PROVIDENCE – The federal government has stepped up its effort to recoup $37.3 million in overpayments from the state that went out from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – formerly known as food stamps – during the botched Raimondo-era rollout of a new computerized eligibility-verification system known as “UHIP.”

The Rhode Island Department of Human Services received the overpayment claim from the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service on May 15 for benefits paid out between September 2016 and December 2019, when current U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was governor.

The dunning letter, signed by FNS regional administrator Lizbeth Silbermann and first reported by WPRI, directly attributes the $37,343,809.68 in overpayments to a “major systemic failure” in “the original implementation of the RIBridges integrated eligibility system – formerly referred to as the Unified Health Infrastructure Project (UHIP).”

The McKee administration is appealing.

Government: RI House lawmakers approve $13.9B budget. Here’s what to expect next.

“After this administration came into office, we were made aware that [the Food and Nutrition Service] would be addressing this past issue with the state at a point in the future,” Department of Human Services spokesman James Beardsworth told The Journal on Friday.

“While FNS determined the specific technical issue was officially resolved by January 2020, it has taken some time for them to issue the findings just received. DHS disputes the claim and has filed an appeal,” Beardsworth said.

“When the new contract with the system vendor was entered into by this Administration, financial protections for the State were included in the agreement,” he said, without elaboration.

The botched 2016 rollout by the Raimondo administration of the new Deloitte-designed computerized eligibility-verification system left scores of struggling Rhode Islanders without benefits and others with double payments or letters telling them their very-much-alive children were dead.

The May 15 letter was not the first notice from the federal government that it was seeking repayment. Until now, the question was how much.

Transportation: RIPTA won’t cut service after all, but riders may see more canceled trips

On Aug. 23, 2017, the Food and Nutrition Service notified the Rhode Island Department of Human Services that the state was liable.

In 2018, the federal agency sent the state a running list of the problems thwarting access by some of the poorest people in Rhode Island to food stamps, including: “failure to close thousands of cases because of unprocessed re-certifications and periodic reports,” and other “persistent issues … resulting in inaccurate benefit issuances to thousands of households.”

“In 2019, FNS began calculating overpayment amounts and identified an initial $30,536,981 in overpayments stemming from DHS’s failure to properly recertify benefit recipients, an incorrectly timed benefit hike and “duplicate accounts.”

FNS was initially “unable to determine a final liability amount due to limitations with the data.”

In time, DHS identified an additional $6,806,828.68 in overpayments resulting from the delayed interface with other databases showing “death matches,” for example, and failure to count cash assistance from the “RIWorks” program as “unearned income in SNAP budgets.”

BOSTON (AP) — A bill that would require the safe storage of firearms in Rhode Island has been approved by lawmakers and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

The bill, which won final approval from lawmakers on Thursday, would require all firearms, when not in use by the owner or authorized user, be stored in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device properly engaged in order to render the firearm inoperable.

The legislation now heads to Gov. Daniel McKee, who plans to sign the bill Thursday.

Sen. Pamela Lauria, one of the sponsors of the bill, drew parallels to other regulations aimed at protecting children, including insurance mandates for the coverage of pediatric cancer and car seats aimed at protecting children from dying in auto accidents.

“But gun violence, not cancer or car collisions, is the leading cause of death for children, and that’s unacceptable when we have the tools to decrease its occurrence,” Lauria said. “This is the seat belt law for responsible gun ownership.”

Massachusetts and Connecticut have similar laws.

Under the legislation, unsafe storage of a firearm would be a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $250 for a first offense and $1,000 for a second. Any subsequent violation would be punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $500.

An analysis released last year by the Pew Research Center found that the number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50% between 2019 and 2021, based on mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Critics of the bill have argued that the bill amounts to infringement on the rights of law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves with a firearm in their homes. Opponents have also said that requiring guns to be stored in a locked container or equipped with a trigger lock could delay their efforts to protect themselves and their families.

Currently, Rhode Island punishes those who leave a firearm where a child can get it, but only if it is loaded and the child causes injury with it. Those convicted face a fine of $1,000 but no jail time.

The bill expands that law so it applies whether or not the gun is loaded and extends it to cover not only children but adults who are prohibited by law from possessing firearms.

Violators would be charged with second-degree criminal firearm storage if a child or prohibited adult were able to gain access to the improperly stored weapon, and face up to a year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines.

