Judge orders Conn. to process food stamps faster

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the Connecticut Department of Social Services to process food stamps in a timely fashion, a week after 125 boxes of unprocessed applications for food stamps were found at the agency.

U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant issued the order Wednesday. The New Haven Register reports that Bryant criticized the Social Services Department for its "persistent systemic failure" to comply with regulations. Some of the unprocessed applications were from 2009.

Five DSS officials were placed on paid administrative leave after the boxes were discovered.

The judge's ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by advocates for the poor, after the agency failed to process 41 percent of cases within required time limits.

DSS officials say they're reviewing both the ruling and the unprocessed applications.

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Information from: New Haven Register