New Mexico to pay feds more than $19M over SNAP mishandling

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico pays the federal authorities greater than $19 million to settle a declare by the Division of Agriculture that the state mishandled the Supplemental Diet Help Program and overpaid some needy households in 2014 and 2016, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Albuquerque Journal mentioned in a copyright story that the state has agreed to spend about $15.8 million over the subsequent three years to strengthen administration of the SNAP program.

New Mexico’s Human Companies Division additionally pays the federal authorities about $3.6 million, bringing the entire price of the settlement to virtually $19.4 million.

Human Companies Secretary David Scrase instructed the Journal that the state Legislature has already approved the funding essential to cowl the primary yr of the settlement.

“We’ve reestablished a trusting relationship between ourselves and the USDA,” Scrase mentioned Monday.

Federal officers initially despatched the state a invoice for almost $164 million. New Mexico disputed that it had overpaid advantages wherever close to that a lot.

In line with the Journal, federal officers accused New Mexico of certifying candidates as eligible with out correct verification, incorrectly protecting purposes pending past a deadline and improperly paying retroactive advantages.

The newspaper mentioned New Mexico acknowledged legal responsibility of about $7 million.