PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A three-year-old lawsuit challenging the “widespread failure” of Rhode Island’s food stamp benefit system has been dropped after the state met a series of benchmarks.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice announced the dismissal of the lawsuit against the state over alleged food stamp delays in a statement Thursday .
The two organizations had argued in the suit filed in 2016 that the state’s “faulty” benefits eligibility system, Unified Health Infrastructure Project, also known as UHIP, was leading thousands of families to suffer from hunger.
The dismissal follows the state’s compliance with reaching the critical milestone in September of providing food stamp benefits in accordance with federal timeliness standards, in 96% of cases for 11 out of 12 consecutive months.