If the child or prohibited person caused injury with the firearm, the person responsible for the improper storage of the gun could face a first-degree charge, with up to 5 years in prison and $5,000 in fines.

(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of June 2, supported by your subscriptions.

• Paris, New York, London, Providence. Sure, our state capital is known for its food scene and events like WaterFire, but to be listed among the best cities in the world may come as a surprise. Yet, Providence ranked 95th out of 1,000 cities from around the world in a new report, the “Global Cities Index” by Oxford Economics, a United Kingdom-based economic advisory company. This is the company’s first time releasing the report. How did it get there? Read the full story to find out.
• The idea of drive-in movie theaters evokes a certain nostalgia, and Rhode Island used to have its fair share of places where you could bring a carful of family or friends and settle into a big-screen treat. While most have been torn down, some still remain. This week’s What and Why RI looks back at the past and how to relive that fun now.
• The spring high school sports season is wrapping up, with championships on the line. For that, as well as the latest news from the college ranks, go to providencejournal.com/sports.

Here are the week’s top reads on providencejournal.com:

It was a rough week for Rhode Island’s restaurant scene. Journal food and dining editor Gail Ciampa reported that on Federal Hill, a trio of restaurants announced they would soon end service. Later in the week, Gail reported that closures and changes were coming to even more restaurants, while a South Kingstown favorite would be shut down after a devastating fire. Meanwhile, in Warwick, The Journal’s Wheeler Cowperthwaite reports that Hooters has closed. The reason? The Washington Bridge.

Dining: Service coming to an end for three restaurants on Federal Hill. What to know.

On a fine summer day, you can probably find Caswell Cooke on a stage near Westerly’s Misquamicut Beach wearing a sailor outfit and jamming with his band, Caswell & the Peel N’ Eats.

These days you can also find Cooke in slacks and a jacket in meeting rooms trying to persuade Westerly residents and city officials to save Misquamicut Beach from coastal erosion. In recent months, Cooke has made his case before the Misquamicut Business Association – over which he presides – Westerly’s Town Council – on which he once served – and the Misquamicut Fire District.

He cooked up a plan that involves dredging sand from the ocean floor onto the coast. It has been done in other coastal communities, perhaps most recently in Montauk, Long Island, in New York, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed 500,000 cubic yards of sand along 4,100 feet of coastline. The Montauk project cost $11.7 million and, thanks to favorable weather, was completed ahead of schedule.

Beaches: Winter storms are eroding Misquamicut. Could this sand restoration plan be the answer?

As more frequent and intense storms have battered Newport’s famous Cliff Walk, causing chunks to plunge into the waters below and sinkholes to appear without warning, millions of public dollars have gone into the trail, and almost as quickly, nature has wiped the repairs away.

It’s an issue that’s existed for nearly a century, but the accelerating storm threats of climate change are raising a new question: Is continued investment in the nationally recognized yet steadily crumbling trail the right decision for a city that’s already struggling with other, more pressing financial burdens?

And how exactly did the Cliff Walk, which is pieced together on a series of private properties, come to be? Take a look back at the history of the famed oceanside trail.

Attractions: The Cliff Walk continues to crumble into the sea. Are repairs worth Newport’s investment?

The anniversary of D-Day is always a big event in Normandy, France, but this year’s commemoration was expected to be especially meaningful, since it’s probably the last major anniversary that D-Day participants will attend, says Tim Gray, founder and president of the World War II Foundation.

“This year will be absolutely crazy,” said Gray, who’s been to Normandy 18 times and plans to be there this year. “They’re really rolling out the red carpet,” he said.

President Joe Biden, other heads of state and major television networks were expected to be in Normandy for the June 6 anniversary, according to Gray. Airlines flew World War II veterans to the ceremonies for free.

Surrounded by World War II artifacts, Gray was speaking from The International Museum of World War II he created on Main Street in South Kingstown. A former television sports reporter, Gray left that field to follow his passion for telling the stories of World War II veterans.

D-Day: For Museum of World War II founder, this D-Day anniversary might be the most important ever

BARRINGTON – A Rhode Island pediatrician has been sentenced to serve seven years in prison after admitting to molesting a 7-year-old girl. 

David S. Healey, 52, of Barrington, pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree child molestation. Superior Court Judge Linda Rekas Sloan sentenced Healey to 15 years, with seven to serve, and the remainder suspended with probation. He received credit for the time he has served since his arrest in March.

Courts: RI pediatrician sentenced after admitting to molesting 7-year-old