Acevedo v. Turner

No. 01-civ-6014 (SHS) (S.D. N.Y. filed Apr. 2, 2004) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55581

Description

New York Officials Agree to Give Notice of Process to Challenge Recipients’ Sanctions for Failure to Cooperate with Child Support Enforcement

Abstract

The parties settled this class action challenging New York state and city officials’ policies and procedures for imposing sanctions on public assistance recipients who failed to cooperate with child support enforcement requirements. The policies and procedures entailed a series of appointments through which single parents must give information about absent parents to the Office of Child Support Enforcement so that the office could obtain a child support order against the absent parent. Plaintiff applicants for and recipients of public assistance and Medicaid who had been sanctioned for failure to comply with child support enforcement requirements alleged that defendants failed to notify them about how they could get the sanctions lifted and failed to lift the sanctions when individual plaintiffs took steps sufficient to lift the sanctions. Plaintiffs claimed that defendants’ policies and procedures violated their due process and equal protection rights under the federal and state constitutions, federal and state Medicaid law and regulations, and state public assistance law and regulations. The settlement provides that individuals facing sanction receive a notice detailing the alleged noncompliance and giving information on how to challenge sanctions, report good cause, and have sanctions lifted by complying with child support enforcement requirements. The settlement requires defendant Human Resources Administration to lift sanctions within seven business days of receiving information from the enforcement office about a sanctioned individual’s compliance.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Yisroel Schulman, Constance P. Carden, Randal S. Jeffrey, New York Legal Assistance Group, 130 E. 59th St., 14th Floor, New York, NY 10022 (212.750.0800)
Docket Date
2004-04-02 00:00:00+00:00