The Constitutional Right to Timely Processing of Welfare Applications
Introduction
By means of public assistance legislation, the federal government cooperates with the states to assist individuals with low incomes. One such form of assistance is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The statute which authorizes this program requires that support be furnished with reasonable promptness to qualified individuals. Yet despite the clearly stated law, some state agencies remain unable or unwilling to process applications within the specified time period. This delay on the part of the state denies some applicants the benefits they are otherwise entitled to receive. The purposes of this Note will be: 1) to show that such a denial constitutes a deprivation of a property right protected by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment, and 2) to suggest some possible remedies to redress the deprivation of this right.
Suggested Reading
Lifting Burdens, Proof, Social Justice, and Public Assistance Administrative Hearings
The administrative hearing process is a fundamentally unfair system to low-income communities who receive public assistance benefits.
Administrative Closings of Public Assistance Cases: The Rise of Hunger and Homelessness in New York City
Analyses the problem of restricted public assistance programs due to bureaucratic hurdles in NYC. [Abstract only]
Charles Dickens Meets Franz Kafka: The Maladministration of New York City's Public Assistance Programs
In recent years, the increased denial of benefits to people who are "eligible" for pubilc assitance has had devestating effects, and reforms are neccessary.
Disrupting Unjust Disability Denials: An Interview with Mika Aoyama of the Disability Advocacy Project
Roxane Picard∞ This is the second in a series of interviews with legal practitioners who are pursuing social change through their work. This conversation is between Mika Aoyama[1], a Senior Paralegal Case Handler in the Disability Advocacy Project[2] at the