Motion filed to nudge Suffolk on services

Social services advocates have filed a contempt motion in federal court and requested appointment of an outside special master to force Suffolk County to speed up handling of food stamp and Medicaid requests.

The Empire Justice Center and the National Service for Law and Economic Justice filed the motion last week in U.S. District Court in Central Islip. They claim that in 23 percent of cases, the Social Services Department failed to process food stamp applications within the required 30 days. Suffolk also missed the 45-day deadline for processing Medicaid applications in 29 percent of cases, said Linda Hassberg, an Empire Justice Center senior attorney.

"These laws are on the books to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable among us do not suffer because of bureaucratic delays," Hassberg said.

Suffolk Social Services Commissioner Gregory Blass called the claims "excessive and dramatically overstated." He said that in emergency cases, the needy get immediate attention. "People are not going without food or shelter," he said.

The motion is the latest development in a lawsuit dating to 2008. The plaintiffs claimed that Suffolk's response to aid applications was so slow that people "with urgent medical needs . . . lacked money to even buy food." In 2009, a judge ordered Suffolk to report to advocates on efforts to improve performance.

Laura Redman, a lawyer for National Service, said a special master with expertise in public benefits is needed because the county has not met many of the benchmarks set by the court.

Blass said the county is making a "good-faith effort" to comply with court mandates but needs time to fully comply with federal rules. "With this bad economy, many more turned to DSS for help," Blass said. "And as county revenue took a steeper dive, there [has been] too little to pay overtime, and it's harder to hire and keep enough staff to give that help."

Suffolk has until March 12 to respond to the motion.