nutritional benefits to feed his family.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the client.
