Mecklenburg’s food stamp delays catch eye of legal advocates as immigrants still wait

Most Mecklenburg County households receiving food stamp benefits can expect an increase this month, but an ongoing delay with applications has spread to Charlotte’s immigrant community — and catching the attention of legal advocates.

The Charlotte Center of Legal Advocacy generally fields a few calls daily from clients seeking help with food stamp applications or recertifications.

But after public records revealed Mecklenburg County had continued delays, the advocacy center in August sent out a tweet asking anyone facing problems with their applications to contact them, Dee Grano, a spokeswoman with the center said.

“We’re paying very close attention to the situation and are always looking for ways to effectively advocate for our clients, but larger legal action remains to be seen at this point,” Grano said in an email.

In the past few months, the center has seen the number of requests for help spike.

“Where I used to get maybe two or three calls a day, we’re now getting three times that — if not more,” says Eliazabeth Setaro, a paralegal advocate who works with the immigrant community.

Her client, Elida Valdez as of Friday is still waiting for benefits she applied for early in July.

She decided to apply for medicaid and food stamps after giving birth to her third child in May. Valdez, who is from Guatemala, was leery of applying for food stamps and concerned it may affect her immigration status, including her reapplication for her U Visa. The documentation is granted to victims of certain crimes.

But since her children are U.S. citizens, they could receive the benefit, her attorney told her.

Valdez told the Charlotte Observer she received a letter from Mecklenburg County’s Department of Social Services asking for additional documents in August, roughly a month after she applied. After turning those in, a week later Valdez received a call stating the documents were never received.

After several more calls, social services said it did have all of her documents, but by then it was too late, she said.

“At that point, they had already terminated the case,” Valdez, 25, said.

An influx of applications

Between June and mid-September, as many as 9% — a statewide average — of all new food stamp applications exceeded the 30-day state guideline for processing. In Mecklenburg County, it was around 31%.

The continued delays come as the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased monthly benefits for the majority of food stamp recipients in October. Benefits are expected to increase by 12% — or about $26 to $31 per person per month — to account for the rising cost of living, according to the center.

When Valdez’s case was terminated she was among many who sought legal help. During the interim, Valdez was able to stick to tight budgeting to support her three kids, she said.

At one point she almost gave up. Knowing the benefit could better provide and speaking with the legal advocate encouraged her to persist, she said.

“It took the involvement of attorneys for the case to be resolved,” Valdez said.

County officials and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services have said staffing challenges amid a “historic number of applications” has contributed to the delay. Social services’ funding is split between county and federal sources, spokesman Alex Burnett said.

“Separate and apart from that, states can allocate additional funds as made available by the federal government to counties,” Burnett said in an email.

County officials said they would work with federal partners, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to provide policy flexibility to improve service delivery and timeliness.

When contacted on Friday, Kim Betton, a spokespersonwith the USDA’s Southeast Regional Office, said they were not aware of application processing delays in North Carolina but would look into it.

Chilling effect

Advocates were concerned clients didn’t know where to go for help and are “either unaware they or their children are eligible for these benefits, or are concerned about how applying for services may impact their immigration status,” Grano said.

Significant delays and immigration documents possibly being lost add to the stress immigrants can feel in applying for benefits, Setaro says. Misinformation is also a problem.

“This chilling affect has caused a lot of immigrants to shy away from applying for public benefits,” Setaro said.

Many immigrant families often learn to budget with what they have and choose to forego receiving benefits even if they qualify, she said.

“Once they’ve actually decided to apply that’s when they notice the life change,” Setaro said. “That’s when they notice they can afford a little more food, and breathe a little bit more with their finances.”

The center was able to have Valdez’s case reopened and in September she was notified her application was approved. Setaro wonders what this delay means for other Mecklenburg County residents who are trying to receive their benefits.

“We’re talking about two and a half months for a process that should last 30 days,” she said. “And that’s only with the involvement of an advocate.”

As of Friday, despite getting an approval notice, Valdez has still not received her benefits card.