State agrees to provide monthly updates on assistance to elderly and disabled Alaskans amid application delays

The Alaska Department of Health has agreed to give monthly updates on whether it is providing timely cash assistance to low-income elderly and disabled Alaskans, according to a settlement agreement certified by an Anchorage judge Monday.

The agreement came in a class-action lawsuit against the state, after Anchorage Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman ruled in December that the state for months had failed to abide by its own requirement to process applications for adult public assistance within 30 days.

On average, 13,817 indigent Alaskans rely on payments of around $300 per month to help cover the cost of basic necessities like housing. Under strict income and asset regulations, recipients of adult public assistance are often using the cash payments to supplement other public benefits, like Social Security income.

Just over 40% of applications for assistance were processed within the 30-day timeframe in the 2024 fiscal year, according to data provided by the plaintiffs from the state. Nearly 370 Alaskans’ applications had not been processed within 30 days as of December, due to the agency backlog.

A trial in the case was supposed to begin Monday, in which the plaintiffs — represented by Alaska civil rights firm Northern Justice Project — were expected to ask Zeman to appoint an outside expert to oversee the department’s management of the program.

Instead, the state agreed to file monthly reports on the timeliness of application processing. The reports would mirror those ordered by a federal judge in a separate case related to the state’s failure to comply with application processing laws for food assistance, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Both programs are handled by the Alaska Division of Public Assistance, which says it has been affected by high worker turnover, staffing shortages, an outdated computer system and COVID-19-era regulation changes.

In a case also filed by the Northern Justice Project, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason last week ordered the Department of Health to report monthly to her about processing time for SNAP benefits.

James Davis, an attorney for the plaintiffs in both cases, said Gleason’s order helped create a roadmap for improving the adult public assistance program.

The agreement will require the Department of Health to work toward processing all applications within 30 days. Attorneys for both the state and the plaintiffs said in a brief court hearing on Monday that they hoped the state could achieve compliance with the law within six months.

The agreement requires the Department of Health to provide monthly reports on the application processing timeline, staffing at the Department of Health, and implementation of a new information technology system. The agreement allows the department to file joint reports to both the state court and to Gleason in the federal case regarding SNAP benefits.

The first report is due Feb. 1.