State Food Stamp Program A Shambles

Connecticut wrongly denies food stamps to eligible residents at a higher rate than any other state. It ranks among the worst in the nation in processing food stamp applications on time and paying out accurate levels of benefits. And federal officials warn that without a "tremendous turnaround," the state could face significant financial sanctions.

"We're really concerned with what's happening in Connecticut," James Arena-DeRosa, northeast regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, told members of the Human Services and Appropriations committees Tuesday.

Legislators called the figures he presented shocking. Twenty-six percent of cases in which food stamps were denied or cut off were the result of errors, according to preliminary fiscal-year 2010 figures based on a sample of cases. Fewer than 60 percent of applications were processed in a timely manner, and the rate of inaccurate benefit payments was second-worst in the country.

READ MORE