Agency agrees with all of audit's findings and recommendations

View Audit Report (pdf)

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued an audit reporting that the City's Human Resources Administration (HRA) follows a 15-day timeframe to implement food stamp decisions, even though New York State law requires a 10-day period.

“We are concerned that people in need in New York City are waiting five days longer for food stamps than the law would allow,” Comptroller Thompson said. “Individuals rely on food stamps to make ends meet, but the HRA is not meeting their needs as efficiently as it should.”

Thompson's audit examined whether the HRA implemented fair hearing decisions in a timely and accurate manner during Fiscal Year 2004.

When HRA staff determine that it is appropriate to disallow, decrease or discontinue benefits to public assistance and food stamp applicants and recipients, these individuals may request fair hearings on such determinations. A fair hearing is an opportunity for recipients of public assistance or food stamp benefits to appeal their case to a state administrative law judge

Thompson noted that HRA's objective is to ensure implementation of 90 percent of public assistance fair hearing decisions within 30 days and 90 percent of food stamp fair hearing decisions within15 days. The audit found that the agency met or exceeded both standards.

Even more disturbing, auditors discovered that HRA's 15-day timeframe to implement food stamp decisions conflicts with the New York State standard that requires a 10-day timeframe. The agency additionally lacks a written procedure to make sure that certain retroactive payments are made when recipients re-qualify for benefits.

“When applying the 10-day standard, HRA implemented only two-thirds of food stamp cases in a timely manner,” Thompson said.

HRA's 15-day timeframe is based on a Stipulation and Order of Settlement in a case in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York; the settlement went into effect on March 1, 1998. However, that settlement noted the order would cease to have any effect on Dec. 31, 1999. As a result, the 10-day State standard would apply.

Thompson's review of 14 randomly selected food stamp cases found that 64 percent - or nine - were implemented within 10 days, but that 36 percent - or five - were between two and five days late. HRA's compliance report for FY 2004 further noted that it implemented only 77 percent of the fair hearing decisions on food stamp cases within 10 days.

Comptroller Thompson recommended that HRA:

•  Continue to improve its efforts to implement fair hearing decisions in a timely and accurate manner.

•  Establish written criteria to guide its efforts to carry out overdue decision implementations within a reasonable time.

•  Prepare a written procedure to ensure that retroactive payments ordered by administrative law judges are paid upon a recipient's reinstatement in the public assistance or food stamp program.

•  Follow the State standard that requires fair hearing decisions favorable to food stamp beneficiaries to be implemented within 10 days.

•  Ensure that it maintains all of the daily tally sheets upon which its annual compliance report is based.

Thompson noted that HRA agreed with all of the audit's findings and recommendations. In its response, HRA said of the 10-day State standard: “We have recently confirmed that the NYS regulatory standard for the implementation of fair hearing decisions in food stamp cases is ten days. Staff has been advised and effective immediately, a policy directive will be issued to reflect this timeframe.”

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